I Haven't Done Wheel Alignment Yet

illapino · Post by **illapino** » December 13th, 2006, 1:11 pm

i got my car lowered about let's say 2 months ago and have driven around neway without any trouble, probably adding on a couple thousand k's since ... besides tire wear, is this hazardous? how crucial is a wheel alignment?

ninjajim4 · Post by **ninjajim4** » December 13th, 2006, 1:50 pm

how come no one reads anymore... above all else, lowering your car throws off your camber, so yes, you should get your ride aligned. i've never lowered a car and still kno this

hharb · Post by **hharb** » December 13th, 2006, 3:11 pm

wheel alignment isn't that crucial but a bad alignment will affect you suspension, your tires and your gas mileage amongst few other things. It doesn't cost that much to begin with, so i would suggest having it done as soon as you can.

hharb · Post by **hharb** » December 13th, 2006, 3:12 pm

wheel alignment isn't that crucial but a bad alignment will affect you suspension, your tires and your gas mileage amongst few other things. It doesn't cost that much to begin with, so i would suggest having it done as soon as you can.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » December 19th, 2006, 6:56 pm

well i got my four wheel alignment done. an animated report details the before and after status. i was told on this forum that the mx-3 doesn't need a camber kit, but turns out that i do: they couldn't adjust any of my rear or front cambers ! they're all off about -1.7 degrees ... is big deal this ?

solo_ryder · Post by **solo_ryder** » December 19th, 2006, 7:36 pm

That off pretty far man, I beleive that in spec is like 0.3. Anyways, I ran into the same issue, lowered the car and they could not adjust anymore. Look into getting some camber bolts on eBay.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » December 19th, 2006, 10:54 pm

Corksport sells a Cusco FRONT camber kit for $200, but why only the front? how the "hell-hell" would i align the rear then!

on ebay, i found only camber Bolts, but those only can do up to 1 degree. I need 2 degrees here ...

illapino · Post by **illapino** » December 23rd, 2006, 6:20 pm

why is there only a Cusco camber kit for the FRONT, and not for the REAR?

solo_ryder · Post by **solo_ryder** » December 23rd, 2006, 7:05 pm

Because that are meant for racing, usually camber plates will only be for the front because that is where most of the tire wear and turning happens, the rear simply needs bolts.

Combined with the stock system and the camber bolts, you should get close. If not, check out your local aligment shop, they charge 50$ a bolt but they can get ones that have abit more of a adjustment, like 1.5 degree.

Trevor · Post by **Trevor** » December 23rd, 2006, 7:12 pm

You can use Camber bolts for the front as well. They are alot cheaper and just as good as the camber plates.

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » December 23rd, 2006, 9:14 pm

camber is not what eats your tires. excessive toe is what eats your tires. camber on most cars is not adjustable. toe is adjustable on most front and rear ends. some cars do not have adjustable rear toe or camber.

as long as you dont have positive camber you are ok where your camber is currently. the most important part of an alignment for street cars is to make sure the toe is where you want it to be.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » December 24th, 2006, 1:40 am

My Cambers:

left front: -1.7 degrees
right front: -2.0 degrees
left rear: -1.7 degrees
right rear: -1.9 degrees

Trevor · Post by **Trevor** » December 24th, 2006, 12:38 pm

Camber Will chew the inside or outside edge of tires it just takes a bit longer to show up. Camber is a Tire wearing angle

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » December 24th, 2006, 6:48 pm

Trevor wrote:Camber Will chew the inside or outside edge of tires it just takes a bit longer to show up. Camber is a Tire wearing angle

toe is what makes your 200 tread wear tires last 5000 miles. excessive camber will not cause premature tire wear. toe in will eat the outside of the tire and toe out will eat the inside. camber wears the tires at an angle but not prematurely.

It should be noted that individuals who decide to adjust their car's static ride height, either by raising or lowering, should immediately have the car properly aligned. The goal is to bring total front and rear toe settings to 0°, as toe is the major contributor to abnormally increased rate of tire wear. The common misconception is that Camber angle causes an increased rate of tire wear, when in fact camber's contribution to tire is wear is usually only visible over the entire life of the tire.

can be found here for full version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_(automotive)

^^ on a side note....what am i doing wrong?? copy and paste works...

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » December 27th, 2006, 11:05 am

Yes, not getting an alignment is dangerous. My car is fine in dry weather without an alignment, but when it rains, the whole back end gets twitchy bove 30MPH. It's flat out DANGEROUS for me to drive in wet weather right now. Luckily, I've got another car to drive. As soon as I finish Army Basic Training I plan to take it in for an alignment at the same time I get a new set of tires since it's due for tires as well now.