Is there a procedure for altering the camber on the front wheels? I use the term "camber" as that's what I think it is. My problem is that both front tyres are showing excessive wear on the outer edges/ corners, with the rest of the tyre being perfect.


All four tyres were replaced at the same time and the rears are showing no signs of any such uneven wear.


The wear is like what you'd expect if the wheels were leaning outwards slightly at the top. Tracking has been done and is fine, FWIW. Any thoughts?


Thanks in advance.

 

Incorrect toe in/out can cause the wear also, and is adjustable. Camber is not, and it's unlikely both sides could be damaged.

Ride height (spring length) changes the camber, but the normal effect is for the springs to weaken with age, reducing ride height and creating more negative camber.

 

I agree with RJ.

Are you sure your tracking is fine? I would say if it has been set up by a common or garden tyre fitting place then it's just as likely to be way out as it is to be right.

Poor knowledge and very basic equipment is a problem in many tyre fitting places.

Tolerances for full alignment are very fine. I now only ever go to a place that has high end equipment and well trained staff. It's not easy to find and it's not cheap (it costs me £70 for basic checking and extra if anything more than toe needs adjusting) but it's worth every penny in my opinion. The difference in handling of my Volvo after a full alignment was night and day.

 

I agree! Tracking is suspect if a "good" front alignment still results in tire wear. The guys at the tire stoor ain't necessarily very good at alignment. I would spring for a 4 wheel alignment job at a specialty alignment / shake shop.

 

I had similar tyre wear issues.

When I renewed all four tyres last spring, I then took it to have a professional 4-Wheel alignment done.... It transformed the car, straight line stability at speed was much improved and cornering was like driving a different car. Money well spent.

I had mine done here: Four wheel alignment / 4 wheel alignment specialist based in Norwich, Norfolk

They gave me a print out of before and after readings. All wheels were misaligned.

 

Thanks for that. I'll be having the front tyres replaced next week and will get the wheels "professionally" aligned all round.

 

Am I missing something. My front tires wear on the inside and need to be flipped on the rims after a while to even out the wear.

 

You might be. Either a large negative camber or toe adjustment or a combination will cause wear on the inside.

 

Yeah, intuitively, you think it must be camber that causes edge wear, but excess toe "scrubs" the edge off. If it is severe, fixing it will probably be noticeable on your gas mileage too.

 

EZ, If you can't get it mended on your side of the 'Plex....Trevor at Wise Alignment just outside Decatur, on FM 730 (on the way to Motorcarman's, from my perspective) will fix you up.

 

I just had both the front alignment checked when I replaced the tie rod ends. It was dead on at that time. Both the front, according to specs are aligned with the top of the tire more inboard. And this is with two alignment shops with top equipment. And this is true with both Jaguars. I have been told by tire shops and two alignment men that this is normal for over the pond cars. I think we have some miss communication.

 

The specs for the front have some negative camber.

That much is true. How much is the determining
factor.

"some" negative camber won't impact inside edge
wear much. say, up to -1.5* by itself.

But, negative camber combined with toe-out under
running conditions will aggravate the scrubbing effect
of any toe-out.

static toe-in can turn into dynamic toe-out given enough
slop in the system. that's why Brutal has always mentioned
spreading the front edges of the tires when measuring toe.

 

Yep, the camber spec is negative 1.03 degree +/- 1 degree.

 

I don't have toe out. Let's leave it at that.