cjinthesky

MeisterR and upper control arm upgrades completed. It is indeed quite the improvement even for a conservative driver like me! 😁

Alignment at tire dealer done today.
Their printout shows front camber settings at -1.5 deg and -1.8 deg.
(All other measurements are in spec).
Cam bolts on lower control arms are frozen--they suggested I spray with PB Blaster.

I've learned this negative camber can improve handling in curves.

How much additional tire wear could I see with these settings?
Toe is close to zero. 0.06 0.08 deg.

st3rnly

You're going to get mixed opinions on this subject, but it really comes down to how you use the car the most. If you corner more on the aggressive side, the additional negative camber is a must. The biggest inner tire eater is toe. Obviously camber plays a part in it as well, but you would see your tires get chewed quicker with out of spec toe vs camber.

If you're primarily a highway cruiser or inner-city driver, the additional negative camber isn't going to be of any real benefit to you, and will wear your tires quicker than zero camber. I tried close to zero camber before getting my alignment and absolutely hated it. Understeer for days and the car behaved extremely sluggish when trail braking into corners.

cjinthesky

Thanks for the useful information! Understeer has been a handling gripe; certainly feels tighter in turns now.

Any input on adding cam bolt near bottom of coil over / top of steering knuckle, to complement the usual one on the lower control arm?

Seattle SCone

I have run camber values near yours and usually get my Pilot Sports to last about 20,000 before replacement. I do notice inner wear is > outer wear, but 20K isn't bad for sticky tires. The road grip with keeping new rubber on the car is worth it. That 20K miles translates to about 4 years use because they are on the vehicle only during warm 1/2 of year.

cjinthesky

Good info! Thanks!