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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / April 2008Alignment question?
On the camber for the rear wheels, the + .03 to - 2.3. So if you had it aligned and the camber measuremet came it at + .4, would you expect the tech to set it to the specification's midpoint? Firestone told me if it's in spec, they are taught not to adjust it. They also said the ajustment from .3 to mid point is very small. Agree/disagree? The reason I ask is that I'm going thru tires in 25 K miles and I want my car aligned as good as it can be. Thanks, Frank -- --------------------------------- --- -- - Posted with NewsLeecher v3.9 Beta 2 Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet ------------------- ----- ---- -- - Sorry, I meant to say: On the camber for the specification for the rear wheels is + .03 to - 2.3. So if you had it aligned and the camber measurement came it at + .4, would you expect the tech to set it to the specification's midpoint? Firestone told me if it's in spec, they are taught not to adjust it. They also said the adjustment from .3 to mid point is very small. Agree/disagree? The reason I ask is that I'm going thru tires in 25 K miles and I want my car aligned as good as it can be. FYI it's 2003 ZTS Thanks, Frank -- --------------------------------- --- -- - Posted with NewsLeecher v3.9 Beta 2 Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet ------------------- ----- ---- -- - > Sorry, I meant to say: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Frank I'm in the UK, where we don't normally swap tyres around, and tyre wear rates are high due to the nature of our roads. My experience may be different to the US. However, front tyres on my Focus can be worn out in as little as 10K miles, and rears in 25K. If you are rotating your tyres when part-worn, and getting 25K miles from a set of four, that's pretty good by my standards! Chris  SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. Depends on what tires you purchase. When my tires needed replacing I bought Bridgestone Potenza G009. Check tirerack.com, they received excellent ratings, and I love them too. Also spend the money and find a shop that uses a Bear Robotic Alignment machine, or any newer model Bear. They're the best machines IMHO. If that doesn't make a difference the roads where you live are swiss cheese and you're SOL. >> Sorry, I meant to say: >> [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Chris <Top posting corrected> >>> Sorry, I meant to say: >>> [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> >> Chris > Depends on what tires you purchase. When my tires needed replacing I > bought > Bridgestone Potenza G009. Check tirerack.com, they received excellent > ratings, and I love them too. Also spend the money and find a shop that > uses a Bear Robotic Alignment machine, or any newer model Bear. They're > the best machines IMHO. From the post you are replying to: "I'm in the UK" The tyres, and tyre alignment machines that are available in the US will not be the same as used in the rest of the world. Even tyres of the same make and type will use different compounds in their construction. IME, the quality of alignment has much more to do with the standard of the operative than the type of equipment used. > If that doesn't make a difference the roads where you live are swiss > cheese I'm assuming you have never driven in Europe? Tyre wear will generally be much higher here mainly due to the much higher traffic volumes (meaning lots more stopping and starting), and the numerous bends. Have a look on Google Earth at some of the roads in Cumbria (UK)! > and you're SOL. Quite possibly. WTF does it mean? Chris SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. > <Top posting corrected> > [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > > Chris SOL: Sh** Out of Luck > On the camber for the specification for the rear wheels is + .03 to - > 2.3. So if you had it aligned and the camber measurement came it at + .4, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > FYI it's 2003 ZTS > Thanks, > > Frank I appreciate the responses. However, noww that I have all kinds of advice on tires, anyone able to address the questions on the the alignment? Thanks, Frank -- --------------------------------- --- -- - Posted with NewsLeecher v3.9 Beta 2 Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet ------------------- ----- ---- -- - Are you looking for someone to align your wheels even though a tech has told you you don't need to? I wouldn't think that we be hard as you as you're willing to pay for it. It sounds like your nitpicking. If the wheels are aligned I would "focus" on the tires you're buying and the roads you are traveling on. But you only have control of one of those. >> On the camber for the specification for the rear wheels is + .03 to - >> 2.3. So if you had it aligned and the camber measurement came it at + [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet > ------------------- ----- ---- -- - >Are you looking for someone to align your wheels even though a tech has told >you you don't need to? No, I was hoping someone with the expertise could confirm if the tech was correct. >I wouldn't think that we be hard as you as you're willing to pay for it. It >sounds like your nitpicking. With all due respect, I'm not interested in opinions >If the wheels are aligned I would "focus" on the tires you're buying and the >roads you are traveling on. But you only have control of one of those. I have on my 3rd set of tires now with all 3 being a