Adjusting non-adjustable rear susp.

[Tomioka]

I brought my bro's 2004 Lexus LS430 to my local shop for 4 new Michelin Defender LTX tires and a 4 wheel alignment. They were able to align the front but not the back since the rear camber bar is at a fixed length. Only way to adjust it is to buy one of two different lengths of the rear camber bar at the dealer but the bars are -/+ 5mm from the stock length. The left-rear negative camber is slightly out of spec which chewed up the inner tread which lead to new tires. If the rear camber bars were set at a specific length from the factory then it's probably another suspension component that's worn out. I'm thinking worn struts since the car has 150,000mi on the original shocks and it's possible that spring sag has set in that can affect stock camber angles. Would going to adjustable camber bars remedy the issue or resolve the height issue with new struts or live with the slight out of spec and follow an aggressive tire rotation interval?

Here is the alignment spec sheet:

 

[Merkava_4]

The alignment shop is supposed to tell you what you need. Being that you're here asking us what to do tells me that you need to find a better alignment shop.

 

[eljefino]

There should be a way to shim behind the bearing as well. Or just hog out some hole or bend steel.

 

[Lubener]

Shim kits are available and might help that camber. The tech. didn't mention it because of the extra work.As ypu mentioned, spring sag would affect the camber too.

 

[6starprez]

I can tell you an aggressive tire rotation won't help. My Impreza also has a non adjustable rear Camber and wears out the inside of tires.

I'm on my 4th set of tires in 118k miles with 3 wheel alignments. I rotated my 3rd set every 2,500 miles for the first 20k miles. It helped some but still wore the insides. I'm thinking about getting an adjustable camber kit myself. I should have pulled the trigger a while ago.

 

[Indydriver]

Bilstein 4600s then re-check alignment.

 

[Kira]

FYI: Bilstein 4600's are perennially "OUT-OF-STOCK" at RockAuto.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: 6starprez
I can tell you an aggressive tire rotation won't help. My Impreza also has a non adjustable rear Camber and wears out the inside of tires.

I'm on my 4th set of tires in 118k miles with 3 wheel alignments. I rotated my 3rd set every 2,500 miles for the first 20k miles. It helped some but still wore the insides. I'm thinking about getting an adjustable camber kit myself. I should have pulled the trigger a while ago.


Reads like a toe issue if you hadn't "lowered" the car. Too much toe in. Don't set it a ZERO though. 0.2deg max TOTAL rear toe more at 0.14deg MAX.

Car will likely get squirrely with toe in the rear.

 

[Rand]

If the problem was too much NEGATIVE camber wouldnt it wear the outside of tires?

Is that not why bmw's with positive camber wear the insides?

The total toe is abit high in the rear.. I'd adjust that down abit but not to zero..

Also your front toe was off significantly that usually affects front tires but it can also cause unusual wear elsewhere.

Did you by chance go to a firestone store for your alignment

Short version: I think camber is not out that much and shouldnt be wearing the inside of tire.

 

[6starprez]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted By: 6starprez
I can tell you an aggressive tire rotation won't help. My Impreza also has a non adjustable rear Camber and wears out the inside of tires.

I'm on my 4th set of tires in 118k miles with 3 wheel alignments. I rotated my 3rd set every 2,500 miles for the first 20k miles. It helped some but still wore the insides. I'm thinking about getting an adjustable camber kit myself. I should have pulled the trigger a while ago.


Reads like a toe issue if you hadn't "lowered" the car. Too much toe in. Don't set it a ZERO though. 0.2deg max TOTAL rear toe more at 0.14deg MAX.

Car will likely get squirrely with toe in the rear.


My last alignment at the Subaru dealership in Aug 2016 had a lot of Toe in on the rear. I was told it was neccesary to counteract the negative camber and setting it in the middle of the range will wear the tire out even faster.

Rear - Left
Camber = -1.5" Range = -2.0" -.5"
Toe = 0.16" ___ Range = 0.00" 0.24"

Rear - Right
Camber = -2.0" Range = -2.0" -.5"
Toe = 0.21" ___ Range = 0.00" 0.24"

Total Toe = 0.37"

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Rand
If the problem was too much NEGATIVE camber wouldnt it wear the outside of tires?

Is that not why bmw's with positive camber wear the insides?

The total toe is abit high in the rear.. I'd adjust that down abit but not to zero..

Also your front toe was off significantly that usually affects front tires but it can also cause unusual wear elsewhere.

Did you by chance go to a firestone store for your alignment

Short version: I think camber is not out that much and shouldnt be wearing the inside of tire.

You've got that a bit backwards. BMWs generally have 0 to positive camber on the fronts, which will wear the outside of the tire, and negative camber on the rear which wears the insides.

Also keep in mind that camber by itself doesn't increase wear all that much; it is the combination of camber and toe that will chew them up.

 

[6starprez]

Originally Posted By: Rand
If the problem was too much NEGATIVE camber wouldnt it wear the outside of tires?

Is that not why bmw's with positive camber wear the insides?

The total toe is abit high in the rear.. I'd adjust that down abit but not to zero..

Also your front toe was off significantly that usually affects front tires but it can also cause unusual wear elsewhere.

Did you by chance go to a firestone store for your alignment

Short version: I think camber is not out that much and shouldnt be wearing the inside of tire.



Negative camber wears out the inside. The top of the tire is tilted inwards, which BMW's have a lot of too. The only vehicles I've seen that may have positive camber are the Army trucks I see on Fort Bragg. The top of the tire is sticking out.

 

[mazdamonky]

To me, that looks like you need something else worked on in the suspension. Maybe new rear struts. But I would just look into camber bolts.

 

[JTK]

Like said, it's hard to believe there's not shims or bolts available for this task. OTOH, I've seen some pretty disturbing drill/grinder hacks associated with "fixing" an alignment.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

quote 4STARPREZ: My last alignment at the Subaru dealership in Aug 2016 had a lot of Toe in on the rear. I was told it was neccesary to counteract the negative camber and setting it in the middle of the range will wear the tire out even faster.

Arco: That is wrong. The negative camber already has a stabilizing steering force (think motorcycle lean to turn) The LF is leaning R and vice versa. That rear total toe is WAY WAY WAY TOO MUCH.. should be .20deg total

You alignment shop/dealer is incorrect - they want to sell you tires or a new car.
Typical arrogant Morons.

 

[bdcardinal]

Rear toe shows that it is adjustable. They should have at least brought rear toe as close to spec as possible. I would check ride height versus the factory spec, if the height is lower than spec that can cause the negative camber in addition to any worn suspension components.

 

[Tomioka]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The alignment shop is supposed to tell you what you need. Being that you're here asking us what to do tells me that you need to find a better alignment shop.


The mech told me that they needed a part from the Lexus dealership to correct the rear alignment. I did some further research and Lexus only has a longer or shorter bar to correct camber angle. I might have to bring it to my Lexus dealer and see what's their say on this.

 

[asand1]

https://www.redline360.com/megan-racing-...1NSlhoCcb3w_wcB