I purchased a set of four Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires today (205/45/ZR17) and something about the alignment isn't making any sense. The tire in the picture is cupped towards the center, the left rear Camber @1.7 while the right rear is @1.9. What are the factory spec for rear Camber and Toe in? I'm told that the alignment on the two rear tires is in spec by non-dealer alignment shops, dealer wants too much for an alignment ($140). I do not want my brand new tires to end up cupped like the Pirelli RF. Is this what my Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires are going to look like in 5000 miles? I have 8k on the one pictured, I couldn't get any information from my dealer, they just kept moving around my direct questions. Appreciate any feedback!
Yeah that happens when the alignment shops say they are within "spec". I would find a better shop because if your car is set up right that should not happen. FYI rotate your tires every 5k mikes.
So you're saying it's not within spec? If not within spec what is correct spec? Finding a shop that knows how to alignment MCS's is the problem I have, I have no ideal where to go and I'm not getting ripped off by the dealer.
Here's the setup per the JCW Suspension Instructions. Just a screenshot of the PDF. If you want the whole PDF, PM me your email address. I hope this is helpful to you.
Oh man, I barely slept last night. :lol: I have been calling all the shops in my area and every single one of them is saying that the camber on both rear tires should be -1.75, isn't that excessive? The alignment computers don't even dip below -1.4.
There is a range & while the alignment may fall in that range it is not optimum. There is not a lot of camber adjustment in our cars. On my 2006 it was about 1/2 degree of adjustment available. Find a good alignment shop. Check with the local SCCA guys & ask who they use. You may have to go with a set of adjustable lower arms to get that camber where you want it. I'm happily using H-Sport arms.
Do your tires end up cupped like mine? I want my tires to last at least 80% of the tread, -1.75 camber seems extreme. What would the dealer set my camber at in the rear?
The camber I posted for the JCW Suspension of -1 degree and 52" equates to -1.866666 degrees with a tolerance of plus/minus 0.5 degrees. (Sorry I can't get all the symbols on this keyboard.) Acceptable rear camber is anything between -1.36666 and -2.366666 degrees.
I just found my old sheet of what my alignment was when I bought the car, it showed camber at -1.4 on both rear tires. I remember the tires didn't start to wear excessively until I had the camber changed to -1.7. Will my tires wear better if camber was at -1.4? How does that affect handling?
Camber settings are a balancing act to provide better grip AND wear according to driving style. Minimal camber driven aggressively will cause wear while a lot of camber driven like grandma will cause a lot of wear. More camber (unless carried to extremes) will improve grip and wear if you corner hard most of the time. Obviously, a lot of negative camber will cause more wear when driving straight.
No cupping and seem to get good wear..... I had Chad at Detroit Tuned do mine.... Very happy with the results...
I might go through some turns fast, but mostly I drive my MCS computing with the occasional mountain winding roads, but nothing near extreme. When I like to go fast it's usually in a straight line. I live and drive in SoCal, Orange County. So mostly straight aways with a few long sweeping turn but again nothing extreme, I drive conservatively. Spirited driving, perhaps I'm somewhere between grandma and extreme. I wouldn't say extreme, maybe moderate driver. This link was extremely helpful, looks like I need to adjust the Camber setting according to how I drive. That wasn't in my manual. I think -1.4 Camber is more appropriate for my driving style. This is where I had it in the beginning, looking back I remember there was more even tread wear at -1.4. Later having it set to -1.7 is when the tires started to wear even more uneven.