different brand. Tires for the Focus are not cheap. Seems reasonable to me to seek advice from someone who has the expertise to answer. Thanks for your reply though. <frank@gmail.com> wrote in message news:033748e8$0$14498$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com... >> On the camber for the specification for the rear wheels is + .03 to - >> 2.3. So if you had it aligned and the camber measurement came it at + [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet > ------------------- ----- ---- -- - -- --------------------------------- --- -- - Posted with NewsLeecher v3.9 Beta 2 Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet ------------------- ----- ---- -- - Newsgroups are almost always opinions. How many techs have you gone to? If you've gone through that many tires, I would investigate other areas like the suspension, steering everything. Sounds like a there is something wrong with the car physically other than alignment. > >Are you looking for someone to align your wheels even though a tech has > >told [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] > Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet > ------------------- ----- ---- -- - >> On the camber for the specification for the rear wheels is + .03 to - >> 2.3. So if you had it aligned and the camber measurement came it at + [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Frank If the alignment is within the maker's specification, then it's not the cause of what you perceive as excessive tyre wear. It would have to be a long way from spec to significantly affect tyre wear, and if that was the case the wear pattern would show the problem. Bear in mind that the Focus is a road car, and all the suspension mountings have to be capable of absorbing road shock. To this end, the bushes and bearings are flexible. There has to be a range of acceptable settings because the same car may not settle to exactly the same position each time it is tested. That's why, when road cars are adapted for competition purposes, one of the modifications is to replace all the suspension bushes with much less compliant ones. WRT the replies on tyres, I think this was to try to reassure you that your tyre wear is not perhaps really excessive. The Focus is a small car, at least by US standards, with relatively small wheels. It also has terrific roadholding and handling. These factors are bound to have a payoff in increased tyre costs. HTH Chris SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. >WRT the replies on tyres, I think this was to try to reassure you that your >tyre wear is not perhaps really excessive. The Focus is a small car, at >least by US standards, with relatively small wheels. It also has terrific >roadholding and handling. These factors are bound to have a payoff in >increased tyre costs. For reference: I don't rotate tyres on my UK 2001 Focus. In my experience a pair of front tyres around 20k/25k miles and a pair of back tyres around 35k miles. (Firestone fuel saver tyres at around £45 ($90) each including valves, balancing and Value Added Tax @17.5%) I replace tyres before they get to the legal minimum tread depth. Tyre wear also depends on driving habits. SignatureAlan news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com >> Sorry, I meant to say: >> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > a > set of four, that's pretty good by my standards! I used to rotate the tyres on my Focus front - back once at about 12k miles, and regularly got 25k out of them. I was using Pirelli P6000's at the time. Tim.. >>> Sorry, I meant to say: >>> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Tim.. By 12K, the fronts on mine would be below 3mm. That's the lowest I will go. I've used Continental Eco-Contacts, apart from one one set of NCT5's that I hated. The wear pattern is always pretty even; I get the tracking checked every other tyre change, and it's only needed one very small correction in the life of the car. (1999.) I do live in an area with a *lot* of roundabouts, and I like to exploit the handling of the Focus, so I'm not too upset! Chris SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. >>> Sorry, I meant to say: >>> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Tim.. By 12K, the fronts on mine would be below 3mm. That's the lowest I will go. I've used Continental Eco-Contacts, apart from one one set of NCT5's that I hated. The wear pattern is always pretty even; I get the tracking checked every other tyre change, and it's only needed one very small correction in the life of the car. (1999.) I do live in an area with a *lot* of roundabouts, and I like to exploit the handling of the Focus, so I'm not too upset! Chris SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. >>>> Sorry, I meant to say: >>>> [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > the > handling of the Focus, so I'm not too upset! Not many round-abouts "around" here! Tim.. > The reason I ask is that I'm going thru tires in 25 K miles > and I want my car aligned as good as it can be. Does the tire tread wear pattern give you a clue to the problem? http://www.procarcare.com/includes/content/resourcecenter/encyclopedia/ch25/25re adtirewear.html http://tinyurl.com/tug7e http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm Have you checked the front-end suspension including ball-joints, tie-rod ends, shocks, etc. for any signs of looseness? What kinds of roads are you driving on? I replaced my Focus tires at 40 K miles. That's decent, but not great. -- Don |
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