ccrisson

I installed Shelby wheels. 20x9 255/35 on front, 20x10 275/35 on rear. The first set on front tires wore the inside edge bald in less than 9000 miles. I replaced the front tires, front struts, rear shocks, and realigned. Less than 10,000 miles later the inside edge of the front tires are once again worn bald.
I have received suggestions of adding positive camber and a panhard rod to fix this. Has anyone else had issues like this?

Thanks,

Unleashedbeast

When you had your front end aligned, what were your negative camber settings?

Is your car lowered? If yes, what springs were used? How much drop?

Even if your rear end was slightly off to one side, it would not affect the tire wear you are experiencing.

matt8998nm

I also have the same tire set up and i was noticing the insides were wearing much quicker on the front. My car is completley stock I am also very intrested in a solution.

Sleeper_08

What are your toe and left and right side camber settings?

ccrisson

The car is not lowered. Stock suspension other than new shocks and struts.(Monroe Sensatrac). I do not have the alignment numbers available. I will contact the shop and see if they have records.
Since it is staggered fitment, the rear tire diameter is about 1/2 inch taller than the front,
I would assume some changes in the the alignment specs should be made.

ccrisson

I don't have the numbers with me but I will check with the shop.
Thanks,

Norm Peterson

Half an inch bigger rear diameter is only a quarter of an inch at the axles, which translates to about an eighth of a degree of caster loss. Which isn't nearly enough change to worry about, given that the caster spec is +7.1°, ± 3/4°.

I'm more concerned with the Sensatraks - unless Monroe has changed their design (doubtful), they will permit more initial body movement, meaning that the front tires will be scrubbing back and forth sideways slightly more than with struts that start out with full damping available. While they're clearly better than anybody's old, tired struts/shocks, they probably aren't helping as much here as they should. This is probably a bigger issue with cars that have a significantly negative camber setting than with those closer to zero - the scrubbing gets a bit more concentrated around the inside shoulders because more downward body movement up front drives camber more negative than the setting that the shop put it at.

If you have a level place to park the car, or can shim under the low side tires enough to get the car level, you can make your own camber measurements with really simple (and very inexpensive) equipment.


You don't want camber to actually be positive, otherwise you'll most likely end up eating the outside shoulders instead. Maybe just a little less negative. Say -0.5° if you really are just cruising around.

But before getting involved with chasing camber settings to suit your driving, make sure that your toe setting is good. Bad toe is generally lots worse than camber that's only a little off.


Norm

ccrisson

What brand/model of strut and shock would you recommend?

Thanks,

Norm Peterson

Cost not a big factor - Koni yellows (I have these, and I'm still on the OE springs).

Cost some factor - Koni STR.T

D-specs probably fall in between, where you want adjustability but can't quite justify Koni yellow $. Bilsteins if you don't care about adjustability.

OE Ford or FRPP, if you can live with the rear harshness

Most everything else that's commonly available.

To be truthful, I wasn't looking at anything but the adjustable Konis and Tokicos when I was shopping for these things. So far, so good, and you can clearly feel the difference that 1/4 turn on the yellows makes.


Norm

Sleeper_08

+1 for the adjustable Koni Yellows if you can afford them and want adjustability. I had Tokico D-specs before the Koni's (cost and availability reasons) but am much happier with the Koni's both on and off the track.