[Z06] Z06 Alignment Question
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: San Clemente CA
Z06 Alignment Question
I have a 2004 Z06 and have an alignment question.
The Z06 camber settings are -0.70 front, -0.68 rear.
The Coupe camber settings are -0.20 front, -0.18 rear.
The Z06 front caster setting is 6.9.
The Coupe front caster setting is 7.4.
I bought new tires because the inside edge of the front tires was down to the cord, even though the grooves on each tire had 4/32" tread left. The rear tires were evenly worn with 4/32" tread depth.
I drive the car strictly on the street, but do drive aggressively on occasion. I would like to change the alignment so that the front tires wear fairly uniformly. I have heard that some people have changed to the coupe alignment specs. I suspect that the main setting that needs to be changed is the front camber, changing from -0.70 to -0.20. Can anybody tell me whether only changing that setting will work. Since the rear tires have worn uniformly, I'd prefer not to change their settings.
Comments???
The Z06 camber settings are -0.70 front, -0.68 rear.
The Coupe camber settings are -0.20 front, -0.18 rear.
The Z06 front caster setting is 6.9.
The Coupe front caster setting is 7.4.
I bought new tires because the inside edge of the front tires was down to the cord, even though the grooves on each tire had 4/32" tread left. The rear tires were evenly worn with 4/32" tread depth.
I drive the car strictly on the street, but do drive aggressively on occasion. I would like to change the alignment so that the front tires wear fairly uniformly. I have heard that some people have changed to the coupe alignment specs. I suspect that the main setting that needs to be changed is the front camber, changing from -0.70 to -0.20. Can anybody tell me whether only changing that setting will work. Since the rear tires have worn uniformly, I'd prefer not to change their settings.
Comments???
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 221
Likes: 0
From: South O.C. RSM/MV CA
I had the same issue but on the rear tires. I smoked a set of F1SC in less then 40 days. I drive hard and due burn the tires a lot, but even with that I knew something was wrong. I called around and was referred to "Clarks House of Suspension" in Lake Forest CA, which was great since it is only 10 minutes away from rancho. I 1st got the new tires then drive straight to the shop (3.7 miles away) and had the car aligned. they set me up with 1.deg. neg camber for hard cornering per my explanation of driving habits and desire to keep the tread longer then 6 months this time. They also noted that my rear tires had been towed inward and not by accident since they where aligned perfectly equal, probably by the prior owner. Needless to say I have now had the car 19,000 miles and counting and have only seen two sets of tires. the wear on the inner edge of the rear tires is almost negligible compared to the outer edge once done. and I hook turns like never before. I also switched out to the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's as they are light years above the GYF1SC tires the car came with.
Hope this helped in your endeavor.
Hope this helped in your endeavor.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,282
Likes: 23
From: MD
how were your alignment specs when you got ur new tires? if its out of whack,... u know ur gonna get abnormal wear. since you don't track the car,... I would stick with the factory settings. the video that came with the car indicates to change the alignment if the car is going to be tracked. Also, have your alignment checked frequently. the previous owner of my Z06 had to replace the front tires after abotu a year because he didn't keep an eye on the alignment. best of luck to you.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 767
Likes: 0
From: MD
St. Jude Donor '10-'11
with ^^^^
Originally Posted by datadock
I have a 2004 Z06 and have an alignment question.
The Z06 camber settings are -0.70 front, -0.68 rear.
The Coupe camber settings are -0.20 front, -0.18 rear.
The Z06 front caster setting is 6.9.
The Coupe front caster setting is 7.4.
The Z06 camber settings are -0.70 front, -0.68 rear.
The Coupe camber settings are -0.20 front, -0.18 rear.
The Z06 front caster setting is 6.9.
The Coupe front caster setting is 7.4.
Originally Posted by datadock
I bought new tires because the inside edge of the front tires was down to the cord, even though the grooves on each tire had 4/32" tread left. The rear tires were evenly worn with 4/32" tread depth.
Originally Posted by datadock
I drive the car strictly on the street, but do drive aggressively on occasion. I would like to change the alignment so that the front tires wear fairly uniformly. I have heard that some people have changed to the coupe alignment specs. I suspect that the main setting that needs to be changed is the front camber, changing from -0.70 to -0.20. Can anybody tell me whether only changing that setting will work. Since the rear tires have worn uniformly, I'd prefer not to change their settings.
Comments???
Comments???
You should not have experienced that kind of wear with a stock camber and toes setting.
