UKC

Ive got significant wear on the inner shoulders of both front tyres, Ive got camber bolts fitted because the same thing happened to the previous tyres and a garage suggested I try that, they are turned out to the max but still got about -2 degrees camber both sides which isnt far off the manufacturers standard of -1.5

What else should I be looking at, could the shocks on both sides be knackered? Ive not got any knocking or handling issues though.
Both anti roll bar links are fairly new as are the control arms / track rods.

Not sure what to check regarding wishbones or what problems they would cause

I checked the toe in/out alignment with the 'string method' and there wasnt much in it really, certainly not enough to cause lots of wear.

In reply to ow arm:

Had that with my Doblo van. Changed the shocks and so far so good.

In reply to ow arm:

Are the tyres feathered? Any play in the steering?

In reply to Stuart (aka brt):
Thats what I was thinking, ive found some decent 2nd hand ones from breakers.

In reply to cuppatea

its hard to tell, possibly some feathering, no steering play

In reply to ow arm:

What's the vehicle?

If it's post 1970, and you can set it up with a piece of string, you are in the wrong job!

As a home mechanic:

First off, check all suspension joints and bushes for play, front and back axle, loaded and unloaded. Next check shock absorbers for damping, (bounce each corner, if it carries on bouncing replace) check steering joints for play (rod and rack ends). Make sure any suspension adjuster is free and turning.

Next take it to a good independent garage with a 4 wheel alignment system (ie not quick fit, national or similar). Should be about £50 and an hours labour to set up if nothing needs replacing.

Cheers Adam

In reply to ow arm:


Don't waste your time fitting secondhand shocks. Unless you're driving something really exotic new ones shouldn't be expensive enough to justify cutting corners.

In reply to ow arm:

When you say you've got camber bolts fitted do you mean they came as standard or they're aftermarket?

I'd get the whole thing checked for alignment and geometry plus the bushes inspected for deterioration while they're at it. You should be able to hit the original spec on camber for starters so something is wrong somewhere given you can't. Maybe the wrong wishbones/tca from a similar model fitted or maybe it's been bent, maybe the bushes are so soft you can't get reliable measurements.

It takes a *lot* of care and the right set-up to get repeatable and meaningful geometry measurements with string and rulers especially where you have compliant bushes in the mix as with a road car. I'm not saying it can't be done (it can) but you may find the toe is still way out of spec (likely toe-in unless it's scary to drive).

There may be excessive caster which could again be wrong parts, possibly maladjusted but it's usually fixed on road cars or something bent.

If the toe is on spec my bet would be worn bushes in the wishbones/tca. Every road car I've had that shredded inside edges was either excessive toe or knackered bushes.

jk

In reply to ow arm:

String? Huh?

The best DIY toe angle method is usually broomstick and ruler.

Any long thin piece of wood with a small (10mm dia) point one end and a good square cut at the other end. Hold the stick and a ruler held against it with your hand at the squared end. Place the point on the wheel rim near the back and shuffle the ruler along the stick with your thumb until the ruler touches the opposite rim. Note the reading where the ruler leaves the stick then do the same again near the front of the rim.

Make an allowance for the position of the measured points. For instance if your points are only 300mm apart and the rim is 420mm diameter then multiply by 1.4.

The vehicle should be run forward gently on the flat surface before doing this. Then run it foward a bit again and take readings at one or two additional positions and take an average.


Check for bush wear. If there is an anti-roll bar then check its mountings and bushes.

In reply to ow arm:

If you lot recon you can set a modern vehicle up using string or a broomstick and tape measure you're all deluded. Ok you might get it somewhere near, fine on your Ford Anglia's and Vauxhall Viva's with skinny high profile tyres. But you are not going to have a lot of success on the fat, low profile stuff.

Don't get me wrong I have set loads of HGV and Commercials up using a tape measure, it's not critical, your Skoda Octavia really would benefit from sitting on the 4 wheel aligner though, it will even end up with the steering wheel straight. (caveat; as long as the person knows how to use the equipment).

It's not even necessarily the front suspension causing the irregular front tire wear, especially with multi link rear setups.

Butteredfrog, long suffering professional mechanic of cars, trucks and old F1 cars. X

In reply to butteredfrog:


Without too much messing about you can get repeatable toe, caster and camber measurements within a couple of tenths of a degree using basic tools: Flat surface, straight edge, fishing line, level and a vernier caliper. Its just a real pain in the ass if you're measuring, adjusting, measuring adjusting, it takes hours and you do need to be very methodical to get meaningful results. At the end of the day you're using the same reference points on the wheel a clip-on electronic alignment system uses (actually some of those seem to rather carelessly measure off the tyre).

jk

In reply to jkarran:



The cheap systems measure off the tyre, will get you 90% there, just the same as your full day measuring and re-measuring and adjusting and re-measuring and re-measuring.................. But have you checked the runout in each wheel? A slightly buckled rim, common with today's roads, is going to make all that measuring pointless.
A decent computerised 4 wheel alignment system (Sun or Bear are the two I have used) clamps the heads to the wheel rim, you then measure the runout on each wheel and calibrate each head before proceeding.
Also a lot of manufacturers now specify suspension settings at certain weights. A Renault Megane sport for example needs 150Kg in the front footwells before you start measuring.
Mercedes front suspension needs to be set using spreader bars to pre-load the set up, setting without is pointless, as two miles down the road it's all out again.
I'm not saying it's an impossible job for the home mechanic, it's just one of those jobs like refilling your air con, that's easier to pass on to your local professional set up.

Cheers Adam

In reply to butteredfrog:

Though if it requires so much more effort to do it 100% right than it does to do it 90% right, good luck finding a local professional who a) has time and b) can be arsed.

In reply to deepsoup:

Word of mouth and a trawl through the internet (whatever the find a garage version of Tripadvisor is called).
An independent garage that also does accident repair would be my place to start, also your more "sportscar" orientated garages, they tend to be a bit more passionate about getting things right.

Going rate is around £50 and takes about 1hour.

Cheers Adam

In reply to butteredfrog:

Doesn't say much for their faith in the chassis tolerance/rigidity/longevity. Obviously adding 300kg will change the parameters as the suspension droops (edit Oops, by droops I mean compresses not extends as is the conventional use in this context) but it should be in a predictable way that can be accounted/compensated for in the 'book' settings. Doing it with weight in, especially symmetrically distributed weight just seems pointless and smacks of marketing fluff.

jk