Im not really sure what is going on but I am on my stock Advans with about 10k miles on them. I am lowered with Swift Spec R springs with my stock bilsteins. I had the car aligned about 4 days after the Springs went on (About 3k miles ago). Ever since then the car has been pulling to the right a little. I went in over the weekend and had the alignment checked and its fine. Its well within factory specs, virtually no camber or toe. However, I am getting some inner shoulder wear on the tires and the inner shoulder is cupping/feathering a little too. Any idea what would cause this?

Admittedly, I didnt rotate the tires for the first 7k miles...if that is relevant.

 

Did you take it back to the guy that did the first alignment? I'd get a second opinion at another shop if you could.

 

I took it to the same place, but he took me out in the shop while it was still on the rack and showed me what the computer was reading. Everything was basically zero.

 

If it actually was zero, rather than in the center of the acceptable range, then you really need to go elsewhere. You can't get zero camber in the front of an X, for example, without plates installed backwards.

 

It was practically zero. The sheet is in the car but I want to say I was at -0.31 on one sides and -0.18 on the other.

 

That's not good. That's lower than is normally possible. Please tell us that the tech wasn't twisting the bolts between the shock and front knuckle to set camber. They are remove-flip-reinstall bolts. They should never be rotated in place. Ever.

In any event, when the inside edge is being stripped away, I first suspect too much toe-out. If it were my car, I'd go somewhere else. Maybe take a picture and post it, first. Some folks can see an alignment problem from the specific tire-wear.

 

I'll be honest, I dont know how he adjusted it. I just went out and got the printout. Front camber was -0.9 and -1.3. Toe was zero on both sides. Rear Camber was -1.1 and -0.8. Toe was .13 and .12.

 

Oh. Minus one degree give or take is quite different from zero. Never mind about that, then. The only thing that bothers me (now) is the rear toe-in. That's a lot. Might be OK on the print-out, but it's a lot. If you drive like a crazy person, that much rear toe-in with a degree of camber can strip the inside edge off the tires. I did that to a set of OE Advan in about five minutes of drifting at an autocross. Are you a crazy driver?

 

I would not say I am a crazy driver but I own an Evo so its all relative. The weird thing is the rear tires were fine. It was the fronts that looked like crap.

 

Do you happen to know what the "before" alignment values were?

 

I dont have the before values, but It was however it came from the factory, with the exception of the 4 days after I lowered it to allow the springs to settle before I got it aligned.

 

Anyone?

 

ive nevered lowered a car so take it with a grain of salt but springs take a little bit longer than 4 days to settle dont they? id probably get the alignment rechecked and then post up the numbers and include the caster numbers also since that has more effect on a pull than camber or toe

 

It depends on what you mean by "settle." If you're suggesting that good springs actually shorten after being on the car a few days, weeks, or months, then divest yourself of this belief, as it isn't true. However, if you're suggesting that the car might sink a bit after a few days, then that does happen when the springs were not completely seated when installed.

 

The springs were purchased used and already had about 3k miles on them when I bought them. Besides, I just had the alignment checked and the specs were the same as when I got it aligned 4 days after lowering springs were installed.