The right front tire of my LT4 is balding on one side, I believe the outer half. I've also received comments from mechanics in the past that the car doesn't align well. It's never been crashed or abused and has less than 40k miles on it.

It needs new tires, but I don't want the new tires to go the same way as the balding one, so I called a Corvette service shop a few months ago and was told that the vettes of that time have a problem with (if I recall correctly) the rear tie rod ends where the material composing the tie rod end compresses and causes the car to not be able to be alignable. The guy said he'd fix the problem and put new tires on it for around $1800 I think.

I'm looking for input whether anyone has heard of this problem or if it sounds plausible before I go paying that much for a repair that may or may not be warranted. I'm not mechanically inclined enough to know if I'm being BSed.

Thanks!

 

I am not a suspension guy by any means, but I sure don't have that problem with my '96.
So, I don't think he can actually tell you that without actually seeing what issue your car has.

It's obvious you have some kind of issue, or your tire wouldn't wear that way.
But I wouldn't go so far as to say

 

If your FRONT tire is bald on the outer edge, its got nothing to do with the tie rod end on the front and especially not the tie rod end on the rear, I would be VERY suspicious of this shop. See if the front tire is bald on the inside and the outside and not the middle which means the tire has been run with too low air pressure. Check the tire pressure, is it around 35-36psi if its low, I'll bet that's your problem otherwise it could be caster/camber needing adjustment but it's very unlikely the tire rod ends because if they are worn the steering will shake and the tire will be cupped on the edge. Hope that helps.

 

I know problem with alignment guys. 45% of them are stupid, 45% are lazy and rest of 10 are actually only 3%. (I have math problem). So your chances to find good one are pretty slim.
Alignment morons finally pissed me off completely and I found a way to do alignment on my driveway.
My Previous 84 Vette had so bad alignment I couldn't drive it faster than 40 MPH, it was going wherever it wanted not I wanted. It probably had accident before, but I did perfect alignment including caster and camber.
I also adjust caster and camber on cars where they are not adjustable.
First thing you need to do is to check and replace suspension parts, because alignment morons like doing alignment with any bad parts w/o checking them.
Here is a plan for you:
Get good mechanic to check suspension and replace parts. Don't forget to grease good ones.
Find some older alignment guy and talk to him, pay him at least $20 extra upfront.
If tire is worn out on one side it means bad camber which is pretty easy to adjust on C4.

 

I didnt catch it but my tires were wearing unevenly until one day while washing the car I noticed it. I immediately told my father and he said I needed new tires and an alignment.

So I did that and now its fine. The front and rear were aligned, and thats that. I dont know about you, but I dont think the person you went to knows what he is talking about. I would ask another shop what they think... Good Luck

 

Have it checked for worn parts and get a 4 wheel alignment !
I don't know if the rear will cause the fronts to wear but 4 wheel alignment on Vettes is called for .

Also what wheels and tire size are you running ?
Grand Sport wheels and tires on a stock Vette are too wide and you have to realign for that too .

 

Do you have a spec sheet print out of the last time you had it aligned? That's a good place to start to see what was out of spec and what was going on when they tried to adjust it.

What kind of wear is it? Balding, feathering, or cupping?

How does it corner?

What suspension (rpo) do you have?

Do you have stock wheels and tire sizes?

Some more information is needed to give you an idea of what's going on here.

 

A car that does not alighn well either has bad parts or needs more adjustments to be done than can fit in the allocated time the shop figures an alignment should take. Here is a very simple way to look at it. Toe will affect both tires, caster will make the car pull left or right as will tire pressure if way off. Camber is all you have left. Put the car on a very level surface and use a framing square and tape measure to do a rough check. With tires inflated to 35 psi put the framing square vertically in the center of the tire and measure how much the difference is left and right on the tip in or tip out of the tires. They should be between vertical to slightly tipped in on the top. When I told the dealer I wanted mine aligned to non factory specs, I got them off the web and forget where right now but they had street anvanced street and auto cross listed all the different mdels and I used advanced street with the street toe setting, anyway the dealer said he had to take a bunch of shims out to get the camber right. I have a good relationship with my local dealer done business for decades with him. i told them up front I want what i want and if I have to pay for 2 alignments to get it I am ok with it, he only charged me for one but kept the car overnight so he could get the right person to do it when there were no other scheduled jobs to go on the machine. Sometimes shopping around is good and sometimes the dealer over charges. The one i do business with owns just the one dealership and has been doing business in a small town for decades if I had to guess i would have to think since the 50's and a small town where everyone knows everyone else.

Ok your 1800 estimate..
Complete rear toe assembly new approx 350
4 tires from a very popular internet vendor 500 to 1000
mount and balance 4 tires 100
4 wheel alighnment 80 to 90
install toe assebly 90 about 1 hour..

personally I would go for 4 tires and a good 4 wheel alighnment at a shop that will check correctly for bad parts first then do the alignment correctly and take the time it takes after worn or aged out parts are replaced.

 

I re-checked the car. It hasn't been out of the garage yet this year.

The tires are Goodyear Eagle HPs and stock size. Suspension is all original. No cupping seen.

The right front tire is balding and the inner half and to a consistent degree around the entire circuference of the tire.

The left front is also balding, but on the outer half, and it's not to the same degree all the way around (i.e., not bald all the way around). (So, from the driver's perspective, the left sides of both front tires are balding.)

I've had it aligned before at a Chevy dealership, but they were unable to get it to align well. I thought a Corvette-specific shop would know better what to do with the car. The one I called said it sounded like rear tie rod ends needed replaced based on his experience/knowledge of C4s. Nobody here has responded that they've ever heard of this tie rod end problem he mentioned.

If the problem description turns a light bulb on for anyone, I'd love to hear it.

thanks

 

If one side is worn out you have bad camber.

 

It is a mass produced car built on jigs and fixtures there is no magic here. If a correct alignment can not be done something is worn out broken or bent. There is no magic and no cars that don't align well. There are only lazy incompetent service people and dealerships.. Are you sure the car has never been hit? Possibly a reputable body shop can determine why it does not align.