Need advice from the Veterans...camber/alighnment

[kusa]

My 2001 V70 Cross Country came with lower profile performance street tires. I replaced them with the factory recommended size but did not have the alignment redone. I notice that my rear wheels are slightly de-cambered. I made an appointment today for an alignment and am curious why the wheels de-cambered, shouldnt I have seen an increase in camber? An independent mechanic said that I may need a camber kit. Should I skip the alignment and have the camber kit put in? IF anyone can give me some feedback on this before I take the car in I would appreciate it. Thoughts?...

Thanks

[JRL]

There are no camber kits for the rear, not adjustable.
You can buy a pair of IPD camber bushigs, they just came out.
These were specifically made for lowered R's that wound up with too much rear negative camber after a spring install.
1st you need to find out why this has happened,
as what you're describing is almost impossible

[Aviator]

First of all, tires have NO effect on alignment.......it's the other way around. JRL is right; there are eccentric bushings available from IPD, but not for our cars. If you did have a "camber kit" installed, then it goes without saying that you will be on the alignment rack after installation. I would put it on the rack, compare what you got to the specs, and if it's within specs then leave it alone. As you should know, messing with alignment changes how the car handles. Also, most cars have a negative camber on all four wheels.....this is what makes them stable in turns.

Dave.

[kusa]

Thanks Guys,

Sorry the slow response...I just got back from the field and had no communications for 9 days.

Ya, Im familiar with the IPD kit...Im assuming this is what the indi shop was talking about. So let me get this straight...There is no way to adjust camber...that just doesn't seem right.

So as far as it being the manifestation of a different problem...my first thought was that the negative camber was being caused by my coils being old and weak or my shocks are bad (both never replaced according to records)

Thoughts?

Thanks

[JRL]

I will repeat, THERE IS NO REAR CAMBER ADJUSTMENT.
Depending on WHAT the exact camber is it could or not cause issues.
If it no more than -1 degree your tire wear will be fine, if it's more than
-1.5 you probably have a spring issue
How many miles on it?
You have to call IPD to see if their bushing works on an XC's rear suspension, in theory it should

[kusa]

I will repeat, THERE IS NO REAR CAMBER ADJUSTMENT.
Depending on WHAT the exact camber is it could or not cause issues.
If it no more than -1 degree your tire wear will be fine, if it's more than
-1.5 you probably have a spring issue
How many miles on it?
You have to call IPD to see if their bushing works on an XC's rear suspension, in theory it should

I got it...there is no adjustment. IPD...already did and yes their camber kit will work. However, before I purchase that I would like to consider all angles and if it is the springs...take care of that before hand. The car has 66,000 miles on it.

[JRL]

You didn't say how far out it is, don't you have the alignment specs?

[kusa]

You didn't say how far out it is, don't you have the alignment specs?

No I dont have alignment specs. All I know at this point is that the rear wheels are visibly de-cambered or have negative camber. When I view other v70xc they do not have as much negative camber as mine. I bought the car about a month ago (63,500 miles on the car at that time) service records show that a full check and alignment was done at the dealership.

I dont now if a pic will help but here is one anyway.

[dlr97]

It doesn't look much different from my 2004 with 43K miles. I doubt that you have a problem. Have an alignment shop check if it bothers you.

[kusa]

It doesn't look much different from my 2004 with 43K miles. I doubt that you have a problem. Have an alignment shop check if it bothers you.

Thanks

[Aviator]

You need to get the car on a flat, level surface to eyeball it. I will say though that that looks perfectly normal.....looks the same as mine. Don't expect the rear wheels to be straight up and down......that's a rear wheel drive thing. You want to have some negative camber.....that keeps the car stable.

Dave.

[kusa]

You need to get the car on a flat, level surface to eyeball it. I will say though that that looks perfectly normal.....looks the same as mine. Don't expect the rear wheels to be straight up and down......that's a rear wheel drive thing. You want to have some negative camber.....that keeps the car stable.

Dave.

Thanks all! This puts my mind and bank account at ease. On a different note...does anyone know how I can get a little more lift/clearance in the rear?