Camber figures and tyre wear

[Adrian]

My tyres are wearing badly only on the inside edges - I've just had to throw away a pair of Toyo's that were hardly worn elsewhere. When they were fitted I had the alignment checked and the figures for camber were as follows:

Code: Select all

             min     max     actual
Front Left  -1.55'  -0.25'  -1.33'
Front Right -1.55'  -0.25'  -1.44
Rear Left   -2.10'  -1.10'  -2.19'
Rear Right  -2.10'  -1.10'  -2.35'

The car is lowered around 30mm so I was expecting the camber to be out all round, but the test actually showed the front wheels were inside the specification limits - so I did the lazy thing and didn't get a correction kit. But in reality it's the front tyres that have worn most - so I'm a bit puzzled.

Anyway, searching for correction kits I found this link titled "LMF Vauxhall - The Vauxhall Parts Specialist :: Car Exteriors :: Calibra :: Springs :: Eibach EZ Cam Front Camber Adjustment Bolts"

https://www.lmfvauxhall.co.uk/store/pro ... ctid=16680}&cat=2240&page=

but although I got the link by clicking through Calibra parts, Calibra isn't listed in the applications. Does anyone know if they're suitable for V6 Calibras?

[Fraz]

They wont work on a Calibra front strut, as the Calibra strut is all in one with the hub (there is no bolts holding hub to strut)

I would be checking your bottom arms and bushs first..if you have not done so already

[Adrian]

Hi Fraz!

They wont work on a Calibra front strut, as the Calibra strut is all in one with the hub (there is no bolts holding hub to strut)

I would be checking your bottom arms and bushs first..if you have not done so already

Do you mean because there may be a problem with the arm/bushes and not camber that's causing the wear? What do you do to check around here?

[Fraz]

The front camber is not adjustable on the front, but worn bushes on the bottom arms could cause tyre wear as would the tracking (which I presume you also got checked at same time) what people forget though, is if at any point in the tyres life your tracking was out, then you get it set correctly the tyre will still wear unevenly. So if you have swapped back to front at some point the front will still wear on the edge

[Adrian]

I can't see any problem with the bushes - if there was enough play there to cause tyre wear I'd expect to be able to see it with the wheel off the ground (by levering the arm around). But the roads have all gone to the dogs everywhere I drive with pot-holes big enough to lose smart cars in. Maybe the tracking got clobbered since it was done last time. I dunno.

I get mixed impressions from reading around on this subject - some people reckon camber is a red-herring, claiming to have lowered 60mm and not have any excessive tyre wear - while others spend £190 on a correction kit having only dropped by 25mm.

[marko]

iv just replaced two of my tyres, both worn really bad on the inside edge, drivers side front and passenger side rear!!!, other two seem ok, mines lowered 40 mm but its only the back tyres that suffer with camber, could understand it if it were both rears that wore out but cant work out why opposite corners.

[Mark1]

I've been running the same tryes for the last 4 years which is about 12k in total and not got any more wear than normal and the cars dropped 40mm.

[Richiem]

Always worth checking the large rear cross member bushes on any cali as these are prone to serious wear issues and can cause the trailing arm to sit low( causing camber issues)
Most calis never get these looked at and when most owners do check them out there proper rotten!!
When these rot they alow a lot of movement and spread under weight!.
Ps/ If not known, these are the big ol bushes with the big bolt goin through them up into the chassis and a metal bracket with 2 15mm bolts fixing it ..
I fitted the k mac kit to my cali which worked wonders on the rears but the d/s rear which was sitting out the most had a completly rotted cross member bush.
replacing these sorted the issue and also tightned up the ride

[schumiisking]

my tyres wear evenly but it really bad pulls to the left, i dont know why.
any ideas?

[Richiem]

Best you get your tracking checked out matey! seems like its out a fair bit!
Most tyre workshops can sort this out for you for around £20

[Phantom]

I have seen a camber kit for the front legs on a calibra, it was posted up on the Australian website

as said above though cheack all the other front suspension parts as well, how many miles has the car covered?

[Adrian]

I have seen a camber kit for the front legs on a calibra, it was posted up on the Australian website

as said above though cheack all the other front suspension parts as well, how many miles has the car covered?

Just turned 60K ~ 4k a year on average. It just flew through yet another MOT without a hitch - this time the garage had a new toy that automatically exercised the front suspension. I couldn't believe how aggressive it was

However, that found no play in any of the joints, and neither have I been able to find anything.

Here's another thought though... I was running the tyres at 32psi - not the recommended 36psi, and it wasn't unusual for me to find them down at 28 when I'd been lazy and not checked them for a while. Could this have exaggerated the wear on the inside due to camber I wonder? (please don't ask why I spent a few years thinking that 32psi was the correct pressure )

[Stupink]

Low pressure would increase wear on the edges (both) of the tyres yes.