Feb 23, 2015, 04:56 PM
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Uneven front tire wear
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 279
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach VA
Uneven front tire wear
I had a front end alignment done on my 2000 C5 on July 1st. Had the car inspected in August. Drove the 700 miles r/t to Carlisle last weekend. Looked at my front wheels yesterday and both of them are worn so badly on the insides that they'll have to be replaced. 
Called the dealership that did the alignment and inspection and they said that "the way Corvettes are designed, the inside of the tires will wear faster than the outsides due to the handling characteristics".
Anybody else ever heard of that? I was hoping for a couple more months out of those tires so I'm not happy about it. They say it was in specs when they did the alignment.
Called the dealership that did the alignment and inspection and they said that "the way Corvettes are designed, the inside of the tires will wear faster than the outsides due to the handling characteristics".
Anybody else ever heard of that? I was hoping for a couple more months out of those tires so I'm not happy about it. They say it was in specs when they did the alignment.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 1,574
Likes: 2
From: Orlando FL
Its BS. I had a dealership give em the "sport" alignment that destroyed the insides of my front tires after a few hundred miles. Bottom line, they did it wrong. I went and had another shop align it and they showed me on the printout how screwed up the dealerships alignment was.
The alignment they gave you is the aggressive one used for road racing.
Don't let them brush this off as "just the way Corvettes are".
The alignment they gave you is the aggressive one used for road racing.
Don't let them brush this off as "just the way Corvettes are".
I had a front end alignment done on my 2000 C5 on July 1st. Had the car inspected in August. Drove the 700 miles r/t to Carlisle last weekend. Looked at my front wheels yesterday and both of them are worn so badly on the insides that they'll have to be replaced.
Called the dealership that did the alignment and inspection and they said that "the way Corvettes are designed, the inside of the tires will wear faster than the outsides due to the handling characteristics".
Anybody else ever heard of that? I was hoping for a couple more months out of those tires so I'm not happy about it. They say it was in specs when they did the alignment.
Called the dealership that did the alignment and inspection and they said that "the way Corvettes are designed, the inside of the tires will wear faster than the outsides due to the handling characteristics".
Anybody else ever heard of that? I was hoping for a couple more months out of those tires so I'm not happy about it. They say it was in specs when they did the alignment.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 790
Likes: 0
From: Sebastian Sunshine
I think u were snowed......i would demand my money back or they should expext alot of bad press....also u could sue for new tires and for what these tires cost i would....never mind all that wait around time...
6th Gear
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: Marin California
This is helpful
Hey, thanks guys... this makes me want to do something about my alignment!
Story for those who care: I bought a new (to me) 2002 Z06 back in May of this year. The seller pointed out that the front tires were worn on the inside, mentioned everything was aligned as it should be, and said (drum roll) "that's the way it's supposed to be... some pretty serious camber." He's an honest guy, and identified every other fault with the car (valve spring was replaced last year - hey, it's an '02 - etc.) so perhaps this is something dealers / alignment shops tell Corvette-folk?
In any case, I'm in the middle of installing a set of VB&P polygraphite bushings this week, and figured I'd do the shocks as well, as the beast has 90K on it. So when it's all over, I'll need an alignment, and I'll be sure to reject any "sport alignment" suggestions from the techs.
One question, though: is there alignment and is there alignment? Is a performance shop going to give me something that is better than a standard tire/alignment shop, and if so, how?
Story for those who care: I bought a new (to me) 2002 Z06 back in May of this year. The seller pointed out that the front tires were worn on the inside, mentioned everything was aligned as it should be, and said (drum roll) "that's the way it's supposed to be... some pretty serious camber." He's an honest guy, and identified every other fault with the car (valve spring was replaced last year - hey, it's an '02 - etc.) so perhaps this is something dealers / alignment shops tell Corvette-folk?
In any case, I'm in the middle of installing a set of VB&P polygraphite bushings this week, and figured I'd do the shocks as well, as the beast has 90K on it. So when it's all over, I'll need an alignment, and I'll be sure to reject any "sport alignment" suggestions from the techs.
One question, though: is there alignment and is there alignment? Is a performance shop going to give me something that is better than a standard tire/alignment shop, and if so, how?
Last edited by terpsichorean; Sep 13, 2010 at 02:35 AM. Reason: Changed toe-in to camber. Whoops!
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No way your tires should have worn that badly in those few miles. My guess is they have the alignment settings totally screwed up. I'd be having a talk with the service manager about a new set of tires and a refund on the alignment.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 279
Likes: 0
From: Virginia Beach VA
Ok. Had a good discussion with the service advisor and the service manager about the alignment. We discussed the settings and several parts of this thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...re-wear-2.html
especially eboggs_jkvl post on page two about camber.
The alignment specs are:
Camber -0.1 to -0.5
Caster 7.0 to 6.0
Toe -0.05 to 0.15
They both agreed with the thread, that the standard alignment which has negative camber will create more wear on the inside edge of the tires. That and the fact that I dorked with one of my tie rod ends (stoopid) which created excessive toe were responsible for my uneven tire wear.
So. Those tires are six years old and didn't have much life left so I'm not broken-hearted about replacing them. Two new Kumho Ectsa ASX tires arrived today. I will have the dealer install them and align the car with camber set to zero and we'll see how it works out.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...re-wear-2.html
especially eboggs_jkvl post on page two about camber.
The alignment specs are:
Camber -0.1 to -0.5
Caster 7.0 to 6.0
Toe -0.05 to 0.15
They both agreed with the thread, that the standard alignment which has negative camber will create more wear on the inside edge of the tires. That and the fact that I dorked with one of my tie rod ends (stoopid) which created excessive toe were responsible for my uneven tire wear.
So. Those tires are six years old and didn't have much life left so I'm not broken-hearted about replacing them. Two new Kumho Ectsa ASX tires arrived today. I will have the dealer install them and align the car with camber set to zero and we'll see how it works out.
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Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: Should this thoughtful, valuable contribution meet with no acknowledgement or 'thanks' this post----
I knew right away you had a Z06 even before I read about it further into the thread. They gave you a Z06 alignment...you could have asked for a 'standard' alignment (if you knew about the aggressive settings)....but I'm sure you didn't. The settings you got were for racing, whereas, if you don't race then the tires wear inboard, and you proved it. I have a base C5 coupe, and I asked for a Z06 alignment...I liked the dartiness of the car, but I will go back to a standard alignment soon.