Last edited by MungoZ06; Oct 20, 2006 at 02:27 PM.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 257
Likes: 0
From: Overland Park Kansas
I was getting extra wear on the inside of the front tires only at 8,000 miles. I had the front & rear checked and they were dead on factory specs. So I had the front camber changed to the specs for the coupe.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
If you are just going to drive your car on the street and you want to maximize tire life, the camber needs to be close to zero, and the toe-in no more than 1/16" total.
My Z06 came with almost a full deg. neg. camber from the factory (within specs. of -.7 +/- .5 deg.) and I was getting inside wear. I went down to -.25 and still noticeable inside wear, so the last alignment, I went to -.125 deg on both sides. On all my previous cars with wide tires, I just set the camber at zero, but I decided to keep a little neg. camber on the Z06.
By the way, caster just needs to be equal on both sides, and does not affect tire wear. Some alignment shops put a less + caster on the left to compensate for the crown in the road for highway driving. The car will tend to steer toward the side with the smaller amount of positive caster. Some shops also will put a little more negative camber on the right side for the same reason. I had been running about 1/8 deg more neg. camber on the right, but changed them to be equal and left more positive caster on the right side to help the car track straight.
My Z06 came with almost a full deg. neg. camber from the factory (within specs. of -.7 +/- .5 deg.) and I was getting inside wear. I went down to -.25 and still noticeable inside wear, so the last alignment, I went to -.125 deg on both sides. On all my previous cars with wide tires, I just set the camber at zero, but I decided to keep a little neg. camber on the Z06.
By the way, caster just needs to be equal on both sides, and does not affect tire wear. Some alignment shops put a less + caster on the left to compensate for the crown in the road for highway driving. The car will tend to steer toward the side with the smaller amount of positive caster. Some shops also will put a little more negative camber on the right side for the same reason. I had been running about 1/8 deg more neg. camber on the right, but changed them to be equal and left more positive caster on the right side to help the car track straight.
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Oct 21, 2006 at 11:50 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1,390
Likes: 36
From: INDIANA
Originally Posted by terry s
I was getting extra wear on the inside of the front tires only at 8,000 miles. I had the front & rear checked and they were dead on factory specs. So I had the front camber changed to the specs for the coupe.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 257
Likes: 0
From: Overland Park Kansas
Originally Posted by LT1GMC
I believe the inside wear issue is with the Goodyear Supercar tires, they have a different compound on the inside edge of the tire(read their advertising) which wears quicker. I had the same problem, wore tires out insidewise by 20k, checked alignment, on spec, replaced GSC's with Firehawk, 15k later, NO abnormal wear!
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Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: San Clemente CA
Where did you seen an advertisement that the inside of the Goodyear SC tires have a different compound? I've never seen that.
I suspect that reducing the camber setting to that of the coupe will also promote more uniform front tire wear.
I suspect that reducing the camber setting to that of the coupe will also promote more uniform front tire wear.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 257
Likes: 0
From: Overland Park Kansas
Originally Posted by datadock
Where did you seen an advertisement that the inside of the Goodyear SC tires have a different compound? I've never seen that.
I suspect that reducing the camber setting to that of the coupe will also promote more uniform front tire wear.
I suspect that reducing the camber setting to that of the coupe will also promote more uniform front tire wear.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
The supercar tires have different tread patterns on the inside, but I doubt the rubber compostion is different. Plus, our Corvette club has looked at almost every car in the club, and they almost all show signs of inside tire wear if they alignment has not been changed from factory settings, even though they are running different brands of tires.
I suspect that the inside tire wear on the Z06s is a result of the tires being an inch wider that the standard coupe tire, making them more sensitive to camber settings. I have had other cars with narrower tires that I ran negative camber on, and did not get this much inside tire wear.
For maximum tire life, you just have to set the camber close to zero degrees, and no more than about -1/8 deg. The toe-in also needs to be 1/16 inch or less.
I suspect that the inside tire wear on the Z06s is a result of the tires being an inch wider that the standard coupe tire, making them more sensitive to camber settings. I have had other cars with narrower tires that I ran negative camber on, and did not get this much inside tire wear.
For maximum tire life, you just have to set the camber close to zero degrees, and no more than about -1/8 deg. The toe-in also needs to be 1/16 inch or less.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,895
Likes: 84
From: Darien IL
My F1SC were smooth all the way across when I removed them. Probably less than 1/32" difference from inside to outside and I have almost -2 degrees camber in front and zero toe for AX.
Too much toe-out combined with negative camber will grind off the inside of the tire in just a few thousand miles.
"Well within factory specs" really means "good enough for you". I would want to know what the exact numbers are.
Good luck.
Too much toe-out combined with negative camber will grind off the inside of the tire in just a few thousand miles.
"Well within factory specs" really means "good enough for you". I would want to know what the exact numbers are.
Good luck.