Another Alignment question
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Gallatin TN
Another Alignment question
I have a 2000 c5 with 30K on the original GY emts. The front tires are showing some nasty front tire wear on the very inside. The right side is worse than the left. Since i am replacing the tires I wanted to get the alignment done. But I don’t think they did a 'complete' job of it.
front left:
before
-.6 camber
7.3 caster
0.01 toe
actual
-.4 camber
7.3 caster
.07 toe
Front right:
before
-.1 camber
8.1 caster
.03 toe
actual
-.2 camber
8.1 caster
.06 toe
front:
before
-.7 cross camber
0.8 cross caster
.9 cross sai
.03 total toe
after
-0.2 cross camber
-.8 cross caster
.4 cross sai
.13 total toe
The caster on the both front sides and cross caster are out of spec.
I called them after I started looking at the sheet and they told me the difference in the cross camber and cross caster they put in will compensate for the caster being out of spec.
Should I take it back and have them redo it?
Note: the car tracked straight before the alignment and after. In fact it doesn't drive any differently than it did before.
front left:
before
-.6 camber
7.3 caster
0.01 toe
actual
-.4 camber
7.3 caster
.07 toe
Front right:
before
-.1 camber
8.1 caster
.03 toe
actual
-.2 camber
8.1 caster
.06 toe
front:
before
-.7 cross camber
0.8 cross caster
.9 cross sai
.03 total toe
after
-0.2 cross camber
-.8 cross caster
.4 cross sai
.13 total toe
The caster on the both front sides and cross caster are out of spec.
I called them after I started looking at the sheet and they told me the difference in the cross camber and cross caster they put in will compensate for the caster being out of spec.
Should I take it back and have them redo it?
Note: the car tracked straight before the alignment and after. In fact it doesn't drive any differently than it did before.
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,364
Likes: 38
From: King George VA
Originally Posted by docbrew
I
I called them after I started looking at the sheet and they told me the difference in the cross camber and cross caster they put in will compensate for the caster being out of spec.
I called them after I started looking at the sheet and they told me the difference in the cross camber and cross caster they put in will compensate for the caster being out of spec.
on that. I think they were being lazy. While it is very hard to get cross caster and camber in spec at the same time, it is possible and I've done it myself in my garage many times. I'd want it redone myself.I think the inner edge wear comes from the negative from camber (which improves handling at the cost of wear) coupled with toe. Basically as you drive down the road you are running on the inner edge but the tires aren't pointed straight due to the toe and you are dragging them to some extent just by driving straight. I wore out my original front Z06 tires in 3,000 miles...
__________________
C66 Racing #66 NASA ST2, SCCA T2
AMSOIL Dealer (Forum Vendor)
AMSOIL Preferred Customer Program (Members buy at Wholesale - a savings of about 25%)
C66 Racing #66 NASA ST2, SCCA T2
AMSOIL Dealer (Forum Vendor)
AMSOIL Preferred Customer Program (Members buy at Wholesale - a savings of about 25%)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 8,762
Likes: 2
From: Murphy TX
Originally Posted by Subdriver
I think the inner edge wear comes from the negative from camber (which improves handling at the cost of wear) coupled with toe. Basically as you drive down the road you are running on the inner edge but the tires aren't pointed straight due to the toe and you are dragging them to some extent just by driving straight. I wore out my original front Z06 tires in 3,000 miles...
I definitely agree on getting it redone. If it's OOS you can tell 'em to keep doing it until they get it right. They're $350 tires and they owe you a good alignment.
Pro
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 697
Likes: 50
From: Up North Wisconsin
I would take it back. While they did reduce some camber, they gave you much more toe out which will promote inner tire wear. They really did very little to change anything. Do some home work and decide what you want for settings. Then demand equal settings side to side. A good tech can do it very easily. A good tech should also talk to you about what issues you have and what you want to accomplish. Also, you really need to do all four wheels. Has this place done Corvettes before? I asked around and found a tech at a dealership who does most of the Vettes in their area. I then spoke with him and checked out the equipment before I booked an appointment. Then when the car was worked on, I supervised it all. I made sure the rockers cleared the ramps, and watched the computer screen to be sure the settings were what I wanted. The tech was great. He went out of his way to do it right. A positive dealership experience at Markquart Chevrolet in Eau Claire Wisconsin. 
Instructor
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 195
Likes: 1
From: Augusta Maine
I agree with what 00247 said. I had a simular problem
with mine. I did some research and decided as mine was a
driver not a racer to make some changes.
Did a 4 wheel align, set the camber as close to 0 as we
could get it all all four. front toe .04 to .05, rear .02 to
.03. No real change in handling as I see it for my use, but
what appears to be much better tire wear in the last 6000
miles.
Find someone who knows Vettes and be there when it is done.
with mine. I did some research and decided as mine was a
driver not a racer to make some changes.
Did a 4 wheel align, set the camber as close to 0 as we
could get it all all four. front toe .04 to .05, rear .02 to
.03. No real change in handling as I see it for my use, but
what appears to be much better tire wear in the last 6000
miles.
Find someone who knows Vettes and be there when it is done.
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,364
Likes: 38
From: King George VA
Originally Posted by yellow01
Sub's got a ton more experience than I do, but that's not much negative camber to be wearing out tires...
When I wore mine out in 3k, I had them well over -1.0.
