ml2316

can anyone confirm an aftermarket fix for feathering? i searched and found a few threads about suspension kits and camber kits, but no confirmation that this eliminated feathering. thanks.

myz8a4re

iTrader: (2)

well, it seems nissan addressed the 2005 model with adjustable front a-arms to eliminate tire feathering & also to get better adjustability capabilities over the non adjustable units. i would believe this may be the fix. i cant say for sure. i have the kinetix adjustable front & rear camber arms & have no feathering issues on my 19" tires. im not a great scource since ive only out mabey 750 miles on my car since the camber arms. but i did set a less aggressive camber setting than factory to get the most out of my tires. i feel my car still handles great but i didnt want to replace tires every 10k miles.............just wanted to add my thoughts on the subject, in no way am i claiming this is a 100% fix........

-justin

myz8a4re

iTrader: (2)

sorry double post........

kgb

What was the labor cost to have the front A-arms replace.

myz8a4re

iTrader: (2)

i put the a-arms in myself when i installed my lowering springs. not too difficult IMO, just a bit time consuming. ive been modifying cars myself for several years so i try to do everything i can myself before going to a shop. the springs & camber arms together took my brother & i about 6hours altogether in my driveway on jackstands. i searched & found both a spring install tech article & a camber arm install tech article. if you need i can post the links to these articles if you would like to have a look at the procedures.........

-justin

GaryK

Can you post your alignment specs? At 750 miles, its too early to tell, but I'd still be curious about your specs...

myz8a4re

iTrader: (2)

after i lowered my car & added the camber arms i knew my alignment would be all over the place, especially after adding the front/rear camber arms & not knowing where my setting was. i also knew the springs would settle & the specs would change so i opted for a 90 day alignment program wich would allow me to come back as often as wanted in 90 days. when i 1st showed up it was scary. my specs were all over the place. i was kicking myself for not going in to see what they were before my spring/camber arm install.............i did some research & saw that most were running about -1.3 front camber & -2.0 rear camber wich seems much too neg for good tire wear(aawsome for cornering). we all know about the latest tsb toe specs so i shot for those as well. i kind of told them what i wanted & also told them i want as close to possible even camber & toe each side. no major differences left to right like factory specs allow. heres what we came up with:

Front (L/R)
Camber -0.6, -0.8
Caster 8.9, 8.7
Toe(in) 0.01", 0.01"

Rear(L/R)
Camber -1.5, -1.4
Toe(in), 0.02", 0.02"

these measurments are actually my final specs after alignment once, then waiting 2 weeks for the springs to settle & getting it done again. they were about there the 1st time but changed some after the spring settle. i couldnt get the side to side camber any closerdue to the adjustable arms having .2* adjustment in 1 full turn. im very happy with these specs. the car feels great. still plenty of camber for the car to handle well & good enough for even tire wear. some say i should go heavier on the front camber but i believe these toe & camber specs together will eliminate any feathering. basically i shot for dead middle on factory camber settings. most run too far off left to right or too close to end of spec on the neg side.....take this info how you will, i am no professional alignment guy............

-justin

GaryK

Thanks

The thing I'm worried about there is the amount of caster. You have a lot of caster, and I'm leaning towards the caster as the cause of the heel/toe wear. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few k miles on your car.

On a side note, I just put my car up on a lift a little while ago and took another look at the front suspension. I found something else that bothers me, related to caster. With the design of the front suspension, the caster on the inside wheel in a turn goes even more in the positive direction. This is probably also contributing to the problem because the more caster that inside wheel has, the more it will tend to drag the outside shoulder of the tire through the turn.

Your camber looks ok to me. The funny thing is that my car has 1.0 degree negative and 0.6 degree negative camber, yet the outsides of the tires are wearing much faster than the insides. This is on a car that just gets driven to work, etc. every day too. I think this supports my idea that the excessive static caster, and the caster gain on the inside wheel in a turn, contribute to the problem.

myz8a4re

iTrader: (2)

ill have to keep an eye on the wear pattern. i wish i would have looked into arms with caster adjustment. i also wish i knew where the caster was before i installed the suspension components, it may have not changed much, i really dont know. i was getting excessive inner tire feathering on the front with no outer edge wear at all. i was getting slightly more inner tire wear on the rear with no feathering. this is what made me lighten up on the rear camber, plus i believe im getting a better footprint for straight traction this way.............i dont know much about caster & how it effects tire wear, ill have to research it more. i was also told before that my caster seems a bit excessive. i see its in spec but right at the end....mabey the new 05 arm will have camber & caster adjustment! i would go as far as converting back to stock arms for the potential tsb if this were the case. even if i were left with exspensive front camber arms that i couldnt sell due to the tsb...........guess we'll see!

-justin

myz8a4re

iTrader: (2)

just out of curiousity, where do you think the caster should be set? more i the low-mid 7.XX range? can you tell me how more or less caster effects handling? i understand what caster movement is i just dont understand how it really effects handing..........thanx,
-justin