Need some fast help! Tyre wear..

[TheBALDpuma]

I had my alignment sorted at Christmas because a pair of rears wore down to the cords in about 5k miles. New tyres have lasted 8k and I'm not far off being in the same situation.  My alignment guy (who I trust) has got his lasers on the car and says it's all good, except for a bit too much negative camber which is not adjustable.

He's a bit stumped as he says it usually wouldn't cause a problem. He has suggested maybe putting a aftermarket bit that will show adjustment on, bit it's no guarantee and creates a possible stress point in the set up.

What are your collective thoughts? I'm waking back there now (about an hour) soon need to have a plan when I get there!

[shail]

What tyres do you have, and is the wear even over the tyre or on one of the edges?

[TheBALDpuma]

Sorry - they're Michelin pilot sport 4s and it's heavy wear on the inside edge,

[titchy]

Have you had rear camber checked wrecked a set of rears 4000mls

[TheBALDpuma]

The rear camber is .5 to .75  too negative.  Apparently this wouldn't usually cause a problem, and there is no adjustability anyway

[shail]

I had quite bad inner wear on the rear when I bought my car many years ago.  Replaced the shocks and springs and it fixed it.  I should say that I do still get more wear on inner than outer, but nothing major.

[TheBALDpuma]

I had quite bad inner wear on the rear when I bought my car many years ago.  Replaced the shocks and springs and it fixed it.  I should say that I do still get more wear on inner than outer, but nothing major.

My springs were replaced a couple of years ago, and the shocks are in okay condition.

I do get the feeling I'm going to end up throwing money at some bits with my fingers crossed but I really want to avoid that if I can!

The mechanic has suggested changing the top arms, although he can't see an obvious problem with them

[TheBALDpuma]

In less of a rush now as I have taken the car back with no work done yet, so just need to get to the botto of this and find a solution!

My mechanic said there is no way as standard to adjust the camber on the rear of the mk5 golf, however on these forums I have found this quote...

"The adjustment on the rear camber comes from the cam bolt on the inner side of the rear bottom arms, rotate them and it will move the bottom arm, in or out from the centre line of the car adding or taking away camber"

So is that as standard? And my guy was wrong?

[Stupots]

There is a bolt that adjusts the camber, but I suspect you have some shot bushes and/or the subframe is misaligned. So yes, this is standard. Your guys not knowing this would make me question if I take my car back to them.

Darkside describe it well
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/rear-control-arm-bolt-kit-for-golf-mk5-mk6-platform.html

Good luck

Stu

[TheBALDpuma]

Thanks for that.

I had every bush on the lower arm replaced at Christmas, and the upper arm looks fine apparently.

I did mention the subframe alignment problem, but he said that would throw up other problems with the geometry, not just slight negative camber...???

Thanks for the info on the camber adjustment - 

[ROH ECHT]

So where is the rear camber at?
-1.33° ±0.5° is spec and it should be adjustable enough to place it within spec.

Regarding the subframe alignment...mine was off from the factory. It had to be moved to one side 1/8 of an inch to be re-centered. I do not recall if front to back was checked.

So yeah, perhaps the bolt is seized. I do not think your tire wear is due to being lowered too much...mine is quite low and still can be aligned within spec. Mine did wear on the inside when I went through 2 or 3 sets without ever rotating them. Also, the mileage they would reach was near 10k miles. Once I began rotating them again...the inner wear ceased to appear and mileage again went over 20k miles.

[LC5F]

So is that as standard? And my guy was wrong?

Lets hope your guy is mistaken - There are 2 bolts with a Cam adjustment built into the head on each side - Inner bolt of upper control arm and spring seat control arm.

[TheBALDpuma]

So where is the rear camber at?
-1.33° ±0.5° is spec and it should be adjustable enough to place it within spec.

Regarding the subframe alignment...mine was off from the factory. It had to be moved to one side 1/8 of an inch to be re-centered. I do not recall if front to back was checked.

So yeah, perhaps the bolt is seized. I do not think your tire wear is due to being lowered too much...mine is quite low and still can be aligned within spec. Mine did wear on the inside when I went through 2 or 3 sets without ever rotating them. Also, the mileage they would reach was near 10k miles. Once I began rotating them again...the inner wear ceased to appear and mileage again went over 20k miles.

My car is standard, not lowered at all..

I'm not sure where the camber is at, he said it was nearly 0.5-0.75 out I think.

Tyre wear has only started being an issue the last 20k (on my third set in that space! Last set lasted about 4-5k on the rear, these have done 8k and are shot. Before they were doing multiples of 10k on the back - I've covered around 70k miles in the last 4 years.

[ROH ECHT]

Given all of that...I would be suspect of the camber bolts and/or the bushings are responsible for not reaching spec on the camber.

However; it is "Toe" which usually wears tires quickly on the inside when it is not set correctly.
What was the toe setting? Does your tech have the info stored if not passed along to you?

These are the specs I found years ago...I hope they are correct:
FRONT
Left Side FRONT Right Side
7.57° ± 0.50° CASTER 7.57° ± 0.50°
Cross Caster: 0.00° ± 0.50°
-0.50° ± 0.50° CAMBER -0.50° ± 0.50°
Cross Camber: 0.00° ± 0.50°
TOTAL TOE
0.17° ± 0.17°
0.08" ± 0.08"

REAR
Left Side REAR Right Side
-1.33° ± 0.50° CAMBER -1.33° ± 0.50°

TOTAL TOE
0.17° ± 0.21°
0.08" ± 0.10"
Thrust Angle: 0.00º ± 0.33º

Additional Specifications
Recommended Alignment Procedure: 4 WHEEL
Turning Angle (Inside/Outside): 20.00º/18.37º ± 0.33º

[TheBALDpuma]

I did get a print out first time around, and he said it hasn't changed a bit, but it's supposedly spot on. I'll see if I can find the print out.

I understand how toe causes the inside edge wear, but it would be a "feathering" and an uneven wear? The wear on mine is smooth, radial and consistent - which indicates too much negative camber I think?