Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension Camber and some other ?s

One of my tires got a bulge in the sidewall so I went to get it replaced yesterday, and when the car was on the lift we noticed that the inner tred on the other front tire was competely shot.
I got an alignment when I had put the tires on originally, which was only 19,000 miles ago, just a little over a year. However I am well aware of the fact that there is no camber adjustment for the 'tour w/out a camber kit, and the inner side of the tire being bare and the outer being fine would suggest a camber problem, correct?

So they had to order another tire, and I am going back in today to get it done. They suggested I get another alignment, but if you can't adjust camber, then that would be a waste of money wouldn't it?

My car looks slightly lower than other stock SVTs I have seen, so I have always had a suspicion that the suspension isn't stock. I guess I need to take off a wheel and check it out. If it is stock suspension, could a warn out suspension (90xxx miles) cause camber issues?

Sorry for the long post

Camber will only exacerbate inside edge wear. You have a toe problem. Shoot for 0-1/16" toe out and that should cure it.

Also get a printout before and after. If you or a previous owner bent something, it could also cause problems with alignment. Did you maybe hit something in the last 19k miles? Keep up with rotating the tires as well. If you still have problems after you get it all done up there, come down here and I'll put your car on the alignment rack and see what's up.

Until you have some alignment readings it's all speculation. I suspect that you could optimize the camber setting for tire wear with camber kits, but I also suspect that your main problem at the moment is the toe setting.

Have you ever replaced the front lower control arms? The bushings will often fail after 60k miles which allows extra movement in the front end (not good ). It would be a good idea to check them out and replace them if the bushings show wear. If they are worn, they will not be able to hold an alignment anyway. If you have the newer 2 bolt ones which you probably do, they run around $50-60 per side.

As far as the stock suspension sag goes, measure the height of your fenders. If its not siginificantly lower than 26" in the front and 25.5" in the rear, you probably have the stock suspension. You can see my current post on bat springs and bilstein struts for my before and after ride heights. Good Luck

I second the control arms- excess play in the bushings means excess toe-in under power, and toe-out under braking/coasting: not good for tire wear. I firmly believe the reason for some cars chewing up tires more than other Contours is the 2-bolt LCAs. There is just way too much play in them. However, a good alignment and fresh arms is enough to keep wear even. You just need to make sure eveything stays aligned.

Same thing happened to me when I had my last tires. When I put the new wheels and tires on, I got an alignment. So far the tires have been wearing well with 7,000 miles on them.

I will probably be buying new suspension parts before Christmas so hopefully nothing will get of control in the mean time. Might get my subframe welded too if I have enough money.

EDIT: My suspension is pretty much shot. If I put my car on a lift it will go back to stock height but after a few hours it will look lowered. I remembered when I first put pics up on the CEG and everyone asked what lowering kit I had.