The "Will it fit?" thread

[jchammond]

Camber play's a huge role on proper offset & fitment.
Camber is negative on front & rear of car from the factory (wheels lean inward) the rear has twice as much neg-camber as the front (from the factory)
Example F-0.8* R-1.6* (* is for degrees)
on a 26.5" diameter tire/the wheel will lean inward 7mm for every degree of negative camber....3.5for 0.5*,10.5mm for 1.5*etc....
easiest way i found to properly space,is to ensure your alignment is to your suit & then tape a small plumb weight to a string on fender's -directly over center of wheel & measure your gaps (rim lip or tire sidewall) Be sure to park on level surface w/no wind.

[Darwins Child]

Originally Posted by jchammond

Camber play's a huge role on proper offset & fitment.
Camber is negative on front & rear of car from the factory (wheels lean inward) the rear has twice as much neg-camber as the front (from the factory)
Example F-0.8* R-1.6* (* is for degrees)
on a 26.5" diameter tire/the wheel will lean inward 7mm for every degree of negative camber....3.5for 0.5*,10.5mm for 1.5*etc....
easiest way i found to properly space,is to ensure your alignment is to your suit & then tape a small plumb weight to a string on fender's -directly over center of wheel & measure your gaps (rim lip or tire sidewall) Be sure to park on level surface w/no wind.

What is the typical ultimate goal of "properly spacing" -- to bring the top-most point of the edge of the wheel/tire "even with" the top-most part of the wheel/fender well?

I just examined the passenger-side wheel/tires on our vehicle, with the front wheels pointed directly ahead. I placed a short carpenter's level against the edge of the top-most ("highest") portion of the fender-well, adjusted the level plumb and made a rough estimate of the space between the part of the tire that bulges out the most and the side of the level. Looks to be very roughly 1". If I were to install a rear wheel on the front, would that gap disappear, or would the tire go beyond that imaginary plumb line?

So I assume that this intentional camber is why the tires on the Z, especially the rears, tend to wear on the inside, correct? If this is the case, then I would imagine that tire rotation becomes even more important.

In the case of the OEM sport wheel/tire setup with directional fronts and rears, to do the only rotation allowed -- side to side -- all four tires will have to be removed from their rims and then the sides swapped so that tire rotation remains the same. How often (after how many miles) do owners actually go through this process? Each time that happens the owner runs the risk of the tire place damaging one or more rims, which is not a nice prospect, IMO.

At least if you've got tires that can rotate in either direction you can do the side to side rotation yourself without removing tires from wheels.

Since writing my first comment on this thread I was told that none of the local tire businesses will deal with vehicles that have spacers installed. So far I have called Costco to confirm that the owner whose vehicle has spacers literally has to take the wheels off the vehicle and bring them to the tire place to have tires installed on them and that if Costco does not actually install the wheel/tire combo onto the vehicle they will not honor any part of the tire warranty. Because this is the busiest time of the year for tire dealers in Edmonton, I have not been able to confirm this with other tire dealers.

Anyway, back to the four front scenario. Will a front wheel installed on the rear clear the caliper without a spacer? Does a front on the rear without a spacer look really weird or present any operational issue?

Thanks.