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Old Feb 14, 2010 | 04:35 AM
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Default Alignment Numbers / Need New Tires / Got a few Questions first...

my 07 nismo is dropped about 1.5" on Stance Coilovers. I also have the SPC Rear Arms and Toe Bolts. I got an alignment after I installed the Camber Arms and Bolts with the following results.



As you can see my camber is around -1.5 (was almost -3), but my toe is still out. The toe bolts are at their max. I am at 15000 miles and I need to get new rear tires soon(the fronts are still alright for a while.)

My question is if I change my camber to closer to -2 will this bring my toe back into spec or do I need to go to the other way. from what i have read toe seems to be more important than camber as far as tire wear goes. I just need to get to the happy place where my tires dont eat themselves too soon. $500 on a set of rears is high eventhough that is about the cheapest i can get.

i have been looking into 275/35/19 in either the Hankook Ventus v12 evo k110 or the Yokohama s.drive. you guys know of a better tire (tread wear) in the $250 price range.

thanks
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Old Feb 14, 2010 | 05:42 AM
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On one hand you lower the car so it looks cool - on the other you want extended tire life. Kind of like having your cake and eating it also.

I am happy with the numbers above. To extend tire life you are swapping tires correct?

I and other members have verified 30,000 mile tires.
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Old Feb 14, 2010 | 06:44 AM
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yep i am replacing rear tires for now. i will be replacing the fronts when they wear out and will also be getting front a-arms at that time. i just need to know of any tweaks that i could do to better extend the life of the new set.

i did lower it but i also installed the supporting parts to get the alignment back to "as close" as i can to spec.

my main question i was asking is: since my new toe bolts are maxed out and i am still out of spec, would i be better off getting the camber adjusted to help with the toe. would i benefit from in spec toe more then if i left it the way it is.

what set is getting 30k? i wouldnt mind paying more for a longer lasting tire. 15k sucks for a $300+ tire on a car that is only daily driven with no track time.

thanks
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Old Feb 14, 2010 | 08:01 AM
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it seems like your in the same boat i was in. Tired of spending alot of $ on high performance tires which dont last that long. I soon realized why am I spending all this $ for normal dd. So I down graded to cheaper tires which last longer and I have no complaints.
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Old Feb 14, 2010 | 06:00 PM
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thanks for the input guys but I still would like to hear something about the toe vs. camber question.
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Old Feb 14, 2010 | 06:57 PM
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if you have spc toe bolts installed in the correct location and they are maxed out, then you have a bent suspension component most likely.

but as for your original question, the toe will change the way you want it to if you move the camber closer to zero(positive change). considering your current specs this is not possible(it is, but don't do it).

do you have pics of where you installed your toe bolts? far too often on here do we see members who have installed them in the wrong location.
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Old Feb 15, 2010 | 09:09 AM
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the toe bolts are installed where the "spring bucket" mounts to the body. this is the correct location. there is a little more adjustment on the right side but i had the alignment guy set them the same. i have seen the "toe arms" that can be installed and i am wondering if that is what i need to do to try and get closer to spec.

my main concern is the wear pattern i have on the tires.


the tire has almost no tread left in the outer channel. there is barely enough to cover the outer band of the penny.


the inner channel of the tire has tread left to Lincoln's head. this is the same on the both rear tires.


here are picks of the suspension. i put red marks on the toe bolts and camber bolts after the alignment just to monitor for any shift. there are no bent suspension parts.



thanks again for any input

Last edited by nismo542; Feb 15, 2010 at 09:11 AM.
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Old Feb 16, 2010 | 09:23 PM
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I have money saying you didn't install the toe bolts correctly. There is no reason you can't get the toe in with a 1.5" drop.

Did you elongate the toe hole?

http://www.batit.com/forumpics/spctoeboltinstall.pdf
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 04:18 AM
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pay up then cuz that is the same tutorial I used. if you look at the pics I posted you can see that the toe bolt is in the correct location and the bolt is as close to the inside of the car as possible. I was beside the guy when he was aligning the car and saw that it was maxxed.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 06:36 AM
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Self owned . I am out of ideas then. I've tucked the rear wheel before and still got the toe within spec with the same hardware.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 07:06 AM
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This tire wear was from before or after modifications?
Your saying the outside edge of the tire has LESS tread than the inside?
If so the tire wear is caused by too much toe-in. If you raise the camber enough to get the Toe-in closer you will have more inside wear and less outside. If you hit the alignment correct you may have somewhat even wear.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 07:25 AM
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yeah I really don't want to go any more positive in the rear. what do you guys think about the adjustable traction arms that can adjust toe. I think I have seen them for a couple hundred $. am I out of spec enough to worry about it.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 07:38 AM
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I had a similar problem getting mine in spec but I choose not to elongate my hole (personal preference). I'm not sure if you watched the guy adjust the camber arms, but when he does you would have seen the toe changes as well. This is where the problem is, when they adjust one the other is pushed out of spec. I decided to go with additional camber and get the toe in spec (2.1-2.3 camber and .06 toe-in each side). Toe-in will destroy tire much quicker than camber (within reason of course). The traction or toe bars should allow enough additional adjustment but just check through the various maker's websites to verify. I know Kinetic, SPL, Cusco...make the required bars.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 07:42 AM
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Also note the OEM tires are not expected to last much further 15-20,000 miles. My bone stock setup (05 Base) lasted 18,000 in the rear.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 07:46 AM
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thanks for that info, so are you saying that if I go moe negative in camber then I can reduce my toe in and can get back in spec.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by nismo542
thanks for that info, so are you saying that if I go moe negative in camber then I can reduce my toe in and can get back in spec.
Exactly, that's what the alignment guy I was working with had to do. I also had a 1.5 drop and was close on the toe when the camber was good, but he suggested the trade off to limit the amount of wear. Kinda sux the way this was engineered (putting the axis so close to the other) but more and more cars are using similar setups so there must be a benefit to it somewhere.
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 11:59 AM
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What is the maximum drop that the spc toe bolts will allow adjustment of the toe to be in spec? For a 2-3" drop, would the spc+toe bolt kit be enought or are toe arms needed?
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Old Feb 17, 2010 | 01:19 PM
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They say there is a +/-3 degrees but I think that depends how aggressive the grinding is and whether the templete is used correctly.
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