If the toe is off, you'll cup the tires.

If the camber is off you'll wear the inside/outside edge but not with cupping.

Caster doesn't really kill the tires that I know of.

So, set the toe to 0 on all 4 wheels (+/- 0.0)

Set the camber to 0 on all 4 wheels (+/- 0.0)

Set the caster to stock.


What do you use negative camber for? Think about it.... You want the tires to present a flat foot print on turns, yes? No? When they want to go really fast in the turns, the camber is set to a higher negative number, yes, No?

I suggest "yes" to those 2 questions. So, what does negative camber do to a tire that is running straight down a superhighway? Think on it a sec.... It ***** the wheel to put more pressure on the inside edge of the tire. Where is the "bad" wear the horror stories have complained about? The inside edge of the tire is "down to the belts" and the rest of the tire is great. Sound familiar?

Yeah, yeah, 0 camber is horrible!!!

Think about this... A solid rear axle has how much camber? I'm thinking 0. Does a solid rear axle wear out the inside edge of the tires? I'm thinking, no.

So, in conclusion and before I put on my asbestos suit, I will set my toe to 0, my camber to 0, and the caster to the stock number. I'll continue down life's superhighways in ignorant bliss with the top down and a smile on my face.


When I go racing, pylon crushing or X-Cross, then I'll jack up the camber and go for it!


Elmer

 

How do you get a front end allignment without getting nicks in the alloy wheel???

 

6 years and 35,000 miles on original tires and original alignment. But will be installing new tires in a month or so, if we don't replace the car.

 

That was a great article, thanks

 

Had to replace my front tires on my 2010 GS at 13,000 miles (95% highway miles). the front tires were down to the cords on the inside of the tread. Apparently my alignment was a bit more aggressive out of the factory. Had them do an alignment for better tire wear. We'll see what happens. I think this information should be given to the buyer so they can change the alignment based on how they will drive the car (track vs. street).

 

That is unusual from what I have observed. Maybe you had too much toe out in the front Vs too much negative camber?? From the tire wear I have seen on 5 or 6 wide body cars they seem to wear the outsides of their rear tires much faster even with a large negative camber setting. That is what happened with the car I purchased two years ago. With 13K miles on it the front tires were obviously worn but the minimum tread on the inside was 4/32 and on the outside it was 5/32. The outside 3 inches of tread on both rear tires was gone and one tire was corded. First thing I did was replace all 4 tires and had an even more aggressive alignment done. With -1.3 deg camber in front and -1.5 in the rear. 10K miles later the front tires are in good shape but I am on my second set of rears. First set of rears made it 5K miles before the outside edge corded. I purchased some used rears and they had some evidence of the same kind of wear pattern so I had the rear toe in set close to 0. These tires are just about down to the wear bars on the outside. Since I have another set of wheels for the track and autocross I have picked up peoples well used take offs that they were going to throw in the trash as long as there was 2/32 of tread. All of those have shown the same wear pattern.

On the C5s I had the rear tires all wore evenly even if I had a very aggressive rear alignment with lots of toe in for stability. Not sure why the difference since the design of the two are almost identical in this area but I do know I have to have close to 0 toe in the rear to get good wear on my Z06.

Bill

 

They changed just a tad. I had alignment set up with Performance Street last summer. The control and ride are good. Tire wear is at a minimum so far.


Pfadt Corvette Alignment Recommendations
These settings are a guide based on the experience and testing of Pfadt Race Engineering.


Performance Street
Front min max
Camber (deg) -0.7 -0.9
Caster (deg) 7.5 8.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -0.4 -0.6
Toe -1/16" 0
Notes: These settings will provide good performance and good tire wear.

Performance Street - Track Use with Street Tires
Front min max
Camber (deg) -1.1 -1.3
Caster (deg) 7.5 8.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -0.7 -0.9
Toe -1/8" -1/16"
Notes: These settings will provide good all around performance. The tires will wear the inside edges in street use and the outside edges on the race track. This is a good dual purpose alignment.

Performance Street - Track Use with Race Tires
Front min max
Camber (deg) -1.6 -1.8
Caster (deg) 7.5 8.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -0.9 -1.1
Toe -1/8" -1/16"
Notes: These settings will provide great track performance. The tires will wear the inside edges in street use, and the car may tend to grab the lanes of the road. Race tires will wear well at the track and provide high levels of grip. This alignment is compromised towards track use.

Dedicated Track Car - DOT Tires, poly bushings
Front min max
Camber (deg) -2.8 -3.0
Caster (deg) 6.5 7.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -1.5 -1.7
Toe -1/8" -1/16"
Notes: These settings are a good starting point for a car with polyurethane or stock control arm bushings. This alignment requires DOT race tires to function appropriately. This is a starting point only, testing and monitoring tire temperatures and pressures are required to optimize any setup.

Dedicated Track Car - DOT Tires, Spherical Bearings
Front min max
Camber (deg) -2.4 -2.6
Caster (deg) 6.5 7.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -1.2 -1.4
Toe -3/16" -1/8"
Notes: These settings are a good starting point for a car with mono-ball or spherical control arm bushings. This alignment requires DOT race tires to function appropriately. This is a starting point only, testing and monitoring tire temperatures and pressures are required to optimize any setup.

Dedicated Track Car - Race Slicks, Spherical Bearings
Front min max
Camber (deg) -3.0 -3.2
Caster (deg) 6.5 7.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -2.0 -2.3
Toe -3/16" -1/8"
Notes: These settings are a good starting point for a car with mono-ball or spherical control arm bushings. This alignment is designed and tested with race slicks, not DOT tires. This is a starting point only, testing and monitoring tire temperatures and pressures are required to optimize any setup.

1/12/2010

 

umph... all that camber is not for me. I do the majority of my driving on interstates.

Elmer

 

I went with the perf Street settings on my 11 GS and really like the way my car responds. Only have about 400 miles since the alignment so I dont know about tire wear yet.

 

Just had a 4-wheel alignment to factory specs, car tracks perfectly straight.

 

0 Toe will tend to wander and dive especially on rough or uneven roads!!

 

I use the first one - Performance Street with street tires (Invos's).

Pfadt Corvette Alignment Recommendations
These settings are a guide based on the experience and testing of Pfadt Race Engineering.


Performance Street
Front min max
Camber (deg) -0.7 -0.9
Caster (deg) 7.5 8.5
Toe -1/16" 0
Rear
Camber (deg) -0.4 -0.6
Toe -1/16" 0
Notes: These settings will provide good performance and good tire wear.

Drives and handles nice. We'll see how the treadwear goes.

 

just had my done on a 2010 GS, factory specs on all wheels were out and tires were wearing on the inside front at only 3000 miles.
Set mine at O camber & O toe runs great now no complaints.

 

I used their specs and wore out the fronts at 12000 miles just like the factory alignment. May I suggest 0 toe and 0 camber thats what I'm going with on my 2012 Z06 when it gets here.
z51vett