I'm taking my stock-suspension Evo IX to the track for an HPDE next month. I've had the car since new, and believe it or not, it's never had an alignment ... and it drives just as straight as the day I drove it off the lot.

I've done a couple HPDE's before with the same OEM -1 degree camber alignment (with 200-range treadwear tires), and the outside of the front tires get a little chewed up by the end of the day.

I know all about the OEM bolt orientation, and I understand in the service manual you can flip this bolt 180 degrees to get approximately one degree more negative camber.

My question is, if I do this, would I need an alignment after? Would my toe settings be out of whack? I really don't want to make a project out of it just for a few HPDE sessions, but if I can flip a couple bolts to make the car turn-in better or get a little extra life out of my tires I'd like to give it a try. I'll likely change the bolt back to OEM orientation after the track day when I'm under there flushing fluids, etc.

Thanks in advance for your expertise!

 

Yes, for sure you will need to be re-aligned if you add more camber. The TOE will be affected & out of range tire wear / ill handling will follow

 

i think if you've never had an alignment you'll want to get one anyway. driving straight is good but it wouldn't pull unless something was severely off

 

OK - so the guys that go to the track often, they simply flip the bolt to get the extra 1 degree camber, have the car aligned and leave it there for street driving? In that case I would think during day-to-day street driving they are going to wear out the inside of the front tires?

But it sounds like it's not as easy as flipping it for the track, then flipping it back for the street (without having it aligned each time).

 

Toe is what kills tires, not camber. Maxing out the OEM camber bolt is not even close to aggressive camber. The bolt in max negative camber with a good alignment will not cause any excessive wear at all.

 

I was in a strange little town trying to look up a friend when I hit something. There was a manhole that had been asphalted over and they need to get the cover off. So, they dug it out but didn't bother to mark it with a saw horse. This resulted in an impact that brought dust out of the upholstery. So when I got home I immediately threw the trammel bar under the car to check toe. It was perfect, a testimony to how strong these cars are.

If you've got a perfect alignment, no funny tire wear in normal driving, I suggest you let no alignment shop touch it, they are only going to screw it up. If worried about toe after changing camber, learn DIY toe adjustment.

 

When you change camber your toe changes as well.

Thus you need to reset your toe.

If you have the measurement for toe for the two camber bolt settings you can reset your toe with a stringline each time you flip the bolt.

However, as somebody already posted, camber is a non-issue for tire wear if toe is correct. So just max out your camber bolt(s).

For road use I run minus 2.5 degree camber in the front with minimal toe out and minus 1.25 in the rear with 0 toe and I get even wear on all four tires - that is with a max-lock and low compliance pillow ball bushings. The latter minimize dynamic toe change and thus tire wear.

 

You can get DIY tools to measure camber and toe. I have seen some Evos that have seized toe arms or camber arms which may explain why your alignment has never changed.

 

I have flipped mine for the track and use R specs, then change to other set of wheels with road tyres which I couldn't care if they wear out in the middles. I like the 1 degree for road also as it keeps the front tighter in the corners with road tires on

 

I think this is some good advice, barneyb. After 12 years of Michigan potholes, not only does my Evo track perfectly straight, but the tire wear has been perfect with the alignment the car left the factory with. Not to mention, alot of the bolts under the car are looking a bit crusty, so maybe it's best I just leave well enough alone.

 

Since you live in the North, maybe time for a Krown treatment or something similar.