Camber tearing through my tires

[jimboNmia]

I have a 2008 G35 Sedan. A few months ago I replaced the factory tires and suspension. I had 20" staggered TSW's put on with an Eibach Pro Kit suspension. The camber is very noticeable on the wheels and as a result, my front tires are all chewed up on the inside. I was under the impression when I got the suspension kit done that a 1.4" drop wouldn't cause too many issues and that this camber could be adjusted enough to not chew up these expensive tires. The rear tires are also doing something similar but not as bad.

I called the shop that did the work today and they said because the camber is way off I would need to have them swap the tires to the other side every 3-5k miles. Does this sound right? This seems nuts to me. I understand the low profile tires don't last as long, but I also know alignment can cause big problems for tires.

Any help is appreciated. I'm a newbie to after market wheels and suspension.

[AZhitman]

Simple: Get an alignment.

ANY lowering is going to cause alignment problems. Not only is your camber out of whack, so is your toe.

The shop should have recommended an alignment WITH the spring installation.

[jimboNmia]

Sorry, should have mentioned that. I did get an alignment. That was part of the original work I had done. I would have never had suspension work done without one. That's why this all seems weird to me.

[AZhitman]

Then it wasn't done right. Have it re-checked and get the printout.

[jimboNmia]

With just the wheels, tires and suspension kit and no camber kit of any type, should they be able to get this adjusted good enough that I'm not killing tires? Or do I need a camber kit? It's 1.4" lower with the Eibach kit.

[AZhitman]

Yes. 1.4" is not a significant drop.

Coilovers? Camber kit. Springs? No way.

Make them redo the alignment, and if they claim it was already done, feel free to tell them they suck at it. Make sure you get a printout of the specs before and after.

[RED_DET]

Toe screws up tires more than camber. The G/Z is very sensitive to toe settings. I have always found the best setting at max toe in. Toe out is going to destroy the inside of those tires and cause them to feather. I run -2* camber up front and -1.8 in the rear.

[audtatious]

Yes, toe is critical and what caused me to eat up the front tires of the wife's G35 sedan that is factory height.

[jimboNmia]

Here are the measurements they provided me. Does this sound right?

Before:
Front
Left Camber -1.4
Left Toe -.04
Rt Camber -1.4
Rt Toe -.12
Rear
Left Camber -2.5
Left Toe .29
Rt Camber -2.2
Rt Toe .15

After
Front
Left Camber -1.4
Left Toe .05
Rt Camber -1.5
Rt Toe .05
Rear
Left Camber -2.2
Left Toe .10
Rt Camber -1.8
Rt Toe .11

On the new adjustements, everything is green except all the camber values. Looks like they were able to adjust the camber slightly on the rear, however the front camber appears to be slightly worse assuming more negative is bad.

I'm new to this so I don't really know anything more than what the shop is telling me. I don't want to be ripping up my tires, so it sounds like a camber kit is the solution. I figured alignment could be adjusted enough that I wouldn't need to do this.

[AZhitman]

Those are fine. There's something else wrong. Time for a trip to the dealer, OR there's something you're not telling us.

Front camber (before) is not "noticeable". In fact, it''s hard to see less than 2* with your eyes.

[jimboNmia]

Well, what prompted this post was a trip to the dealer. I'm getting a noise that sounds a lot like a failing wheel bearing right now that changes with a change in speed. It started around the time I got the wheels and tires put on. It was the dealer that told me the noise was due to the camber. He said he would do an alignment but their machine wouldn't work with my wheels. He also was the one who pointed out the insides of my front tires wearing. He seemed genuinely interested in helping me out and resolving this issue so I don't think they are just trying to feed me a line.

[RED_DET]

For those that have lowered their coupe, you could strike a compromise and see where you fall as opposed to 350Z alignment specs, they are slightly more aggressive camber wise since the Z rides 1/2" lower then the G coupe does.

Again, these are 350Z specs NOT G35 coupe specs, but you get the idea.

350z alignment specs

front specs as follows

Camber: negative or positive
Min:+.17
Norm: -.58
Max: -1.33

Total Toe in: half number for per side
Min: 0.0mm(0.0in)
Norm:-1mm(0.04in)
Max: -2mm(0.08in)

Caster: in degree's
Min: 7.58
Norm: 8.17
Max: 8.92


rear specs are as follows

Camber: All negative numbers in degree's
Min:-1.08
Norm:-1.58
Max -2.08

Total Toe in: All negative numbers (half each number to get per side)
Min: -0.2mm(0.006in) (17 inch tire)
Min: -1.1mm(0.043in) (18 inch tire)
Norm: -1.0mm(0.039in) (17 inch tire)
Norm: -1.9mm(0.075in) (18 inch tire)
Max: -1.8mm(0.071in) (17 inch tire)
Max: -2.7mm(0.106in) (18 inch tire)

Toe should be set at max toe in per TSB to help eliminate feather issues. From the specs you posted, your front toe was off, one side was toe in and the other toe out which screws up the cross toe. The rear toe wasn't much better either. The alignment should help tremendously.