no camber kit = no fun

[burton08]

I made a huge mistake. That mistake was lowering my car with H&R springs and not buying a camber kit. I just kind of got lazy and kept telling myself, "well i will buy the camber kit next week - next week ect."
Six months later (Today November 1st) my tires are so worn out that they are like slicks, and the belt on the inside of the tire is showing.
I was driving home, on the Taconic State Parkway in upstate New York. I had just left my girl's dad's house and my girl was in the car with me.
All of a sudden my tire blew out. I pulled over and looked at which tire blew, and it was the rear drivers side. The tire was bellowing out smoke and it stunk like burning rubber. This is the first time in my life that i have had a tire blow out on me while driving on the highway. It was not a fun experience.

Although my tire blew out, i am not mad or pissed off. The reason is because i was stupid and never bought a camber kit, therefor, i can not blame anybody except myself for this happening. I knew my tires were in bad shape and i was actually going to the shop tomorrow (monday) to mount my new tires. I already have the tires, i have had them for a while, but i haven't gotten around to mounting them yet.

I was able to change my tire (i actually really like the way the spare tire looks!), and i got home safely.

So the moral of this story is - If you lowered your car, especially with H&R or other really low springs - GET A CAMBER KIT!!! DO NOT WAIT!!!

I was stupid and did not do this and now i am paying the consequences.

[GiGGaplease]

you should have gotten an alignment after you lowered the car. the camber isnt what cause the tire wear...its the toe. mines was out of wack when i got it align.

[Stoof@180Custom]

ive been lowered for at 4 diff heights for over a year and never got an alignment or installed my camber kit. And none of my tires have worn out unevenly

[GiGGaplease]

you probably drove like a grandma then. the metal is showing on the rears so i had to change them out. nitto suck monkey balls.

[HamstersG]

Then you should buy some lottery tickets.

Originally Posted by Stoof@180Custom

ive been lowered for at 4 diff heights for over a year and never got an alignment or installed my camber kit. And none of my tires have worn out unevenly

[GiGGaplease]

yeah brah...going lower than oem specs will make the toe specs go crazy. i think mines was like at .70 rear but they made it go back to like .08 or a number similar.

[Mike]

Toe is what destroys the tires, not camber. Like Gigga said, toe is altered when height is altered.

You need to get an alignment after doing any suspension modifications.

Side note: I like Nittos

[burton08]

What exactly should be done after lowering your car. I was under the impression that all you need is a camber kit. I am actually going to put my stock springs back in for now. Winter is coming and i dont want to be this low in New York during the winter.

So do i need to get an alignment when i go back to stock?

Next spring i plan on putting my springs back in or buying coilovers. Do i need a camber kit if i get coilovers?

Mike - I thought that because of negative camber, my tires wore unevenly. If you look at my tires, the inside is worn the most and the outside is worn the least. It just made sense to me that because the tires were slanted inwards, there was more pressure on the inside, explaining the ware pattern on my tires.

I can honestly say i have never heard the expression "Toe" - having to do with tires. What is it?

I did a search and the results only confused me. Can i adjust the Toe instead of getting a camber kit?

Thanks for any help

[SOLISIMO]

So let me get this straight, your gonna pay 200 bucks to pay someone to change out springs when you can get an Ichiba camber kit for like 125 shipped, um yeah

[Mike]

Originally Posted by burton08

What exactly should be done after lowering your car. I was under the impression that all you need is a camber kit. I am actually going to put my stock springs back in for now. Winter is coming and i dont want to be this low in New York during the winter.

So do i need to get an alignment when i go back to stock?

Next spring i plan on putting my springs back in or buying coilovers. Do i need a camber kit if i get coilovers?

Mike - I thought that because of negative camber, my tires wore unevenly. If you look at my tires, the inside is worn the most and the outside is worn the least. It just made sense to me that because the tires were slanted inwards, there was more pressure on the inside, explaining the ware pattern on my tires.

I can honestly say i have never heard the expression "Toe" - having to do with tires. What is it?

I did a search and the results only confused me. Can i adjust the Toe instead of getting a camber kit?

Thanks for any help

Anytime there is a change in your suspension geometry, you need to get an alignment. (there are some exceptions to this, but that is with certain coilovers, where height can be independently adjusted)

The G does have some rear "toe in" from the factory. Toe-in gives your car high speed stability. Having no toe will result in a pretty twitchy car on the freeway.

Next time you lower your car, get an alighment, and maintain the factory toe setting, or lower it slightly.



As you can see, the combination of toe and caster makes your tire not only "roll", but also shift sideways slightly as your car is rolling. This is what causes the wear. Camber wear does happen, but unless you're running some excessive amount (higher than -2 and doing litterally granny speed turns) you won't get camber wear. I don't have any problems with camber wear, but I do also drive more aggressive than most, so I wear the outer edges too

[SteveG37]

I had my car dropped on Tein S-Techs last week and ordered both front and rear camber kits the other day, because I know how I am, if I wait I'll never end up doing it, LOL!!