schebro

Today I took my 2005 TSX to Sears Auto to check the alignment. The toe was corrected on rear right and left front tire. I noticed excessive wear on one of the rear tires recently and changed all the four tires. They mentioned that the camber on the rear right tire was -2.4 degrees. They told that they won't correct the camber because manufacturer doesn't mention anything about camber in the specifications. After the alignment, the camber is -2.6 degrees. Is this something to worry about? The rear left tire has a camber of -1.5 degrees. Should I ask the Sears Auto to adjust the camber?

SoCaliTrojan

The rear tires are recommended to have -1 degree of camber. Negative camber helps in handling, which is a big part of the TSX's heritage. -1.5 degrees should be fine as well.

Do you have a camber kit? If not, the shop probably won't be able to bring the -2.6 degrees into spec.

dlee74

I was told from a shop to buy a camber kit for the rear alignment. Is that a good idea? Would it diminish handling of the car? Thanks.

schebro

Is buying a camber kit the only option? Can I get it done from some place (dealer?) instead of buying the kit?

northbridge

if youre lowered, there is no way to fix the rear camber without the kit. I just picked up the kit.. should be installed soon.

schebro

Pardon my naivete. What does lowering mean?

schebro

I didn't lower my car.

MMsTSX

if you did not lower your car, you do NOT need a camber kit.
stay away from Sears. do not go back there.
go to a real shop. or an alignment shop.
find a place that has a new, state of the art alignment machine, mise well.

your toe can be put into spec at any reputable shop.
you do not need to adjust your camber for any reason (usually on a stock TSX).
I doubt you are at -2.6 on one side and -1.5 on the other.
I don't trust those numbers or that shop. I would get a second opinion.
and for them to say that Honda/Acura do not give camber specs is a straight lie.
our camber may not be fully adjustable on our stock cars, but
we absolutely have spec numbers to be within for camber, caster and toe.

LukeaTron

There is a little bit of camber adjustment but it's only about 1 degree. One of the arms has oblong holes in it where it mounts to the body. I think it will adjust caster at the same time because the arm is at an angle.

It is possible your one wheel could be that far out of whack if you hit a pothole or something. Still, it's not that much and I wouldn't expect to see much uneven wear unless you never rotate your tires. Then only maybe would you see any evidence. If the toe is off too, that's a different story.

I agree with the recommendation to avoid Sears or at very least, that particular store. They obviously don't know what they're talking about and are just spitting bullshit at you hoping some if it hits you in the wallet. I would not expect them to be competent enough to actually fix your car.

schebro

It had the toe misalignment too. I don't have the exact numbers but the rear right had a toe of -0.38 degrees I remember. They corrected it and brought it into spec. I had excessive wear on the inside of the rear right tire. Can it be because of the toe and not camber? The tire dealer asked me to rotate the tires every 6000 miles. What is the recommended frequency of rotation?

MMsTSX

yes. the tire wear was almost certainly a toe problem.
out of spec toe will chew up tires really quickly, camber not so much.

as far as tires go, I do 10,000 miles, not 6,000 miles. but I see no harm
in doing the 6,000 I suppose. but for me, that's too often.

schebro

Thank you for your replies. I was wondering if I should get my camber back into specifications since it is more than a degree off. But, based on the replies, I can probably wait till my next alignment, this time not from Sears.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

If you do end up needing a kit get the Ingalls kit:

http://store.excelerateperformance.c...5/i-60220.aspx

It can correct a good amount of camber and toe (it's sold per side also).

vollum

There was a warranty thing on the right rear camber. Go to the FAQ section of the board and look up the thread that deals with warranty items and service advisories. Some TSXs came with right rear control arms that were out of spec which caused the right rear camber to be out of spec. Most of these were 2004s but maybe it happened on some 2005s.

vollum

http://photos.imageevent.com/astrobo...sb/B06-007.pdf

Here is the link to the TSB I referred to. It indicates that it applies to some 2005s as well as 2004s. I'm not very computer literate so I don't know if this will post. Here goes nothing....

schebro

Thanks for pointing this out. I will ask the dealer about it. I don't know if my car is in that VIN range. I should check that.

schebro

That TSB is in 2006. Is there any expiry on TSBs? Can I go to the dealer now and ask them to fix it?

vollum

I don't believe there is an expiration. If your car is still in warranty, they will difinitely take care of it. If it is out of warranty, you can ask them to check and see if Acura will give you the good faith noted in the TSB. I'd bring it in and discuss this with the service manager at the Acura dealer.

schebro

My car is still under warranty. it is going to expire in April.

vollum

Bring it to an Acura dealer before the warranty expires and you will be golden. Don't you just love hollywood endings?

schebro

I took it to the Acura dealer and they corrected the negative camber and did a four wheel alignment. Joys of warranty.

EuroRspec

iTrader: (1)

Don't ever take your car to Sears unless you know what you want and you have a rough price in mind. I used to work there as a tech, and the shit they do with alignments is ridicules. I just recently had my buddy that still works there sell me some tires, alignment and I watched my other buddy do it, But I am still going to go to Acura and get it rechecked. If its off, Sears will give your money back as long as you have proof from Acura.