~Lefty~

iTrader: (1)

Are these cars prone to having camber issues in the rear? I'm having terrible wear on the insides of my tires on the rear and the camber is way out of spec. Hell, you can see the tires leaning inward. Nothing is bent under there, but I'm assuming I'll need to buy the Ingall's kit or something equivalent to put the rear back in spec...

Is this a common issue amongst other 3rd gen owners? Just curious...

nfnsquared

Exactly what is "way out of spec"? Post your rear alignment measurements.

I've seen plenty of 3G TL camber specs (including mine) seem to be right at the negative spec (-1.5) or slightly out of spec (up to -2.0). As a result, you need to keep an eye on your toe specs, as these camber settings seem to exacerbate tire wear when toe goes the slightest bit out of spec.

As long as rear toe is kept in spec, I (and others) don't have any problems.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Are the tires wearing smooth on the inside or are the feathered? Runing your hand back and forth over the inside, can you feel the tread catching the hand?

~Lefty~

iTrader: (1)

Don't have the specs with me. Left them back at the shop on the printout. As for the tires, they are "chopped" a bit on the inside as well. The toe is going to be adjusted as well as the camber once the camber kit comes in.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If it's stock, toe is out. Align the toe and it will be fine providing no suspension parts are damaged.

~Lefty~

iTrader: (1)

Alrighty, thanks. I'll throw it up on the alignment rack over the weekend and fiddle with it. What are the factory specs for the TL-S suspension, if you don't mind me asking...?

Thanks guys.

~Lefty~

iTrader: (1)

Acutally I believe I found the factory specs courtesy of another member's post...

nfnsquared

Yeah, unless you're slammed, you shouldn't need a camber kit. Yes, your camber may be at the limit or somewhat beyond, but as I (and Turbo) have said, you should be fine as long as you keep toe in spec. I can almost guarantee that your tire issues will be gone once you get toe back in spec.

It's for this reason that I purchased Firestone's lifetime alignment deal. I shredded a tire because of this (severely cupped). I now pay much more attention to the rear alignment specs.

2004 service manual:

~Lefty~

iTrader: (1)

I have no doubt in ya. I originally thought toe was off before even throwing it up on the rack because of how the tires were wearing. I'll be sure to keep that sucker in spec.

1islandparadise

I drove mine probably 18K miles before I lowered it noticed the tires were wearing unevenly both in the front and the rear. After being lowered I purchased a set of rear Ingalls and now everything is within specs. I went to Tires Plus and paid $170 for free alignments for a year because Firestone would not put my car on their lift.

Edit: Pm "sharksbreath" (Aaron) and ask him where he bought his Ingalls. He saved like $40 going through Ebay.

Comptechtl2367

TL's are known for tire wear issues, ask any dealership. I bought a camber kit even before i lowered my car so i could control the rear specs and not have to worry about it. The service writer at Acura here in madison said they have non stop issues with it and have to advise customers to get an alignment 3-4 times a year and rotate tires every other oil change to slow the wear. My friend had this issue, go a camber kit and boom it was fixed. (I know its the toe also but with the camber kit you can adjust toe alot easier then with that stupid cam bolt that locks itself in)

~Lefty~

iTrader: (1)

Great, thanks guys!

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Believe that and I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
Sounds like a money maker for the dealership. I've asked this before; does one believe the alignment goes in and out on its own? When out of spec, rotating tires quickly only spreads the ueven wear over all 4 tires if the alignment is out of spec. The key is to get it aligned properly and there’ll be no problems.

SPEEDYP

iTrader: (1)

I have a camber kit installed. Toe has been corected at the back and I am running -1 if camber on both rear wheels. No matter what I do I seem to have a problem with the drivers rear tire. It's always cupping.

Drove about 1500 miles and tire is severely cupped. went to alignement shop. Toe was .38. set camber to -1 and toe to 0. Installed new tires. about 1500 miles later new tire severely cupped again. Get car aligned and toe is at 0 and camber at -1.5. Set camber back to -1. Now 1000miles later and I'm starting to hear the sound the tire makes when its cupped. I am confused and don't understand why this keeps happening everything is set to spec. shocks are in good conditions and almost new. only this one tire is giving me a hard time...

can anyone advise ? this is gettting very expensive !!

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Ever in an accident? If so, or just to check, measure the distance from the middle of the front wheel to the middle of the back wheel. Should be the same dimensions on both sides.

SDSilverM3

Do you have any alignment shops in your area that specialize in lowered cars or track cars?

They should be able to do something with the toe to compensate for the negative camber (slight toe in). I know it's comparing apples to oranges but I'm running -2.5 degrees on my S2000 and and close to -2 on my GSR. Both have gotten 20k miles out of one set of tires so it's definitely possible with the correct specs.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Yes see quote below:



The rear camber issue on 3rd gen TL's is common. I'd recommend an Ingalls rear camber kit since it includes 2 arms (1 for toe and 1 for camber). You need a qty of 2 of these for the rear of a car:

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

SPEEDYP

iTrader: (1)

No the car has never been in an accident not even a fender bender...


I don't know of any, but i'm sure there's a few around. I just don't understand why the tire would cup and wear that much on the inside if my toe is at 0 and camber at -1. And why only on 1 tire

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If you are using the same shop, they have an equipment problem. If the car is set within factory specs, the problem wouldn't exist. The TL's only have a camber problem, when the specs are outside the factory settings, e.g. dropped or suspension problems.

SDSilverM3

Hmm... just a stab in the dark but how much do you weigh?

SPEEDYP

iTrader: (1)

That's what I was thinking I will check out another shop. See what the machine reads.

hahahha about 200 and we did the alignement with me in the car.

SDSilverM3

Just checkin'.

Jesstzn

Hey!!!! .. do me a favour .. once you get it aligned and toe set and the machine is still hooked up to the rear wheels pull down on the car or add a couple people to the back seat and see what happens with the toe setting.

I have had a wear issue even after the Ingalls kit install. My camber is set very close to vertical and toe very close to 0. Most of my trips las summer involved weight in the trunk leading me to think as the rear drops the camber obviously changes but does it also change the toe?

TYIA

nfnsquared

Yes (toe increases with load), according to this TSB:

http://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/B05-050.PDF

You may want to try installing new bump stops...don't know but it might make a difference....

Jesstzn

Dunno what the bump stops would do .. I never bottom ... lowered 1" is all ..

I can't get to the link .. not authorized. Does it say which way the toe changes? I am getting inside cupping on both back tires which would lead me to believe it toes it out.

Maybe I should be shooting for max toe in limit? That sound right?

OP sorry to hijack.

nfnsquared

just says increases. not sure what they mean by that. To view the TSB, you need to go to the TSB page and follow the instructions list to gain access:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-technical-service-bulletins-tsbs-3g-garage-j-016-a-613659/