Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 33

Thread: Out-of-spec camber actually in-spec?

  1. #1
    Senior Member Cani Lupine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    West Virginia
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    634
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked 215 Times in 114 Posts

    Out-of-spec camber actually in-spec?

    So, I went to get my alignment check, and the camber was out of whack. 0.18 LF, -0.29 RF, -1.78 LR, -1.66 RR. That's more than 0.3 degrees cross-camber in front and more than half a degree more rear camber than spec allows. Yet not one, but TWO dealerships said this obviously out of spec alignment was actually in spec, and I have nothing to worry about. But when I buy new tires and try to claim a treadlife warranty, they'll point to the excessive camber as reason to deny the warranty.

    I sent a note to Mitsubishi about the issue, so we'll see what they say.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 49.2 mpg (US) ... 20.9 km/L ... 4.8 L/100 km ... 59.1 mpg (Imp)


  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Cani Lupine For This Useful Post:

    hank (09-07-2014)

  3. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    California
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    93
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked 17 Times in 12 Posts
    I think you should go ahead and get a second opinion. But if you really had those numbers I think it'd be pretty noticeable.

    Any suspension parts that you installed?

    Also, stick a small level against the wheel and it should give you a rough idea on whether or not the place you got an alignment check was accurate.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 45.8 mpg (US) ... 19.5 km/L ... 5.1 L/100 km ... 55.0 mpg (Imp)


  4. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    NE
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    548
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 81 Times in 62 Posts
    He did 2 , the 3rd should be a charm . Could that contribute to the looseness ( not tight , less response , wander ) in the steering ?

  5. #4
    Senior Member Cani Lupine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    West Virginia
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    634
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked 215 Times in 114 Posts
    It does like to wander a bit on the freeway over bumps and grooves. Right now it's bone stock, though I switch back and forth from the OEM steelies to Civic VX wheels with good tires from time to time.

    At the second dealership, they're Diamond rated for customer service, and they had checked mine out side-by-side with a brand new one they just got off a truck a couple days before, and it was the same as mine. It was explained to me that the wandering is the result of the car's light weight paired with the very skinny tires. That's why I decided to contact Mitsu directly, and we'll see what they have to say about it, since the conflict of whether or not it's in spec is a valid concern.

    It did feel a bit better after the toe adjustment, and I got to pace it a bit through some curvy country roads, and it's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. My guess is that the negative camber in the rear is designed in to help compensate for the narrower rear track width. Either way, I plan on lowering and stiffening the suspension, and will probably adjust the camber settings to my personal preferences at the same time.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 49.2 mpg (US) ... 20.9 km/L ... 4.8 L/100 km ... 59.1 mpg (Imp)


  6. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Country is Europe, state is Germany
    Country
    Germany
    Posts
    1,713
    Thanks
    234
    Thanked 1,158 Times in 670 Posts
    Concerning camber, if it is more than about 1 1/2 degrees off from perpendicular, you will begin to notice shoulder wear on the tyres. At one degree off perpendicular you will notice almost nothing, but at two degrees you will be sure to notice it. If you put wider tyres on, the shoulders will wear significantly more than with the original 165 skinny ones. Main thing is, that on one and the same axle the camber of both wheels is more or less the same, no more than about half a degree difference in total between them.
    On the front axle there is room for some adjustment by loosening the bottom screws/bolts on the shock/spring strut. Maybe about a half a degree possible, depending on the size of the holes through the strut on the bottom. Don't forget both camber values on the any axle should be about the same. After doing that on the front axle, toe definitely must be adjusted. If you are not really quite sure of what your doing, its certainly better not to do it yourself and rather get professional advice.
    On the rear axle camber and toe are not meant to be adjusted. The way it was welded during manufacture gives it its shape and consequently its values.

    Toe-in values front axle:
    On mine there is zero toe-in on the front axle. The front wheels are and were so exactly parallel. This can be checked easily with the well-known laser-pointer method.
    Last edited by foama; 09-07-2014 at 09:59 AM.

  7. #6
    Senior Member Cani Lupine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    West Virginia
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    634
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked 215 Times in 114 Posts
    I was thinking of installing shims to help bring the negative camber in the rear back down to about -0.8 degrees at the most, since I do want to run slightly wider tires without the wear issues, with about -0.5 in the front after lowering.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 49.2 mpg (US) ... 20.9 km/L ... 4.8 L/100 km ... 59.1 mpg (Imp)


  8. #7
    Senior Member Ares's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Houston
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    1,908
    Thanks
    42
    Thanked 201 Times in 142 Posts
    I'll just adjust when I get the lowering springs or coilovers... Hopefully in a few months.

  9. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    New-Brunswick
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    151
    Thanks
    24
    Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts
    I have to go at mitsubishi dealer friday for my first oil change and for my tires...


    The front one's are at 3/32 for 8500 km, is this even possible?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 40.8 mpg (US) ... 17.4 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 49.0 mpg (Imp)


  10. #9
    Senior Member Cani Lupine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    West Virginia
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    634
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked 215 Times in 114 Posts
    For the OEM Dunlops, yeah, they don't come with very deep treads. They're designed for low rolling resistance and not much else. You REALLY need to keep up with rotations. The recommended intervals are too far apart.
    Last edited by Cani Lupine; 09-08-2014 at 04:29 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 49.2 mpg (US) ... 20.9 km/L ... 4.8 L/100 km ... 59.1 mpg (Imp)


  11. #10
    3/32 after 8500 km (5300 mi) is crazy.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •