Camber kit for 1.5"?????
- Thread starter SRLNCLT
- Start date
Integration
Master Poster
for a 1.5 drop you wont need a camber kit. You will still need to get a 4-way alignment asap after the drop to correct the toe, or your tires will wear fast. Remember, its primarily 'toe', not camber, that wears your tires down.SRLNCLT said:I'm lowering my 95 Gsr sedan with some goldline 1.5" springs. Yeah, I know, if you don't want ur tires to wear get a camber kit. Do I have to get one? Anyone with these springs?
Kuchtaboy
Unregistered User
no... Both wear you tires down... My car currently sits about 1-2 inch lower than the factory spec and it wears the insides of the tires like mad! I don't know where people get the idea in their heads that camber has no effect on tire wear, but it does. Yes, toe has a greater effect on wear, but camber WILL still cause un-even wear.
If you don't believe me I can take pictures of my tires for you and show you what 6 months does to them.
If you want to be safe, get the camber kit. You won't regret it. If you want to wait on spending the money to see if you for sure do need them or not, take it in for specs and then see if its way out of spec for the camber. Sometimes they can adjust it so they wear correctly, but I'm pretty sure on our cars they can't.
If you don't believe me I can take pictures of my tires for you and show you what 6 months does to them.
If you want to be safe, get the camber kit. You won't regret it. If you want to wait on spending the money to see if you for sure do need them or not, take it in for specs and then see if its way out of spec for the camber. Sometimes they can adjust it so they wear correctly, but I'm pretty sure on our cars they can't.
Cheesenip
I <3 2.4l's
anytime you lower your car, itll knock the camber out. Some worse than others. My front is worse than my rears and I have yet to install a camber kit. Ive got a 1.8" drop in the front and 2.0 in the rear. and the inner part of my tires are goin more quickly than the rest of it, But the tires were poop when i installed it so i dont care. But now they are almost toast so when I put new tires on Im goin to install my camer kit since Ive had it in the garage for like 5 months. Anyways, spend the few $$ and get the camber kit and instead of buying tires more quickly then you need to.
Integration
Master Poster
I guess i got the idea from research before i lowered my car and the fact that after i lowered my car 1.8 in the front and 1.0 in the back, and then got an alignment, and made sure i had my tires rotated every 3 months when i got an oil change and I never had any issues with tire wear in the 2 years i drove my car at that height. And i put 12,500 miles per year on my car just going to work and back home. There are 2 possibilies here.. Either i happened to have bought a pair of "magic tires" that were forged by the gods at the top of Mount Olympus.. OR.. the research i did was corrrect that its toe that is the main culprit of excessive tire wear.Kuchtaboy said:no... Both wear you tires down... My car currently sits about 1-2 inch lower than the factory spec and it wears the insides of the tires like mad! I don't know where people get the idea in their heads that camber has no effect on tire wear, but it does. Yes, toe has a greater effect on wear, but camber WILL still cause un-even wear.
If you don't believe me I can take pictures of my tires for you and show you what 6 months does to them.
If you want to be safe, get the camber kit. You won't regret it. If you want to wait on spending the money to see if you for sure do need them or not, take it in for specs and then see if its way out of spec for the camber. Sometimes they can adjust it so they wear correctly, but I'm pretty sure on our cars they can't.
Does camber cause uneven wear? Yes. However, with an alignment and proper tire rotation every 3 months (or every oil change) the wear is minimal. Especially with a small drop like 1.5 inches.
Last edited:
SRLNCLT
New Member
^^^You have some good points. This car won't be a daily driver. It will be a weekend and occasional driver. I doubt we'll put 3000 miles in 6 months on it. We will most definatly get the 4 wheel alignment. Still debating on the camber kit. Maybe I'll see after we get the springs installed and see it. I have friends that are gonna help me, I mean do, the install for me.
bottlejunkie
New Member
keep in mind ANY negative/positive camber will hinder traction as well, so if this is a drag car you want 0 camber.
Integration
Master Poster
True for "drag" cars. This is the effect for if you like the twisties or just regular driving. When you're in a turn, the weight of your car causes the body of the car to lean towards the outside corner. As the body rolls, the outside tire is forced to tip outward in relation to the road. This tilt is the same as having positive camber, only it is dynamic (meaning it occurs during motion, not when the car is at rest).bottlejunkie said:keep in mind ANY negative/positive camber will hinder traction as well, so if this is a drag car you want 0 camber.
The result is having some of the tires contact patch not even touching the ground. If you have some negative camber, the tire is tipping inward to compensate for the tilt. So when the force causes the tire to tip outward and alter camber, you gain a larger contact patch, and with it more cornering force and more traction in relation to a suspension with zero camber.
