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TECHNICAL TIPS
"Why
does my lowered car wear the tires on the insides?"
Application:
Lowered cars
Background: Customer feedback from the Tech Line.
By: Joe L. Baker
Bulletin: Lowered cars will wear the tires on the inside edge due to excessive
negative camber. Negative camber is where the top of the tires tip inward towards
the center of the car. The result is that the car is riding on the inside edge
of the tires causing them to wear very quickly.
It is very important that the tire tread set "flat" on the ground for
good handling and braking. If the tire is not flat on the ground there is less
rubber contact to guide the car on a turn or to stop the car. This small rubber
contact area or "contact patch" actually tends to tear the off of the
tire instead of just rolling. The result is a ruined set of tires in just a few
thousand miles.
The second reason for excessive tire wear is that the toe has been changed. Tires
must point slightly inward or outward at the front of the tire-depending on the
car. When you lower a car, toe is changed along with the camber causing the tires
to drag sideways or scrub. This scrubbing action literally tears off rubber from
the tire.
When a car is lowered with aftermarket springs or coilovers it is absolutely
essential to correct the camber and toe on both the front and rear of the car
to minimize tire wear and to optimize handling/braking. Each time you change
the ride height the camber and toe changes and must be corrected. A qualified
Technician will have to set the camber and toe to match the car and its usage.
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The camber curve of the tire is a result of the way a modern car suspension is
designed. When the tire on a car travels upward, the suspension makes the tire
travel in curved line-not straight up. This is a result of the geometry of the
arms on a Short Arm-Long Arm (SLA) or the Strut-arm design on a McPherson strut
type suspension. When a car is designed, the engineers have a complex set of
rules to maximize the ride and handling of the car. These rules determine the
curve that the tire makes during suspension travel.
RDTIPS/02/001
Issue Date:
March 28, 2002
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