Desperately need professional opinion for my suspension problem

[xlosinghopex]

Hey, my suspension has caused me probably more pain than it's worth and now I need to seriously get it right. I drive a 94 del sol VTEC with the addition of KYB AGX shocks and Eibach Sportline springs which they report drops the car 1.8". I also have 17" rims but I'm not sure how that affects the height. My toe was clearly off and the tires were balding on the inside so I brought it in for an alignment. On the computer it had no caster or camber settings from Honda, just the toe so the guy was only able to fix the toe but I still had the off camber. I'm aware that the suspension drop creates this negative camber but is a camber kit my only solution? (after reading the previous post it seems that way) I need to do something quick because my 2 $100 tires are bald 80% of the way out from the inside of the tire after only 3000 miles. Money is an issue for me right now. I need a professional opinion on what to do: will the kit fix my problem, can a mechanic help me, should I get new springs and raise the car? I feel like my tires are never going to stay aligned because having the car lowered means I have to tighten the shocks. Even on the second loosest setting on the AGXs I feel every bump in the road. With this tightness when I hit a pothole the impact is so hard I feel like the alignment is going to be off. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[CivicSiRacer]

Well toe will have a bigger impact than camber. A 1.8" drop is not necessary to get a camber kit. I ride around on a 2" drop no camber kit and my tires have lasted well over 30K (10K daily driving and 40'ish autocrosses and 2 track days).

I would suggest 0 toe front and rear and remember to rotate the tires every 4000 miles and maybe flip the tires on the rims every 12,000-16,000 miles.

What air pressures are you using in your tires? I recommend 40-42psi for daily driving. Which will help wear too.

[xlosinghopex]

Do you really think the off toe would have caused the tires to be bald on the inside after only 3k miles? I realize the effect it would have but the quickness of the wear made me feel that it had to be the camber as well. I had the toe straightened 3/4 of the way through and they still wore out, I'm not sure if it took longer though. I know the drop isn't significant but is there still a possibility of it making the camber negative at all? I feel that I shouldn't forget about the possibility that the camber kit might fix the problem. I figure since I'm not sure about the camber maybe I should just raise the car, wouldn't that fix the problem indefinatly? As for the pressure I have Falken Ziexs (205/40/17) and they say 50 psi on them. I figured the recomendation on the tires would be the best pressure to put in them. Should I change it? Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

[CivicSiRacer]

We have debated whether toe or camber wears out tires quicker. And the consensus was toe wears your tires quicker than camber.

Having crazy toe settings is like pushing an eraser across sand paper.

The pressures you should run is not necessarily what it says on the tire. That's the max you can run. You should run 2-4 psi higher than stock for upgraded rims and tires. Running max pressures will also contribute to abnormal wear of your tires, but will give you better mpg

[xlosinghopex]

OK, I have new information. I measured my camber on my front tires and it was negative 3.2 degrees. How drastic is this? Could lowering it 1.8" do that much? Does this mean I need the camber kit?

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally posted by xlosinghopex
OK, I have new information. I measured my camber on my front tires and it was negative 3.2 degrees. How drastic is this? Could lowering it 1.8" do that much? Does this mean I need the camber kit?

You have a del Sol right? So you are dropped 1.8" and have 3.2 negative camber? There is no way you are dropped 1.8" then. How much finger gap do you have between the tire and fender?

To have a 3.2 negative camber you have to be dropped like 3" or have a camber kit. Or you measured your camber wrong.

[Tominos]

how did you measure your camber? i was hoping to do this but dunno how.