avonlady

I have a 1997 Honda Civic EX 150,000 miles with the original factory suspension. I recently noticed that the rear inner tires were wearing. Both my summer set (Toyos) and winter set (firestones). I thought it just needed aligned. I took it to the shop and they told me that there was too much negative camber and the only way they could adjust this would be to install a camber kit, either they would do it, or I could do it myself and bring it back for alignment. Everything else checked out fine they said; nothing loose or bent. I don't notice any strange noises. I have performed bounce test on the rear suspension (pushing down on the back end) and it bounces right back no problem. My question to them and anyone else who might know, is if the car didn't come with an adjustable camber, then why does it need one now. It seems to me that there is something else wrong here and by installing a camber kit I won't really be fixing the real problem at hand. Any help or previous experience with this is greatly appreciated.

ezone

Would have been interesting to check while the car was still on the alignment rack: Jack up the rear about an inch or two and see if it is back into specs.

150k probably has worn the springs a bit, now it sits lower than it did when it was new.


Can you post the alignment printout?

avonlady

Unfortunately, I don't have the print out.... The springs have always been suspect to me. I just didn't know if they would wear out this soon. I thought springs would last the life of the car. I wish I would have thought of jacking it up on the alignment rack when I was there. That is a great idea and probably would have answered my question. Do you think I should install a camber kit, or concentrate on the springs? Do you think I can replace one of these without having to take it back to the shop to verify it is the springs? Thanks for your input.

ezone

Do you think I should install a camber kit, or concentrate on the springs?

Do you think I can replace one of these without having to take it back to the shop to verify it is the springs? Thanks for your input.

Or leave it alone.

See below.

Far too many variables are at play here for me to give any sort of comprehensive answer. I have no idea what the tire wear looks like, how long it took to wear the tires, care and rotation of the tires, or what the alignment numbers are.


Chopping off the inner edges of the tires wasn't necessarily the fault of the suspension.

Why not verify what the problem really is first?
Evaluate how big the problem is, and figure if it is worth doing anything about it.

Oh yeah, how much weight was in the back of the car when it got aligned? That might have made a difference.

avonlady

I understand that you can't give me the correct answer with the information or lack there of I have provided you. You bring up very good points I haven't looked at. I have already made an appointment with a very good alignment and suspension shop. I will just have them take a look at it. Thanks for all your advice. I will try to log on in a few weeks and let you know the out come. Thanks again!

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

i run -1.5 fronts and -0.5 rears, my tires are worn on the outside. :P

if they ID springs (look around for similar cars and check if they are similar height) as the problem, you can always look around in junkyards.
Maybe previous owner did carry lots of weight or simply too fat.