Front camber adjustment

[peteo48]

The offside front tyre on my car is showing severe wear on the outside edge. This is different from the wheel alignment issue where the wear is typically over a wider area.

Everything points to the camber being at fault. My questions are:

1) Who could adjust this? I assume it would be beyond the capabilities of a fast fit outfit like Kwik Fit or ATS.

2) Is this a common problem with the Jazz?

Any feedback welcomed.

[guest4324]

The problem can be caused by the camber, the toe-in or the alignment but usually they are all hanging together so if you adjust the camber the alignment has to be checked as well. The toe-in is adjusted with the tie-rod ends. If a suitably qualified person can do this at kwik-fit I don't know! I would go to a proper garage where you know they will not say "ooh yes we have to change this and that and that and that".
From what I've heard this phenomenon can occur in towns which have loads of roundabouts, and I would also double check you're tyre pressures because if low, when cornering and due to the camber of the road it could cause this.

[peteo48]

I'm tempted to go to the main dealer rather than kwik fit or ATS in the light of what you say. Some cars cannot have the camber adjusted apparently and they then need new suspension components but internet searches reveal that the Jazz is not  such a car.

I'm just wondering if it has hit a pothole or something. The wear is very pronounced and affects only the outer tread. It's like a half inch, no more, of severe wear on the outside. Inside of that half inch, the wear is even so that's why I'm thinking camber.

[guest1521]

I had tracking/alignment problems on my Jazz from new. Just the inner inch of the edges of both front tyres...

Let my Honda dealer 'adjust' it first. It soon turned out that they adjusted it too far because in a couple of thousand miles or so it was apparent that the outer edges were wearing at a greater rate than the inner edges were before adjustment! (Potholes are an easy excuse...)

Took it to ATS Euromaster. Car on ramp, on their computerised system they showed me EXACTLY what needed doing. I even watched them doing the adjustment spannerwork. They then confirmed it was set to spec.

10,000 miles on new tyres (great price Michelins from ATS) and wear is perfectly even.

[peteo48]

That's a good recommendation for ATS. Haven't used them for many years as they can be a bit pricey for tyres but there is a branch near me and I have come across one or two other good reports about their service standards.

Thanks for the input so far - may well give ATS a ring.

[Garyman]

Interesting post which I'm sure have been posted before.

I've too had excessive tyre wear on my original tyres and thought it was due to the camber setting and got some Eibach camber bolts in order to adjust them. Had them fitted and went to a local automotive place i use to get my tyres and tracking for adjustments but they said everything was within manufacturers specification.

I've had my aftermarket alloys put on at the same time and been keeping close eye on them and havent noticed as much(if any) excessive tyre wear on the outside.

The only difference- and some other members had also mentioned this, is the tyre pressure.  I've been running 32 psi on the front and 30 psi on the rear- although i've been playing around with it and trying 34/32.

What psi are you running?  maybe try the different psi a go and see if theres any differences for you?

[guest1521]

Too low PSI causes both inner AND outer edges of any tyre to wear simultaneously.

Tracking/alignment causes wear on BOTH tyres on the same axle... one edge/one side or other of both tyres. Could be as little as across just one-inch of tread on the edge of both front tyres (as my experience). Wearing it smooth/bald long before ANY of the rest of the tread unsafe/illegal.

Camber... my understanding is that it is not generally adjustable on Jazz nor other modern cars typically. Though high-mileage cars (100,000+ miles) may develop a camber-related tyre wear problem due to mechanical wear. Could show on just ONE tyre first - generally the nearside (kerbside) tyre due to higher suspension loadings on that outside wheel around roundabouts. Or it's perhaps suspension component breakage/failure of some sort...

Correct diagnosis is so important otherwise wear continues over miles of 'experimentation' and tyres get to be prematurely 'shot'.

That's my general knowledge (and experience)... for what it's worth.

[madasafish]

I have used ATS with great satisfaction.

IIRC they do a free 4 wheel alignment check and adjustment was only around £35.. for the front of son's Yaris.. They have proper laser equipment and trained operators.

Kwikfit? They have been persistently useless when I sed them for wheel alignment and I would run away... 

I doubt dealers do enough alignments to be proficient...

[peteo48]

I have been running 32 and 30 psi as per handbook. It's only one tyre as well.

Camber CAN be adjusted on the Jazz on the front wheels - I found the procedure on line although clearly this was directed at experts and not a DIY task.

I suspect the settings are very critical. I haven't owned the car from new but it has taken 12,000 miles for the excess wear to become really apparent so it's probably only just out. The tyre is still legal with about 4.5 mm left on almost all the tyre except that outside half inch.

I'll report back on what ATS find.

[monkeydave]

I had tracking/alignment problems on my Jazz from new. Just the inner inch of the edges of both front tyres...

Let my Honda dealer 'adjust' it first. It soon turned out that they adjusted it too far because in a couple of thousand miles or so it was apparent that the outer edges were wearing at a greater rate than the inner edges were before adjustment! (Potholes are an easy excuse...)

Took it to ATS Euromaster. Car on ramp, on their computerised system they showed me EXACTLY what needed doing. I even watched them doing the adjustment spannerwork. They then confirmed it was set to spec.

10,000 miles on new tyres (great price Michelins from ATS) and wear is perfectly even.

did you have to book your tyres online to get the price on the website  as they dont carry mitchelins in stock? both my fron tyres have wear on the inner edges and people will say camber but i drive over about 10 square speed bumps per day over 30000 miles and nearly 4 years so i think that is the cause of my wear as the middle of the tyres is 3mm and the outer edge is 2mm and the inner is 1mm or so, i just hope i am right

[Eddie Honda]

as the middle of the tyres is 3mm and the outer edge is 2mm and the inner is 1mm or so, i just hope i am right

Sounds like under-inflation if the edges are wearing more than the middle.

[monkeydave]

as the middle of the tyres is 3mm and the outer edge is 2mm and the inner is 1mm or so, i just hope i am right

Sounds like under-inflation if the edges are wearing more than the middle.

nope 32 pounds and it does about 80% motorway work the outer edge is just a little bit more than the middle, but the inner edge is slighty more worn still, i still think it is from the square speed bumps rather than camber and also what a pain it is to buy tyres now having to book them online for fitting at your allotted time instead of just turning up, all the tyre places seem to be doing it now. i haven't bought tyres for over 4 years though.

[VicW]

From my experience of four Jazz's, they all wore their tyres slightly more on the outer edges than the middle but evenly so. The outer edges would be about 1mm more worn than the middle.

To that end I run my tyre pressures at 34/32 front/rear as opposed to the 32/30 recommended. This doesn't appear to affect the ride quality at all.

Vic.

[monkeydave]

From my experience of four Jazz's, they all wore their tyres slightly more on the outer edges than the middle but evenly so. The outer edges would be about 1mm more worn than the middle.

To that end I run my tyre pressures at 34/32 front/rear as opposed to the 32/30 recommended. This doesn't appear to affect the ride quality at all.

Vic.

thanks, i just got some new tyres on today, the mitchelins so i will try the 34/32 and avoid the sqauare speed bumps if i can lol

[madasafish]

I run Michelins at 35/30 front/rear. After 11k miles and speed humps galore, I measured tread - little noticeable variation over the width of the tread.

(Must be my good driving:-)