Getting an alignment in a few days - input appreciated
 

I know I may get flamed from another alignment thread but after seeing my rear tires disappear in front of my eyes in the last couple thousand miles I would appreciate any input from you guys.

I installed eibach springs and a rear camber kit (new front tires too) about 3000 miles ago and immediately got an alignment. I went back about 500 miles later to get another alignment after the springs settled. To me it looks like the springs have settled some more since then so I'm going in on Tuesday to get another alignment.

Thing is I need new rears now too. Yoko Advan Sports (295/35-18) lasted about 8k. I know I drive a sports car and I know my driving style has something to do with it but I drive 60 miles all highway everyday and I was surprised how quickly these tires died over the last couple thousand miles. They didn't look too bad when I put the springs on.

Last alignment:

-1.4 front camber
0.08 front toe-in

-1.8 rear camber
0.15 rear toe-in

All of the above was at the alignment guys recommendation. When I was in ordering new rear tires (Toyo T1-R, 295/35-18) I told him I wanted to take out some rear camber to about 1.4/1.5 and although he said ok he didn't seem to want to go against what the computer (Hunter) was telling him. I asked about toe settings and he wants to leave them right in the middle of spec. What do you guys think?

The front tires look great. Nothing concerning after the first 3k miles.

One last thing. The Yokos had a treadwear rating of 180 while the Toyos are 280 so hopefully that helps them last a little longer as well. Otherwise I'll be buying new tires 2-3 times a year.

Where is the wear on your rear tires, middle, inside, outside? Your alignment is within spec. Maybe since your last alignment, nuts came loose? I have -1.9 and .06 for the rears and have normal wear after 2k miles. Tires can last up to 20k. Your springs shouldn't take more than a few days to settle, the rubber parts may keep compressing for a week.

Wear is worse in the middle, least on the outside. Inside is halfway between the two.

???? If the wear is worse in the middle, than that seems like you are running too much air pressure. Have your alignment done again with a little less camber in the rear like you stated, and keep in eye on you air pressure. Maybe even run nitrogen instead of air, it might help keep your pressure and rear tire wear a little more consistent. Also going with the higher tread wear rated (harder) Toyo's like you stated should help with tire longevity.

Good luck

:iagree:

I always set them to 36 psi cold all around, maybe that's too much for the rear? I'll try a different gauge and see if the one I've been using is off. The only place around here that does nitrogen is costco, I'll swing by there when I get the new tires on and find out how much they're selling it for :D

Big thanks to you guys for the help :tup:

I run 35 cold in the rear and I had to get camber down to -1.1 to have even tire wear. Even at -1.1 in the rear, the inside of the tire would get hotter that the outside of the tire at the track.

Its the commute + rear toe that I think is killing your tires. 60 miles at highway speeds every day does a number on an aggressive setup like yours. I would set to 0 and ease up on the camber. Also...I would have more negative camber in the front that in the rear...

I'm trying to see if I'm getting a good deal or just bs: I was quoted $400-$600 for the install & $300 for the allignment from a local place. Does that sound about right or it just alil too much? I have a set of KW V3's coming at the end of the week and want the best deal.

An alignment should cost 100 - 150. If you're getting corner balance, then 300.

That seems a bit much...
Our coilover installs start at $200 :gtfo2:and $100-$150 for a four wheel laser alignment. We also can corner balancing for an additional $250

I agree, zero out the toe will help the wear rate. Back the rear camber down to 1.4 given the number of commuting miles you do.

What other places or shops do you guys think I should go to to get my KWs V3s installed, im trying to get a good deal but $700-$900 on a suspension install + allignment kinda makes me sick to think about, lol I feel like im getting ripped off in a way.

going to agree with a couple posters... neutral toe, less aggressive camber... maybe -0.8 / -0.2 front/rear... plus or minus a couple tenths you won't know the diff... you'll feel a bigger difference on toe - even an eighth... typical alignment shop is going to want to go with factory spec... give neutral toe a try and see what you think... might "dart" around too much for you, if so have them dial in front an eighth

having such a big treadware rating difference front and rear is going to be noticeable... depending on how aggressive you drive, be prepared for oversteer if/when you drive at the limit

I'd tell you, help you and hook you up with a great price, but you might go tell the other alignment shops I'm doing it and I'll get in trouble for it. Thanks, enjoy the KW's.

I got new rear tires installed today along with a 4 wheel alignment. I use this shop because they've been very good at meeting my needs in the past and they treat me well. They also know my name and call me by it when I walk in the door which doesn't happen too much anymore (cue theme to "cheers"). But they mostly work on pickup trucks (Utah has a lot of trucks/SUVs), family sedans and minivans. The shop guys have some cool rides, and seem to appreciate mine and treat it well, but it's definitely not a speed shop. So what I'm getting at is that the alignment guy (who was way busy today but asked me to come back right before close and ended up staying a little late to get my car done) pretty much went back to insisting that we keep toe and camber "in spec" even though a couple days ago we talked about backing out some of the camber and making a change to the toe. He made it clear again today he doesn't want to go against what the computer is telling him. He even said that he couldn't dial back the camber because toe is "maxed out" which is rediculous because I installed the toe bolts along with the camber arms and there should be PLENTY of toe adjustibility. I have a good rapport with this shop (for expample the tires I got today were already "on sale" and they still dropped them another $30 for me) and I don't want to damage that rapport so I asked the alignment guy to just do what he was comfortable with. Here's what I got:

Before
-1.4 front camber
-0.16 front toe out (the springs definitely settled some more in the last 2.5k miles since the last alignment, throwing the toe out. the springs now have a total of 3k mi. on them so hopefully they're done settling)
-1.8 rear camber
0.21 rear toe in

After
-1.4 front camber (no change)
.08 front toe in
-1.7 rear camber (so much for taking out some rear camber)
0.16 rear toe in

Bottom line on this story is I need to find a speed shop to get my next alightment done if I want anything different than factory spec, which is cool. I just like these guys and giving them my business when I can. I'll keep buying tires here but will go elsewhere for alignments. He only charged me for a 2 wheel alignment, $54, even though he did all four. Again, they're good to me. I'd like to try out some of suggestions with camber and toe above. Just need to find the right shop around here to do it.

I'm actually back to a matched set as of today. Been running the Toyo's up front for 3k miles and now have the same tire on the rear. A couple final notes:

• The alignment feels great on the road. Tracks straight, corners great
• The new rear tires (Toyo T1-R in 295/35-18) are soooo much quieter than the bald yoko's they replaced, though that's normal for bald tires to be so loud
• I'll keep an eye on these tires and will get the next alignment done sooner or later depending on what I see
• I'm going to lower the pressure in the rear by a couple of pounds and replace the air in the tires with nitrogen as suggested above.

Thanks again for the help guys. +1Rep to you all

I wouldn't sweat the nitrogen, but go along with everything else.

I get my alignment done at a speed shop that does regular repair work as well, they don't charge me any more for a custom alignment than they do for a traditional one. Doesn't bat an eye if you ask for -3.5 degrees of camber.

BTW, I don't know where your guy's computer is getting it's specs from, but the factory specs for the rear are as follows. Any request for a setting within that range should be considered fairly normal. Sounds like he just dialed it to the nominal setting, which is what most repair shops are trained to do.

Camber:
Minimum -2.16
Nominal -1.67
Maximum -1.17

Total toe-in:
Minimum 0.09
Nominal 0.15
Maximum 0.21

damn wish you guys were at least in texas