Negative Camber - Major Issue?

Darren · 02-26-2009, 08:19 PM

My Eibachs have been on a couple weeks now and seem to have fully settled. The rear has settled quite a bit since installing them and the overall drop is a lot more (theoretically) than what Eibach initially advertised. They advertise a 1" drop front and rear when in actuality it's more like 1.3"F/1.5"R.

So anyways, the camber in the front is fine and there doesn't appear to be any visible change. Any change that may exist should easily be corrected with an alignment. The rear however is quite noticeable. I've never dealt with camber issues in the past and am wondering how much of an issue this may be. I have an appointment Saturday to get an oil change and 4-wheel alignment. My question is, does it appear that most of the negative camber can/will be corrected with the alignment? Or do you think I'll end up needing a camber kit? I don't want there to be any significant wear on the inside of my tires. If I need a camber kit, then maybe I'll hold off on the alignment for now.

Here's some pics:

MMsTSX · 02-26-2009, 09:07 PM

if you look closely at a stock TSX, the rear wheels run a slight bit of negative camber.
with the springs you have obviously increased that.

do you need a camber kit? no.
will your alignment put your camber in spec without one? no.
does it need to be in spec? no.

camber is not the enemy of tires. toe is. you can keep the negative camber that
you have right now and experience very little inner tread tire wear. if your toe
was off, then you would have a big tire wear problem.

so do you need a camber kit to correct toe? no.

the only reason you need a camber kit is if you don't personally like the negative
camber you have now. with proper toe specs you will encounter little to no tire
wear issues with your current camber. but if you want to be extra careful, like if
you run super soft tires like I do that are very prone to wear, then you may want
the camber kit for peace of mind. of if you don't like the look of negative camber,
then you can get the kit to straighten them out for asthetic reasons.
the slight negative camber you have now should improve your handling a bit in the
twisties, it's not a bad thing really.

the alignment is key no matter what. and be sure toe is within spec. no matter what.
our stock suspension allows for plenty of toe adjustment in 99% of the cases.

tsxtasy · 02-26-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMsTSX

if you look closely at a stock TSX, the rear wheels run a slight bit of negative camber.
with the springs you have obviously increased that.

do you need a camber kit? no.
will your alignment put your camber in spec without one? no.
does it need to be in spec? no.

camber is not the enemy of tires. toe is. you can keep the negative camber that
you have right now and experience very little inner tread tire wear. if your toe
was off, then you would have a big tire wear problem.

so do you need a camber kit to correct toe? no.

the only reason you need a camber kit is if you don't personally like the negative
camber you have now. with proper toe specs you will encounter little to no tire
wear issues with your current camber. but if you want to be extra careful, like if
you run super soft tires like I do that are very prone to wear, then you may want
the camber kit for peace of mind. of if you don't like the look of negative camber,
then you can get the kit to straighten them out for asthetic reasons.
the slight negative camber you have now should improve your handling a bit in the
twisties, it's not a bad thing really.

the alignment is key no matter what. and be sure toe is within spec. no matter what.
our stock suspension allows for plenty of toe adjustment in 99% of the cases.

Well said and accurate. When you go for the alignment just ask that they make sure the toe is 0.

ttk5 · 02-26-2009, 09:18 PM

I vote MMsTSX for member of the month. He is always so insightful and provides help and advice to all members when they need it. Very knowledgeable in all areas too

Darren · 02-26-2009, 09:59 PM

Thanks for the advice. I greatly appreciate it. This is the first car I've lowered where the camber was noticeably affected.

Darren · 02-27-2009, 10:12 PM

Results of my alignment:

As you can see, the rear camber is at -2.5 & -2.4 degrees, everything else is pretty normal. The service advisor said that I will see significant wear on the inside of the tire and recommended that I get a camber kit.

But is he exaggerating? I don't often look at camber numbers, truely how bad are these measurements? I'd like to keep it this way if I'm not really going to see any MAJOR tire wear on the inside, but if I am going to see a significant amount of wear, then I'll pick up a camber kit.

Comments?

zhieson · 02-27-2009, 11:16 PM

i cant see how negative camber isnt bad. it depends on the setup but its like walking on the outside of ur shoes. youll wear them out unevenly. u dont NEED a camber kit but it will save your tires from more uneven wear. technician was probably exagurating but he wasnt lying.

Darren · 02-28-2009, 12:29 AM

Thanks for your input.

Since there aren't any camber kits available for the CU2 specifically yet, I guess I have no other choice. Riding on it as-is should allow me to determine how bad it is and whether I want to get a rear camber kit to correct it or not once they become available.

zhieson · 02-28-2009, 12:43 AM

try rotating as often as possible. itll keep uneven wear at a minimal.

Tishkevich · 05-27-2009, 08:03 PM

I found a few camber kits on ebay.. for 08 - 09 hondas / tsx acura is that a good buy? I personally held off on the camber kit when i lowered it becuase i was told it wouldn' tbe that noticeable but my boy was riding behind me and was like " wow that camber is bad" and i let him drive my car away from me.. and while it looks kinda hot.. i can definitely tell its goig nto wear my tires thin.. I'm hesitant to rotate my tires untill i put a camber kit on it becuase i dont' want to wear all 4 of my $260 tires on the inside.. thouhg i guess i could always turn them around on the wheel

Tishkevich · 05-31-2009, 06:57 PM

SPC REAR CAMBER KIT 08-09 HONDA ACCORD 2009 ACURA TSX:eBay Motors (item 270397863763 end time Jun-25-09 19:44:42 PDT)

DarkFireProdigy · 05-31-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tishkevich

SPC REAR CAMBER KIT 08-09 HONDA ACCORD 2009 ACURA TSX:eBay Motors (item 270397863763 end time Jun-25-09 19:44:42 PDT)

Further reading for you Tishkevich, Article @

Heeltoe

TSX_WS · 05-31-2009, 08:54 PM

Stock 1st gen TSX has -1.9 degree camber in the back. Yes, that affects the threadwear, but look at the bright side; the handling... Try rotating tires every few months and u should be OK.

Tishkevich · 06-04-2009, 06:00 PM

So i got my camber checked today and my rear camber is R: 2.5 L: 3.4 ... Why is my left camber so much more then my right? guy highly reccommend i get a camber kit to correct the issue. while my fronts are in tollernce the left being .7 and the right being .4 i think