"Excessive" negative camber also can have an impact on braking distance and acceleration. When braking in a straight line, the more negative camber you have, the less the full tire is going to have contact with the road. Since braking distance is almost all traction related, too much negative camber can easily increase braking distance. The same concept can effect acceleration. If your front tires have too much negative camber, you cannot utilize the full contact patch to accelerate forwards.
However, as i said before.. with a small drop like 1.5 inches, you will not have "excessive" negative camber. Just be sure to get a 4-way alignment and regular tire rotations (every 3 months or every oil change.)
bottlejunkie
New Member
thats still a matter of opinion really. there is no clear cut answer, as he hasnt even said what his main intention of the car is. but i agree with what you say, a small drop like that on a daily driver needs nothing but toe correction for very minimal tire wear.Integration said:True for "drag" cars. This is the effect for if you like the twisties or just regular driving. When you're in a turn, the weight of your car causes the body of the car to lean towards the outside corner. As the body rolls, the outside tire is forced to tip outward in relation to the road. This tilt is the same as having positive camber, only it is dynamic (meaning it occurs during motion, not when the car is at rest).
The result is having some of the tires contact patch not even touching the ground. If you have some negative camber, the tire is tipping inward to compensate for the tilt. So when the force causes the tire to tip outward and alter camber, you gain a larger contact patch, and with it more cornering force and more traction in relation to a suspension with zero camber.
"Excessive" negative camber also can have an impact on braking distance and acceleration. When braking in a straight line, the more negative camber you have, the less the full tire is going to have contact with the road. Since braking distance is almost all traction related, too much negative camber can easily increase braking distance. The same concept can effect acceleration. If your front tires have too much negative camber, you cannot utilize the full contact patch to accelerate forwards.
However, as i said before.. with a small drop like 1.5 inches, you will not have "excessive" negative camber. Just be sure to get a 4-way alignment and regular tire rotations (every 3 months or every oil change.)
i also want to add that, the lower the profile of your tires (stiffer sidewalls) the more camber will affect wear. the stiffer reinforced sidewalls of a 40 series tire doesnt give as well as a 60 series, causing even less tire to meet the pavement during normal driving condition, further increasing wear.
just take all things into consideration before making a decision.
Kuchtaboy
Unregistered User
:thumbs upIntegration said:Does camber cause uneven wear? Yes. However, with an alignment and proper tire rotation every 3 months (or every oil change) the wear is minimal. Especially with a small drop like 1.5 inches.
You're not worth my time to try and convince.
My 2 cents are already put in, do whatever you want.
newspeed
New Member
I agree with you 100 percent, Camber does cause uneven wear even if the toe is set correctly. I do know however that without the toe set perfect the tires with scrub or snowplow and cause wear. The best thing is to have both the camber and toe in spec to avoid premature tire wear.Kuchtaboy said::thumbs up
You're not worth my time to try and convince.
My 2 cents are already put in, do whatever you want.
http://www.michelinman.ca/care/tip3.html
Camber
Camber is the angle of the wheel, in degrees, when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Positive camber is when the top of the wheel is leaning out from the center of the car. Negative camber is when the top of the wheel is leaning into the car. If the wheel leans too far from the center, uneven wear will occur. The camber angle is designed and adjusted per vehicle to keep the tires on the outside of a curve flat on the ground during a turn. If you have too much positive camber, your tires will wear on the outside. Too much negative camber will wear them on the inside. If there is too much of a difference between the camber settings on the front wheels, the vehicle will tend to pull sharply to one side.
Toe
Toe is the difference in the distance between the front of the tires and the back of the tires. Usually, tires are set so that they are parallel with each other. If the fronts of the tires are closer, the wheels are toe-in. If the rears of the tires are closer, the wheels are toe-out.
Toe settings affect the handling characteristics of a vehicle in turns. Toe-in introduces Understeer going into a curve and may make the vehicle feel like the back end is trying to come around to the front end. Toe-out introduces Oversteer in a curve and makes the vehicle feel like it is "diving" into the turn too sharply.
If the tires are toed-in too much, the tread will be "worn" off, starting from the outside edges. If they are toed-out, the wear will start from the inside. This type of wear is called "feathering" and can be felt by running your hands across the tread of the tire.
Integration
Master Poster
Not asking you to, kiddo. The tires i still have on my car are proof enough for me. :thumbs upKuchtaboy said::thumbs up
You're not worth my time to try and convince.
My 2 cents are already put in, do whatever you want.