Civic-EG.com Forum 3.3.1

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:26 pm #80846 As most of you guys have seen in my other posts, I have added a set of ls mesh rims on kuhmo ecsta ast 195-50r-15. My question is this, after lowering my car and adding the new rims and tires I had gotten a wheel alignment. Was that a waste of 50 bucks since I dont have a camber kit? I went through a set of front tires because they messed up my alignment and I only had the front tires for less than 2 months. After replacing those tires yesterday i took it to another place to get a wheel alignment and he told me i needed a camber kit and other stuff as well. Is this true? what all would i need in order to not wear my tires down. I dont do burnouts or junk so thats not why they wore out. thanks for the info to come..

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:29 pm #80848 My coupe's lowered and on 15's. I wouldn't bother with a camber kit unless you DUMP the thing. A little bit of camber doesn't hurt very much, and as other people who know 100% what they're talking about will tell you, it can actually help in some situations.

The alignment is good, it'll reduce your tire wear and prolong tire life, you're fine now how you are.

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:32 pm #80851 true. thanks

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:36 pm #80852 i know where your coming from i got fat fives on mines and went through a lot of tires in the front one even got so bad i t popped on me on the freeway so i got the camber kit but the car haven't been on the road since so i couldn't get it aligned and yea camber does help wen turning but i doubt we need it unless your auto x or something but the tires just wore out to fast and was hurting my pocket iono i got the camber kit for cheap so i just grabbed it

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:49 pm #80855 Give us the alignment specs

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:14 pm #80862 Camber is nowhere near as bad for tyres as toe is.

You can get away with I'd say probably up to 2 degrees of negative camber without running into major problems. However excessive camber does affect your toe settings...

Ideally you'd want the front set up with a little bit of toe out (only small) then when you apply the power the tyres should have virtually no toe. Basically when you apply power to the tyres they pull inwards and create toe in, not much, but it does have an effect.

A little bit of toe out will give you better turn in as well which is always a bonus.

Try and avoid toe in as much as possible.

Since you've picked up a camber kit, when you get it aligned try and get it setup for just under 1 degree negative. That should be great for street driving since it sounds like you don't auto-x or track the car

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:19 pm #80865 Shit I think camber kits are a must if you don't want to be wasting money on tires every few month. Camber kits also help with traction.

And also to me I just don't like how cars look when tires start butterflying. It just doesn't look good to me.

BoRIcuA y QUE!

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:45 pm #80877 I've got -1.5 degrees on the front and mine and they're wearing just fine having been on about 2 1/2 months so far and that includes a lot of motorway miles so I can go home every few weekends

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 6:07 pm #80882

I've got -1.5 degrees on the front and mine and they're wearing just fine having been on about 2 1/2 months so far and that includes a lot of motorway miles so I can go home every few weekends

Yeah in that case its alright. It aint that bad. By the looks on your sig your car aint that low. But there's sum ppl that like slamming they cars. That's when cambering bcomes a problem.

BoRIcuA y QUE!

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:47 pm #80908

I've got -1.5 degrees on the front and mine and they're wearing just fine having been on about 2 1/2 months so far and that includes a lot of motorway miles so I can go home every few weekends

This guy made a statement above that is totally correct. Camber doesnt wear tires, TOE does. As Many of you have seen, my daily hatch is SLAMMED in the front. Neither of my cars have camber kits in the front, and most likely never will. I tracked my other car with it lowered about 2.5 inches. I have always had -2* or more camber in the front at all times. I have since driven on all of my tires for 4 or more years, getting 30k+ out of them. All but the Azenis...that is. Just make sure your toe settings are to spec front and rear and if you want to, add some washers in the rear to adjust camber. Camber kits dont add traction. They adjust the tilt of the wheel. Not having one helps my traction.

1986 Nissan 300zx
1980 Kawasaki KZ650
2014 Kawasaki Ninja 300

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:04 pm #80913

This guy made a statement above that is totally correct. Camber doesnt wear tires, TOE does.

Both bad toe and camber ware out tires. Toes makes an uneven serface and camber wares the inside of your tire bcus the tires ride on the inside of the tire. If it has not happened to you than you're lucky.

Camber kits dont add traction. They adjust the tilt of the wheel. Not having one helps my traction.

Camber kits don't add traction? The more surface of the tire that you can put on the pavement the better the traction. Am pretty sure the outer side of your tires are not even touching the floor right. And yes its a good advantage to have sum negative camber on the track cus you gonna be taking hard turn so the tires are going to flex. But not for regular driving.

(Camber kits wouldn't be made if they didn't serve a purpose. And not just the perpose of tilting the tires in or out.)

BoRIcuA y QUE!

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:08 pm #80917 my whole tire touches the ground. My tires wear evenly as well. Most of the guys I race with dont have them either.

1986 Nissan 300zx
1980 Kawasaki KZ650
2014 Kawasaki Ninja 300

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:10 pm #80918

my whole tire touches the ground. My tires wear evenly as well. Most of the guys I race with dont have them either.

Yeah but also depends on how low your car is.
The lower you go the more negative camber.

BoRIcuA y QUE!

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:25 pm #80921 If you have 15s or smaller on I can't see a problem with running more extreme camber - you've got plenty of profile in the tyre to deform and keep most of it in contact with the ground. The problem arises more when you're running silly size wheels where the tyre is rock hard so it doesn't deform - that's when you'll seriously superheat the inside just driving along at 30mph let alone trying to go quickly.

I think camber only has a serious effect on wear if you're wearing very large wheels, or very thin rubber, in between this it shouldn't 'really' be an issue.

- Sat Nov 29, 2008 10:57 pm #80932 Gosh so much misinformation and different opinions.

I don't have a camber kit. My car is lowered and my tires wear evenly and touch the pavement entirely.

You can say anything else you want but you don't NEED a camber kit to prevent wear as long as your tires are properly inflated and at the right pressure.

I know many other people who don't run camber kits and their tires are just fine, so to those of you who have quickly wearing tires, you either need better tires or to check the other sources of wear.