do i need a camber kit???
HCF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 678
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RE: do i need a camber kit???
Put the springs on the car, have the alignment checked (toe adjusted), THEN have the tech tell you that the camber is out..... and he can't adjust it. Beacause there is no factory adjustment. (you need camber adjusters) Let us know!
HCF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,210
RE: do i need a camber kit???
My alignment guy told me the other day that he couldn't make it right without a camber kit. But that was the extent of our conversation....kit was ordered last week...hopefully have it here and installed to get the alignment done by friday.
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 678
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RE: do i need a camber kit???
If the alignment guy say's he cannot make the alignment come out to specs (or close anyways) without installing camber adjusters............ enough said. (I think)
Another thought. If you can SEE the negative camber....you can bet your rear it needs to be corrected. IF the toe has already set.
Another thought. If you can SEE the negative camber....you can bet your rear it needs to be corrected. IF the toe has already set.
HCF Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,994
From: Rochester, NY
RE: do i need a camber kit???
I don't know how many different ways I can explain this.
I KNOW you get negative camber when you lower your car. I KNOW that it's "out of factory spec" (obviously). But that camber being out of spec isn't necessarily "BAD."
If you don't have any personal experience with this issue, and you haven't fully read both of the pages I linked to earlier, then stop posting!
I KNOW you get negative camber when you lower your car. I KNOW that it's "out of factory spec" (obviously). But that camber being out of spec isn't necessarily "BAD."
If you don't have any personal experience with this issue, and you haven't fully read both of the pages I linked to earlier, then stop posting!
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 906
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RE: do i need a camber kit???
The article you posted explains that being out of factory spec may not be bad for the racetrack. The problem is, most guys don't track their cars, at least not often. The article states that manufacturers arrive at alignment specs after exhaustive testing on the street.That being the case, it probably a good idea to keep the alignment withing factory specs.
But really, the bottom line is the wear pattern of your tires at proper inflation pressures. If your tires are wearing evenly, you don't need an alignment. The potentially bad thing about watching the wear pattern is that by the time you notice pronounced irregular wear, it's already too late to prevent problems with the tires.
But really, the bottom line is the wear pattern of your tires at proper inflation pressures. If your tires are wearing evenly, you don't need an alignment. The potentially bad thing about watching the wear pattern is that by the time you notice pronounced irregular wear, it's already too late to prevent problems with the tires.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 906
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RE: do i need a camber kit???
Read this carefully.....
The first image shows a tire from an alignedcar that was lowered moderately, meaning less than 1.75 inches. The wear pattern looks good.
The second image (posted above) shows a tire from a car that was extreme lowered - prbably 1.8 to 2 inches. The picture shows obvious wear on the inside. You can't compare the results because the second guy didn't have his car aligned. If his car were aligned (without changing the camber), the tires may have ended up looking the same. If the author wanted to keep his argument consistent, he MUST keep variables to a minimum. Can you imagine handing in a lab report with that "proof" in it? You'd get a D or anF!.
Now, you can see how the tire is worn more toward the inside...that's camber wear. This customer was driving on this tire, with the car lowered moderately with a good alignment. He has not maximized tire wear, but clearly he has not greatly suffered either. No camber kit was installed.
In the next image, we have a tire which was lowered aggressively, and the car was NOT aligned.
Look how aggressively the tire has worn on the inside edge. The cords are even showing. This wear is caused by TOE angle. The direction of wear here is dramatically different than a camber-worn tire. This type of wear will kill a brand new set of tires in a matter of months. Mistakenly, people will lower their cars, not align them, get this wear, and blame it on camber. The timeline continues when the customer buys a camber kit, installs it, and the wear goes away. Must have been the camber kit, right? It was the toe, people. Also note, this is a front tire.
In the next image, we have a tire which was lowered aggressively, and the car was NOT aligned.
Look how aggressively the tire has worn on the inside edge. The cords are even showing. This wear is caused by TOE angle. The direction of wear here is dramatically different than a camber-worn tire. This type of wear will kill a brand new set of tires in a matter of months. Mistakenly, people will lower their cars, not align them, get this wear, and blame it on camber. The timeline continues when the customer buys a camber kit, installs it, and the wear goes away. Must have been the camber kit, right? It was the toe, people. Also note, this is a front tire.
The second image (posted above) shows a tire from a car that was extreme lowered - prbably 1.8 to 2 inches. The picture shows obvious wear on the inside. You can't compare the results because the second guy didn't have his car aligned. If his car were aligned (without changing the camber), the tires may have ended up looking the same. If the author wanted to keep his argument consistent, he MUST keep variables to a minimum. Can you imagine handing in a lab report with that "proof" in it? You'd get a D or anF!.
HCF Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,994
From: Rochester, NY
RE: do i need a camber kit???
ORIGINAL: conceptualpolymer
You can't compare the results because the second guy didn't have his car aligned.
You can't compare the results because the second guy didn't have his car aligned.
Are you saying you don't think the experiment works because one car was lowered 1.75" and one might have been lowered 2"?
The author also said he has owned 12 lowered Hondas, put a camber kit on none of them, got an alignment on 11 out of the 12, and only trashed the tires on the ONE that wasn't aligned. You think that isn't proof?
Anyway, you can go take your car to the shop, and come back, and tell me your camber is out of factory spec, and think you've proved something that I didn't already know. I'll continue driving around on my lowered aligned cars with no camber kit, while not wrecking my tires.