how to fix camber?

[slvr92lude]

my rear wheels have 95% tread on the outside and like 75% on the inside. I have 17" rims on my car its not lowered but it does have billstein struts all around, which came on the car when i bought it. For whatever reason whoever i take the car to, to have it aligned they can't align it even the stealership said they can't do it they told me i should get a camber kit so they would be able do it but when i buy the camber kit and take it back to them they said they still can't do it. can anyone give me answers to this problem so i can hopefully fix my camber.

[Rory]

They should be able to align it. But to tell ya the truth. If you lower your car in any way... your car will wear the inside faster then the outside. Having a negetive camber makes you handle better .... maybe your shocks did it. But you lose some of your launch in a street line.. All the cars we race have a negetive camber cause of the suspension upgrades. A camber kit can fix it. But it will still wear the inside alittle more. Even More so on a FWD car. RWD dont have it nearly as bad. But that should not stop them from align your car.

[slvr92lude]

i should of mentioned this earlier, the problem is in my rears, the fronts have no problem. i put a camber kit on the rear and it looks like its at the same degree as it was before i had the kit installed. i also want to know can rims affect the camber angle.

[Rory]

hehe.. the rear is always going to camber more then the front on a FWD. But yea... the rear can be cambered in alittle.

I got a question.. are your rears wearing faster then the front. Even with a camber of negetive.. they should not nearly as bad wear faster then the front.

[slvr92lude]

yes, the rears are wearing much faster i changed all four tires at the same time, before i put in the camber kit, the rears wore out before the front, the outside of the tire must of had 85% of tread left but the inner part had the inside steel showing one of them even popped while i was driving, i changed the rears and now they are showing signs of the same problem where only the inner is wearing while the outer portion of the rears look brand new, the fronts look almost brand new.

[Rory]

yes, the rears are wearing much faster i changed all four tires at the same time, before i put in the camber kit, the rears wore out before the front, the outside of the tire must of had 85% of tread left but the inner part had the inside steel showing one of them even popped while i was driving, i changed the rears and now they are showing signs of the same problem where only the inner is wearing while the outer portion of the rears look brand new, the fronts look almost brand new.

Well... Then i have to say.. something is defenitly wrong. It may not be just your camber. Even a bad camber in the back dont wear that fast. Did it start rgiht after you put on the shocks? Are your rear wheels hopping alittle? That Camber has to be hella off to do that much damage to the tires.. even with a really bad negetive camber i never heard of it wearing that fast. You might have a problem with the shocks. I dont know..

Is your camber correction kit adjustable?

[slvr92lude]

i never changed the shocks, the billsteins that i have on there came with the car when i purchased it. what else can i do to narrow down whether or not the shocks are the problem. i would rather find the exact problemo before i start pouring out money to replace everything

[Rory]

Usually when a rear tire wears in the inside that fast... the wheels are hopping alittle.. Its usually a had shock.

Next time you try to get it align... they should be able to tell you if the shocks are well.... shot.

[MidnightRayne]

you should be able to tell if your shocks are shot if the tire is feathered ( kind of warn un evenly, kind of looks spotty.) I have not had to deal with camber issues for the prelude yet but i bet they cant be to different from the accord, which you can shim out with washers to get the rear camber correct.

[hotrod]

bilstein shocks are among the best out there... so do you know how long they've been on the car? i say this because i don't think it's the shocks.

so stupid question, but you got a camber kit on there. did they adjust it? or did they just slap it on and called it a day?

finally, check your toe. wear like what you're seeing... typically toe.

[Rory]

You are right.. it is usually toe... But a alignment will fix that.

If the dealership wont align it.. try somewhere else.

[slvr92lude]

The tire isn't feathered, and i dont think it is the shocks becuase the person who owned it before me, installed them a month before i purchased it.

the dealership wouldn't install the camber kit cause its aftermarket and they refuse to deal with anything thats not USDM O.E. ...........so i had it installed at the local tuner shop. they couldnt align it for me there becuase they dont have the tools need to do a proper alignment. i brought it to the dealership before the kit so they didn't charge me again to do it after the kit was on, they just said they can't do it, they tried but it just wont go into alignment and that i should go to a body shop so they can measure the geometry of the parts on my car to make sure the parts are where they are supposed to be. I looked at them a little awkward then left cuz i never heard something like that before and my car has never been in an accident.


I brought it to jack williams and claimed my tires were to big to align it properly becuase the specs they go by for aligning it is the factory specs and the wheels for factory spec as you know are 15" not 17" which i have on there now. i was contemplating buying the factory SI or SE rims but i can't locate a pair but thats beside the point.

How do i check my toe?

[Rory]

Dawm.. i never heard **** like that before... It just looks like nobody wants to do your alignment... I have 17's and i use to have 18's... I never had a problem getting my car aligned.

[MidnightRayne]

that sure sucks!!! i take mine to the dealership and they did mine 17's and all even shimmed the back end for me so it would wear evenly.

[hotrod]

i can understand the dealership not wanting to touch it because it's not oem. but any reputable wheel/tire/suspension shop should have the computer and tools to do a 4 wheel alignment for you. i think it's just what rory said... no one wants to do it, or they just don't know how.

the easiest way to check your toe is to look at your tire wear. but where you're at, there's not much left to be seen on the tire. so for you, right now, your best bet is to have a shop that can do the alignment do a read out for you first. that'll tell you what's not right.

[slvr92lude]

i'm going to do that next and hopefully they will tell me what the problem is, now i have another question how do you shim the rear end with washers.

[VtecFreePrelude]

usually inside tire wear because of camber is very little if it harms it at all
my camber is just slightly more negative than stock and it wears the tires evenly
it's possible that your toe is off a little bit
also take it to a alignment specialty shop they'll do the best on it
i had mine done at a local place here in cincy and it is great
as for the shimming i need that done but it usually only messes with the caster
you might also wanna check the other components of the car. ball joints bushings stuff like that. see if any are done cause that could cause it too just enough to where you don't notice it but the tires do
it happened to my old jag and really ****ed with me till i found it. replaced 3 bushings and perfecto! no more 2 sets of tires a year

[hojemwod]

well i was looking through the threads and i know its kind of old but.....maybe the camber kit you got is one of those that goes from -1.25 to -3 and doesnt even go into the + range. some are like that.