Odd tire wear

[Phrede]

I have been trying to solve a vibration problem for a while. Today it was discovered that there is cupping on the inside edge of the front left tire.

The opinion of the tech, who appeared to be very knowledgeable, was that the camber could be out causing the problem. He went on to say that our cousins the Corvette was known to have this problem and the camber was set on the high side to enhance performance but caused this kind of tire wear.

I have ordered new tires and wheels and will be having an alignment done at that time. Hopefully, this will solve the problem. I am concerned that the problem could return if there is some other problem with the suspension.

Sound familiar to anyone?

 

[b_pappy]

My experience is camber alone would not cause cupping, I run a lot of negative camber in my Corvette with no cupping (inside wear yes). But it does sound like it could be an alignment issue. It would be nice to ensure you have the problem fixed before throwing new rubber under her.
Bruce

 

[mtrocket]

I have no odd tire wear on mine, quite even tire wear, actually. And with a touch over 30,000 miles, I'm not even close to the wear indicators yet. I should get another 5000-10,000 miles out of them... and they're runflats. I've been thinking the most I would get before replacement would be 25,000 miles.
Rod

 

[Phrede]

My experience is camber alone would not cause cupping, I run a lot of negative camber in my Corvette with no cupping (inside wear yes). But it does sound like it could be an alignment issue. It would be nice to ensure you have the problem fixed before throwing new rubber under her.
Bruce

Yes, I am very concerned about worn or broken suspension parts. Especially since the car will hit 4 years in JAN and I am planning to put her to bed in about a month or so.

With a lot of negative camber is the wear more focused on the very edge or is it more tapered to the center?

Ever have problems with shops being able to set the alignment on your Corvette or XLR? I had one shop tell me the couldn't do the job.

 

[mtrocket]

Ever have problems with shops being able to set the alignment on your Corvette or XLR? I had one shop tell me the couldn't do the job.

The alignment shop I take my cars to had no problem with the initial alignment after my rebuild of my XLR. I wouldn't think either a Corvette or an XLR would be THAT much different than any other car for an shop to not be able to align it...

 

[b_pappy]

Yes, I am very concerned about worn or broken suspension parts. Especially since the car will hit 4 years in JAN and I am planning to put her to bed in about a month or so.

With a lot of negative camber is the wear more focused on the very edge or is it more tapered to the center?

Ever have problems with shops being able to set the alignment on your Corvette or XLR? I had one shop tell me the couldn't do the job.

Don't know how many miles you have, but unless there was an accident I wouldn't anticipate anything being broken. I would check the alignment and put the cupped tires in the rear, that doesn't work if you have a V. Shoot, I forget my specs, but I'm close to -1 degree camber lots of caster, and minimum toe-in. The wear would be along the inner edge. I also run my fronts at 32, rear at 34 PSI.
Bruce

 

[Phrede]

Don't know how many miles you have, but unless there was an accident I wouldn't anticipate anything being broken. I would check the alignment and put the cupped tires in the rear, that doesn't work if you have a V. Shoot, I forget my specs, but I'm close to -1 degree camber lots of caster, and minimum toe-in. The wear would be along the inner edge. I also run my fronts at 32, rear at 34 PSI.
Bruce

I do have a V with 32k miles on it. A check of the alignment today showed that the camber on the left was at -.9.

Tonight I noticed a clunk coming from the front suspension when going over a small bump and the wheels pointed slightly to the right. It happens at other times too, but this is what I have discovered always makes it happen. There is also a "wiggle" felt when turning hard when parking.

I expect when I put non-runflats on I will need to experiment with different tire pressures to see what is best.