Negative Camber issue

[S14 Drgn]

Hey all....I got a camber problem. My right rear wheel is stuck on negative camber! I think somehow it was damaged. I don't have the measurements on my right now but its off by a pretty decent amount. I took it to three different shops for alignment fixing and none of them could fix it.

A friend of mine told me (and you know how that goes) that it could be fixed with camber plates and/or a camber kit. I don't really feel like doing a trial and error thing right now (especially in the winter). My idea was to give just little more negative camber to left rear wheel so that it is just enough to balance the alignment out and smooth out the ride. I know this may cause more tire wear, but I think I'd feel safer driving on highways and and higher speeds.

The thing is, right now at higher speeds (above 55-60 mph) and when I go over small bumps on the road, I feel the car giving slight tugs from the misaligned right rear wheel. It feels reallly unsafe. I've even skid a couple of times.

I guess the questions I have are are:

1) what do think about my idea of realigning the left rear wheel with more negative camber to balance it out?
2) If I do this, will it be safe and will it have any other maintenance effects besides more tire wear?
3) Will it help/increase or lessen the handling performance of the car?

A lil about me and my ride....
I have a 95 se (S14) for about a year and half now. It's basically my commuter car. I have't done any real modifications to the car except HS headers and Injen CAI. The suspension and wheels are all stock. I haven't posted anything in a looong time, but I've been following the forums for almost a year now(on and off). But n e way, I'd appreciate any and all feedback....Thanks!

[Dousan_PG]

why dont you get NEW suspension parts for the rear..obviously it sounds like you have a bent arm somewhere. why not replace them and blammmo! fixed! dont mickey mouse around the suspension, its your life you are playing with if you do! get it fixed w/o using aftermarket support. fix it with OEM or OEM replacement is the SAFEST and best way to get around this.

and most importantly!

NEGATIVE CAMBER DOES NOT GIVE BAD TIRE WEAR!
ask adey, driftingpanda or itsybitsy
i drive w/ a -3.5 to -4 up front and -1.5 in the rear and after 3 months, 3 track events (3 drift ones specifically) daily driving and trips to nor cal (central valley and bay area) so cali (san diego) and around town, my tires are PEREFECT with no unusual tire wear. this is within about 3-5K miles

bad TOE gives bad wear. neg camber DOES NOT. if it does, you got something wrong with the rest of your suspension!!

[S14 Drgn]

Nice thanks! I thin you're right about the bent arm. How much do you think this part wil cost?

NEway, you mentioned your camber setup, and I noticed you have more negative camber up from then your rear? Why is this? Do you have stock size rims or bigger? what will happen if you have more negative camber in front than the back and vice versa? Sorry for all the q's but you got me interested in your set-up. I really make my handeling crisp and smooth as possible. That's where I enjoy my ride!! Thanks, again!

[Dousan_PG]

2 reasons. i go to alot of drift/track events. good grip up front. i dotn change it for the street for one reason: Im lazy. my car is too low to jack up (i use crossmember and diff as jacking points) so i need to roll the car up on boards so its easier just o leave it in my lazy lifestlye

bent arms? i'd say take of your wheel and measure your rear upper arms since it is a camber issue. also check the lower arm (a arm?). i dont have pics unfortunately...

no worries about the qs, ask away. i hoe you can get this problemo fixed!

neg camber is good for handling by the way..i wouldnt go more then -1 all around for a street set up. but 0 is the safest as far as strictly daily driving. that's what the alignment shops will try and set it for u at.

mines mostly for drifting (learning still-just started learning). gives good grip and i've never had a problem w/ my set up on the track. then again, i also need to buy a new pair of tires every event so it just depends what you do and your goals.

i'd say fix yoru camber issues to get it back to 0 before you start modifying stuff suspension wise. better to fix the gremlins in the system before giving them food to eat....haha..soemthing like that...

[tnord]

negative camber DOES increase tire wear on the inner part of the tire, period. just because you're sliding around like a jack-ass wearing out the rest of your tires at an equally rediculous rate doesn't mean that negative camber doesn't effect tire wear, because it does.

something i don't think anybody has talked about is braking. a lot of negative camber significantly reduces the contact patch when driving in a straight line, elongating braking distances; hardly something you want for street driving.

[Dousan_PG]

Originally posted by tnord
negative camber DOES increase tire wear on the inner part of the tire, period. just because you're sliding around like a jack-ass wearing out the rest of your tires at an equally rediculous rate doesn't mean that negative camber doesn't effect tire wear, because it does.

something i don't think anybody has talked about is braking. a lot of negative camber significantly reduces the contact patch when driving in a straight line, elongating braking distances; hardly something you want for street driving.

i'll have my wheels off tomorrow or later this week. i'll prove it to you on my waer issues. the only wear is parts of the sidewall from sliding.

and dont call me sliding around like a jackass. i do it on the track you prick. so please keep your mouth shut because obviously you've never done it/do it well.

YES it does reduce braking contact patch. that is not a question about that.

im not here to bicker. just dont insult people when you dont know anything about it----> not trying to start a flame war.

[tnord]

is that not what i said? i said that you weren't experiencing the tire wear that 90% of other people do because of your habits.

the people that don't partake in such shinanigans with such rediculous amounts or less camber WILL experience uneven tire wear, so don't try and tell them they won't.

[Dousan_PG]

not 100% true. i've worked on and with alex chang's car and he runs quite a big of neg camber and i've looked at his tires and there was NO excessive wear at all. he does do track evnts, but no drifting. just straight up track and tons of daily driving (he goes to the track not so often). his tires were fine. many of my friends who dont do stuff have some neg camber and no excessive wear.

now my friend with bad alignment went out and he had bad ear on the tires=bad alignment.

i've had mine even on my old tires and wheels with NO TRACK and NO DRIFT for 4 months at -1 fronts -1.5 rears and HAD NO EXCESSIVE wear. this was on: dunlop cheapies and generic tires. AND on Falken Azenis 215/45/16 and dunlop FM901 w/ 215/45/16. i sold those wheels and tires (2 different full sets) and all the tires were fine. no excessive wear.

this is my personal expiricne. i buy rear tires a lot from the events, but i've used the same front RE730s for 3 events daily driving and about 3 months time. the tires are A-ok, no excessive wear at all. believe it or not, its up to you. but you wotn see me buying new tires anytime soon. probably not till another 3-5 events. i daily drive a good 40 miles a day or so. also go to so and northern claifornia at least 1 time a month

[Toso]

I think you guys are just missunderstanding each other. With more negative camber there will be uneven tire wear. You just arent making as much contact on the outside so it will not wear at the same rate as the inside. But on the other hand, running negative camber is not going to increase the wear very much on the inside of the tires.

And there is no reason to talk **** on each others driving preferences. Its just not that important.

[S14 Drgn]

I'm there with Toso. I thank the both you for your feedback and info, but I didn't mean to instigate anything here between anyone. So anyway, again thanks for all the feedback everyone.