crazyhorse

If this is posted in the wrong place, please move or delete.

I searched , but did not find information.

I have a 93 GT Mustang in excellent condition, never wrecked , original red paint.

I purchased new tires for it about 8 years ago, had front end aligned, drove it about 7,000 miles , had it aligned again at the same place, they have 1st class front end alignment equipment.

I now have approx. 15,000 miles on the tires now and the inside of the front tires are wearing .
Took it back to the same place, they said to align it perfect I would need to put caster camber plates on the front end.
Is this true?
My front end is in excellent condition, good and tight, I keep everything greased, so why can't they align it in the stock condition?

Which would be the better/best caster camber plates to put on & where is a good place to purchase them?
I am not interested in lowering it , just want the front end aligned to drive good and wear the tires good and smooth.

Thank you for any help/information/advice/tips you can give me.

Boss_Hotrod

If nothing is wrong with the suspension they should be able to align it. The main question here though is what is the camber set at and what is the toe set at. Both camber and toe will wear tires. Caster will not. If the camber is good (-1 degree or so) then caster camber plates will not fix the issue. If the toe is toed out too much you'll wear the inner edges of the tires since the car is pushing them down the road sideways instead of straight. Toe on a rear drive car should be toed in a little since the car will push them outward as the car starts moving. A front wheel drive should be toed out ever so slightly so the axle wrap will straighten them out.

One way to check yourself for excessive toe out is the run your hand across the tire. if the tread blocks are not flat with each other you have a toe problem. If they are flat but the inner edge is worn and the wear is pretty even you have a camber issue.

mongolchuck

How worn are we talking? What type of tires? A soft tread compound will wear a lot more in 15000 miles than your typical all season 80000 mile tire. A lot affects tires wearn although the alignment is a big part. Your car is probably within specs but to give you better tire wear the tech wants to add camber. I have camber caster plates on my fox and I set a little more negative camber than dead center spec but still within range. This will wear the tires a little more but gives better handling.

09GT/CS

That doesn't seem that unrealistic. Fords are moody on alignment specs I had camber caster bolts in my ranger and f150. Ford gives a lenient range on the settings most cars never have an issue but once in a blue moon you get one the just won't spec out.ive aligned a few like that. Most fords have no camber/ caster adjustment in stock form. They aren't a bad investment for future mods. I'm dealing with my brothers alignment meant now. His 08 f150 has pos camber on the driver side only I can't get it to spec out for anything so I'm looking into his for adjustment options. Also my 09 is in spec but it wears a bit faster than normal certain tire combos as said above just naturally wear faster. Bottom line I wouldn't be to worried if the tech says you need them especially on an older car

crazyhorse

I appreciate ALL of your replies. Thank you.

I will try to answer ALL questions as best I can, NOT good with computer, please keep that in mind. I am not capable of posting pictures of the print out.

I have the computer print out from the alignment shop and will try to post any information, so please ask if I miss something.

The CAMBER on left front reads -1.4*, right front reads -1.1*
The CASTER on lf reads 2.4* rf reads 2.0*
The TOE on lf reads -0.16* rf reads -0.17*
The FRONT TOTAL TOE reads -0.33*

Some history on my 93 Mustang GT which I have always liked and will probably keep it as long as I live.
The Mustang (which I named Crazyhorse) is in excellent condition , I purchased it in 1994 from the adult lady that purchased it new at the local Ford dealer. It had 1300 + miles when I purchased it. NO ONE drives it but me. It has original red paint. Never been in any kind of accident. The best I can remember, this is the 3rd set of new tires .
It has 102,407 miles on the original motor , still runs like new.
Always garaged and not driven on snow or ice and not much in the rain.
The suspension is all original stock .
Years ago I put full length sub frame connectors, upper & lower control arms.

The tires are BF Goodrich 255/50/16
I keep the tires rotated each time I change the oil and grease it..
The tires are wore SMOOTH ON THE INSIDE and the other tires before these wore out good and SMOOTH ALL OVER like they should.

it has always wore the tires good and smooth like it is should until.
I purchased these new tires for it about 8 years ago and had front end aligned, drove it about 7,000 miles , I could tell it was wearing the tires out on the inside, had it aligned again at the same place, they have 1st class front end alignment equipment.
I had it aligned when I bought these tires new at the same shop that I took it to that told me they could not align it any better unless I put the cc plates on it.

I hope this is not too long, but since ya'll are helping me out I want to give all the information that you need.
If you need more information just ask.
Thank you again for you help/advice/information.

mongolchuck

You're toed too far out. I know foxes changed specs once in a while but zero to slight toe in is best for these cars. Camber is a little on the negative side for a street car but not bad at all. I'd say fix your toe first.

mongolchuck

Well I actually found the specs and they do specify toe out that year but I'd still go close to zero for less wear. I thought they specified a little more negative camber too so i stand corrected on my previous comment. Your camber is pretty negative for a daily driver set up and is probably ca using most of the wear. But it's not as simple as adding camber/caster plates. Worn out springs and bushings cause alignment problems as well.
Anyway here's the specs. They're the same for both sides.
Camber: +.2 to -1.4 with -.6 dead center spec.
Caster: 1.2 to 2.7 with 1.9 dead center.
Toe: -.25 to 0 with -.5 to 0 total toe.
These are just factory specifications which tend to lean more towards even tire and component wear than performance or handling. Although having the toe out is supposed to help compensate for the other conservative angles in cornering ability.

v8miata

In my experience, finding a GOOD alignment shop has been impossible. If you are paying under $100 for an alignment, they are just doing toe checks, ignoring camber and caster.

I started doing my own alignments, bought a DIY alignment setup... under $200. Even has a digital meter for camber... you go through a zero'ing out procedure to account for a "not perfectly level" garage before measuring your camber. I took car to an alignment shop to get their readings and it was surprisingly accurate to the digital gauge. I was extremely skeptical about it, but was surprised.

Anyway, if the numbers are correct and you are still wearing unevenly... you might have some worn suspension/steering parts.

Lift each tire off of the ground (by the frame, not the lower suspension arm) and give the tire a wiggle top/bottom and front/back. if you have play in either direction, you have some worn suspension/steering bits (ball joints, etc).

I just had to tighten up my Subaru wheel hub nut on both front tires today after 10 years both had vibrated a bit loose.


*EDIT*
This is what I bought, I recall getting it under $200, so must've been on sale... anyway, I have been happy, I align all 4 of our vehicles every year with it now.
http://www.quicktrickalignment.com/s...hout-the-case/

Boss_Hotrod

You problem is the large toe out numbers.

Caster DOES NOT wear tires. All that caster is is the relation between the upper and lower ball joint, or as the case in a fox the upper strut mount. Since that's only the tilt forward/aft of the tire if viewed from the side you can see how it wouldn't cause wear.

Your toe is your whole problem. With the tires pushed that far out you can think of your front tires as looking like this \--/ while driving. There fore you are pushing them down the road dragging the inner edge causing the wear you describe.

crazyhorse

Thank each one of you for taking your time to help me.
I appreciate it.

I have not had the time to spend with my 93 Mustang GT.
My 07 Mustang GT alternator quit and my 72 Ranger XLT pickup alternator and MSD 6AL ignition box quit and I have been busy and have little to no time to work on them.
I have the 07 and the 72 fixed now and hope to address the front end alignment on the 93 later this summer (I hope).

Thanks again and I hope everyone will have a safe and happy summer.