Possible camber issue/inside of front tires worn

[flyinlow007]

I bought a new Nissan 200SX SE-R back in the late 90's that wore the same way. Wore out my front tires in less than 10000 miles. Turns out when they would chain them down on the transport truck they would pull them down too tight and it knocked the alignment off on the front end causing excessive camber. Every car I buy now I always watch for the first few thousand miles to see if they are wearing properly.

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[myvaporblue5.0pony]

It is very likely this will be the "norm" on your car. As others have brought up, getting your alignment done / verified is in order.

Best of luck. On My DH 700A I took control of this issue when new, 9,000 miles later I still have great tire wear all the way around still 8/32" even across the tire. I chose to fix this when the car had less than 5 miles on it, took a pair of camber plates modified them to move the tires closer to zero camber. The results are here in the photos; car has a few hundred miles under 9k on factory tires. Car handles and drives great, I know the suspension is not setup to favor track days, but not too many tracks between my home, bars and grocery stores.

These are photos of the front left, right side is the same and a bit too lazy to take photos of the rear, which I moved camber very close to zero on as well.

Your post definitely gives us something to think about. Especially since my car is a daily driver with no track use. Although, I wouldn't object to a track day. I do love doing a little spirited driving on the back roads.

 

[myvaporblue5.0pony]

I bought a new Nissan 200SX SE-R back in the late 90's that wore the same way. Wore out my front tires in less than 10000 miles. Turns out when they would chain them down on the transport truck they would pull them down too tight and it knocked the alignment off on the front end causing excessive camber. Every car I buy now I always watch for the first few thousand miles to see if they are wearing properly.

Very interesting. I could see that being an issue.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

This may have some context to your question. So my 2 cents…

When I bought my 06 GT, it was used and already lowered with Eibach springs. A year or 2 after I had it, it was up on a lift and the mechanic and I noticed the inside of both front tires were badly worn almost to the point of being dangerous. I was told the camber was way off.

Research showed me that the S197’s have very limited camber adjustment, and can’t compensate for being lowered. I learned I had to buy a set of camber adjustment bolts and have them installed on the car. I took it to an alignment shop and they installed the bolts, put on new tires and did a full alignment.

So my direct experience was that badly cambered tires absolutely result in badly and unevenly worn tires.

Remember the Acura NSX? It handled so amazing because of neutral weight distribution and aggressive camber. To the point where owners had to get new tires every 10K miles.

Yes, but lowered cars change the suspension geometry. No one here is saying aggressive camber can't wear tires. We're saying it's got to be A LOT of camber, like -2.5 before that starts happening.

So unless the OP has a lowered car with -2.5 camber, his wear issue is caused from toe. Too bad, because it probably drove like crap for long time like that.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

It is very likely this will be the "norm" on your car. As others have brought up, getting your alignment done / verified is in order.

Best of luck. On My DH 700A I took control of this issue when new, 9,000 miles later I still have great tire wear all the way around still 8/32" even across the tire. I chose to fix this when the car had less than 5 miles on it, took a pair of camber plates modified them to move the tires closer to zero camber. The results are here in the photos; car has a few hundred miles under 9k on factory tires. Car handles and drives great, I know the suspension is not setup to favor track days, but not too many tracks between my home, bars and grocery stores.

These are photos of the front left, right side is the same and a bit too lazy to take photos of the rear, which I moved camber very close to zero on as well.

With all due respect. Your understanding of camber and what is "normal" is grossly lacking. Why anyone would take a DH and put the camber to near zero is baffling. You have effectively neutered the handling of your car. The factory spec of -1.0 camber is very conservative as-is, and will not wear you tires unevenly UNLESS the toe is also out.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Very interesting. I could see that being an issue.

It is VERY common for these cars to need alignments brand new due to transporting and lack of quality control at the factory.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Thank you. We are definitely going to get an alignment when we take it in soon for an oil change.

Hopefully that is not too long from now, because you are wearing the tires in the exact same manner as the last tires, and exactly as fast.

Last time this happened to me, it was the control arms that had worn out, resulting in both excessive camber and toe issues, worst of both worlds. It also caused some other issues beyond tire wear, and was in a higher mileage vehicle, so this is probably not what has happened to your car.

I would get the alignment checked ASAP. I am shocked that the tire shop did not push you to have the alignment checked when you swapped the tires, as they would have seen the cording on the inside and should have warned you that you were going to chew up the new tires.

 

[Ryunker]

With all due respect. Your understanding of camber and what is "normal" is grossly lacking. Why anyone would take a DH and put the camber to near zero is baffling. You have effectively neutered the handling of your car. The factory spec of -1.0 camber is very conservative as-is, and will not wear you tires unevenly UNLESS the toe is also out.

Camber is the #1 cause of tire wear followerd by toe, if toe is off the treads would be "feathered". I have retired after doing this for many decades. 1 degree of camber adds a ton to tire longevity. Yes, more negative camber is great for track days, but most miles put on these cars are not on the track. These tires on the DH are pricey as shit thus my goal is 40k miles on a set. Seeing at just under 9k miles and have 8/32" left and even, the choice I made for myself is absolutely the correct one.

 

[Ryunker]

Your post definitely gives us something to think about. Especially since my car is a daily driver with no track use. Although, I wouldn't object to a track day. I do love doing a little spirited driving on the back roads.

Same here, spirited driving now and then is fun, no doubt. In that sense, I have witnessed zero limitations while street driving even spirited no and again.

 

[LouG]

This may have some context to your question. So my 2 cents…

When I bought my 06 GT, it was used and already lowered with Eibach springs. A year or 2 after I had it, it was up on a lift and the mechanic and I noticed the inside of both front tires were badly worn almost to the point of being dangerous. I was told the camber was way off.

Research showed me that the S197’s have very limited camber adjustment, and can’t compensate for being lowered. I learned I had to buy a set of camber adjustment bolts and have them installed on the car. I took it to an alignment shop and they installed the bolts, put on new tires and did a full alignment.

So my direct experience was that badly cambered tires absolutely result in badly and unevenly worn tires.

Remember the Acura NSX? It handled so amazing because of neutral weight distribution and aggressive camber. To the point where owners had to get new tires every 10K miles.

That's true, camber can cause edge wear on outside and inside edges. But the point is that it's not the only cause. Suspension geometry is a fascinating subject, so much is interrelated. A good suspension Tech is worth his weight in tyres.
Another factor is the driver, if someone drives hard on twisty roads (or tracks) he'll be able to use more negative camber without getting uneven wear as he'll be working the suspension harder and using more travel. Some one who just cruises highways will suffer more edge wear with the same settings
The Nurburgring guys like Charoudin talk about using up to 3 degrees negative at times.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

One track day, and the outside three to four inches of my tires looked like they had been melted, like an amateur stippling job on the grip of a Glock handgun.

That was on the stock camber setting (Dark Horse handling package)

I was thinking of maybe having a shop set an alignment just for Track Days and then resetting it to stock soon thereafter, so as not to be commuting or cruising with an aggressive track setting for the camber.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

I’m all set for track day!

 

[D/\rK•650]

I’m all set for track day!

Im wondering if this will wear the tires unevenly ??

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Good for Mustangs too!

 

[Frogdog1]

Good for Mustangs too!

Probably unbeatable on a track......

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