Alignment, tires and camber

[AZmike]

I'm about to get an alignment and new tires. I was wondering if it's important to do one before the other. I don't see why it would make a difference, but I figured I'd go ahead and ask since a decent set of new tires is a lot of money to a poor college student--I wouldn't want to screw something up. I was planning on doing the alignment first since my current tires have a tiny bit of life left in them and they're not wearing properly now.

Can a bad toe adjustment cause the inside of both front tires to wear? Or is that an indication of negative camber? I used a big square and my wheels are very close to vertical (top and botom of sidewall bulge differ by about .25" at most). I'm hoping it's just the toe.

Any advice, ideas, or recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks

[DBMaster]

I usually get the aligment done at the same time as the tires. If you suspect the alignment is off I wouldn't wait too long after buying new tires to get the alignment.

I used to have the inside edge wear problem on my right front tire. It was a negative camber that I finally fixed by installing a camber kit. In your case it is most likely the camber because I think toe problems would cause wear on the outside edges.

I know that guys on this board say go get some Prelude control arms because they are adjustable, but the camber kits are just so easy to install. I paid $75 for one (Ingalls), but I believe someone here posted a link to get them for quite a bit less.

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Yeah I'd say to get the alignment right after the new tires are put one. It's pretty rate to have camber problems on a non lowered accord.

[jigga225]

yeah, and the camber cant be adjusted without camber-corection kits or the prelude armz

[AZmike]

I do have the Prelude arms (see signature). I thought mine might have been adjusted too short since I had wear on the insides of both front tires. When I measured the wheels they were both very close to vertical (see first post). I was concerned that my wheels seemed to have the right camber (0) but were wearing in a way that indicated negative camber.

I was actually planning to do the alignment first and getting the tires in a months or two. Any reason why that's not a good idea?

[doug]

I would think it depends on how "tall" the new tires are compared to the ones on the car now, if the new tires are the same size then it's just the depth of the new tread, if the tires are higher or lower in profile then that enters the mix, in any event to really maximize the alignment I'd wait, the tires now in place are gonna be gone soon anyway, why dial the suspension in to them?

[AZmike]

The new tires will be the same size. I hadn't considered the differrence in tread depth. I'll go ahead and double check my camber myself and wait on the alignment until I get the new tires. I replaced my rack few months ago and still haven't gotten the alignment. I've been keeping an eye on my tires and they have been wearing like my camber is off. I replaced my upper control arms at about the same time so I guess that's the problem.

[GDGuy11B]

If the tires are wearing on the inside, thats a big sign of toe wear...trust me, i work at sears and i deal with tires everyday for 8 hours. it is possible that it is camber. i'd suggest getting an alignment first. they can check toe, camber, and caster at the same time...then you can see if your camber is off and if you need a camber kit. Then get your tires because your alignment will already be adjusted.

Micah

[AZmike]

I know I won't need a camber kit since I'm still on stock springs and struts (although I wish somthing would break so I would have an excuse to 'fix' it:rolleyes:). I was planning to get the alignment first but I've gotten some recommendations against it.

Will the difference between aligning on worn vs. new tires be worth putting off an alignment?

[Jims 86LXI HB]

I had my car at a tire shop to see about getting it aligned. He told me he didn't want to do it with worn tires. I had a long enough conversation with they guy to think I should trust him and take his advice. Even though the car was pulling slightly to the right and I did have some tire wear issues (right front only). I told him my front tires (just rotated) were 80% new, but the rears had about 20% left. I never got a chance to do anything about it, because of the wreck.

[DBMaster]

My car had a -1.4 degree camber front right from the factory. I never modified the suspension and dealt with the right front tire losing its inside edge for ten years. I minimized it by doing cross rotations, but that ends up wearing all the tires out faster due to the accelerated wear that takes place on each tire for the first few hundred miles after any rotation.

Installing a camber kit just on the front right seems to have solved the problem because I am now at zero degrees camber (where it should be) and the inside edge wear is not visible.

Seems like Honda should have made the camber adjustable at the factory. If I had known that the problem existed while the car was under warranty I probably could have had the dealer fix it. Without the camber kit the only option is a frame shop.

So, you see, it is not only those with lowered rides that can use the camber kits.

[AZmike]

My tires were wearing evenly before I replaced my steering rack and upper arms so I'm pretty sure that my frame is still straight (or at least not the problem).

Ok, I think I'll go ahead and get the new tires sooner and then get the alignment done. Since I want my tires to last a while and I do a lot of highway driving I'm going to stick to my stock 14"s for now (and the more durable tires that will fit them). What you guys think of these two tires:

Nitto NT 460 Premium Touring ($212 + balance)
Dunlop SP Sport A2 ($248 + balance)

I was leaning towards the Dunlops since they have such a good reputation on tirerack.com. I'm not too familar with the Nitto brand and they aren't sold at tirerack so I can't see what other people thought of them. What do you guys think?

[GDGuy11B]

i'm confused, what is rice about this thread? Tires are tires...and there's nothing rice about tires.

[AZmike]

To get this thread back on topic:

Since I want my tires to last a while and I do a lot of highway driving I'm going to stick to my stock 14"s for now (and the more durable tires that will fit them). What you guys think of these two tires:

Nitto NT 460 Premium Touring ($212 + balance)
Dunlop SP Sport A2 ($248 + balance)

I was leaning towards the Dunlops since they have such a good reputation on tirerack.com. I'm not too familar with the Nitto brand and they aren't sold at tirerack so I can't see what other people thought of them. What do you guys think?

[Jims 86LXI HB]

I'd go with your instinct and get the Dunlops. I've contributed to those tire survey's myself a number of times. If you do, ask for walt at tirerack.