Technical Front Wheel Camber

[Stilomeister]

Had my Stilo since April last year and went throught a pair of front tyres in about 10,000 miles (the usual inner edges). Had the tracking etc checked at 5 & 8000 but no improvement. So after a bit of digging found a couple of companies making camber bolts but I decided on H&R. Was a bit sceptical but fitted them and set the camber at +2mm, then adjusted the tracking to just toeing in. So far I've done 9,000 miles and tyre wear seems ok so far and the general cornering and road noise has improved. Has anyone else had any joy along these lines?

 

[dan-the-man]

I had 4 wheel alignment done at FIAT and they found one of the rears to be out (which would cause the fronts to be out) so they changed the rear stub axle under warranty and I've had 4 new tyres.

done about 4k miles in them and they seem ok for now.

Although I've noticed the Stilo does tend to tram line across the road quite a bit but this just seems to be how the car drives as the 3 Stilos that I've driven have been the same.

 

[Deckchair5]

Mine used to tram line horribly when i was on manufacturers recommended pressures but a couple of extra psi made all the difference. The French Stilo guys sussed it out too and threw away Fiat's "recommendations" for their own

Early Stilos seemed to go out with the wrong steering alignment or no alignment checks at all. Then the issued figures were wrong too so tyre shops, unwittingly, even set them up out of alignment.

With the tracking set right and tyre pressures set so the car isn't going sideways all the time then you're in with a chance. All my tyres,front and back, wear down dead flat across the tread. It even surprises me!

 

[Argonought]

Decks,

How about posting full (French) recommended alignment and tyre pressure info for all models. Far better to post this then have people experimenting I'd say.

Don't forget 'tram lining' can also be tyre related. It's never been a problem on my P6000's

 

[PNL]

Decks,

How about posting full (French) recommended alignment and tyre pressure info for all models.

This would be very usefull info for the members and just at this point in time when I am due for a tyre change on the front tyres and the mot looming :chin:

 

[Deckchair5]

There's so many different size wheels and different tyres and different weight cars from the 1.2 to the 2.4 makes it too varied for set figures.

Have a look here at some French Stilo owners personal findings
http://stilo-club.com/viewtopic.php?t=3948
They're all a few psi above "recommended" figures, largely up on the fully laden figures

But you must go with what you feel, it's often a personal preference.

 

[PNL]

Well from what I can make out [not speaking the language] they seem to be using 2.7 bar in the 17" tyre [215/45/17 ] I got nothing to lose so will give it a try .. didn't see any alignment figures though

 

[PNL]

Had my Stilo since April last year and went throught a pair of front tyres in about 10,000 miles (the usual inner edges). Had the tracking etc checked at 5 & 8000 but no improvement. So after a bit of digging found a couple of companies making camber bolts but I decided on H&R. Was a bit sceptical but fitted them and set the camber at +2mm, then adjusted the tracking to just toeing in. So far I've done 9,000 miles and tyre wear seems ok so far and the general cornering and road noise has improved. Has anyone else had any joy along these lines?

Hello stilomeister can you be more specific on where you purchased these from and have you a price for the members who may wish to do this

 

[coyotes_uk]

I went and had 4 new tyres fitted last saturday but the guys werent able to check the tracking so she's going back this saturday for that! Love the new tyres very low noise! May check the psi and adjust it to a few bar higher if thats what most people seem to be recommending!

 

[Deckchair5]

A few bar higher? Whoa! Steady there. Check your figures

For alignment the Stilo needs the smallest fraction of toe in, just 1mm +/- 1mm. So you just set the wheels running parallel front to back and then just give the merest fraction of toe in.
Not the ridiculous 4 degrees of toe in that early Stilos were coming off the production line with

 

[Argonought]

Had my Stilo since April last year and went throught a pair of front tyres in about 10,000 miles (the usual inner edges). Had the tracking etc checked at 5 & 8000 but no improvement. So after a bit of digging found a couple of companies making camber bolts but I decided on H&R. Was a bit sceptical but fitted them and set the camber at +2mm, then adjusted the tracking to just toeing in. So far I've done 9,000 miles and tyre wear seems ok so far and the general cornering and road noise has improved. Has anyone else had any joy along these lines?

Using camber bolts to adjust camber if the factory set-up is wrong is a good idea but I don't think I'd ever set it positive.

It should be -1°10' to -0°10'

The native handling of the Stilo is very good on very fast curves and I don't think I'd be happy playing around with the suspension alignment that much.

I think you'd do better to take Deckchair's advice and increase tyre pressures if you're concerned about early tyre wear. Of course that can also affect handling so it very much depends on how you drive

 

[PNL]

I know of one company that have fitted camber bolts to many cars including fiats with a massive improvement in tyre ware and general handle-ability have a look at this link
http://www.elitedirect.com/06a-alignment/index.html

but would still be interested in what stilomeister has to say on the subject and where he purchased his :chin:

 

[coyotes_uk]

A few bar higher? Whoa! Steady there. Check your figures

Of course I didnt mean to crazy levels maybe one or two psi higher!

 

[Deckchair5]

Yes i think with an extra 2 bar in there your car would be floating over the hills

 

[coyotes_uk]

Yes i think with an extra 2 bar in there your car would be floating over the hills

I dislike that modeo advert thats on at the mo, I think its rubbish!

 

[Stilomeister]

Hello stilomeister can you be more specific on where you purchased these from and have you a price for the members who may wish to do this

Hi I got them from this link, scroll down about half way down

http://www.performancealloys.com/loweringkits_springs.asp

I mean to say that I adjusted the camber to compensate for the inner tyre wear by that amount as the wear was excessive.

I wonder why Fiat didn't look into a similar solution or alter it at the factory. It was supposed to be cured after 2004 models I believe but I've heard stories to the contrary.

 

[Argonought]

I mean to say that I adjusted the camber to compensate for the inner tyre wear by that amount as the wear was excessive.

I don't think you'll find adjusting the camber will make any significant change to the front inner tyre wear issue that many Stilos suffer from. Pretty sure the wear issue is related more to the dynamics of the front suspension itself :chin: Given Deckchairs comments (he has even wear) it seems that low (recommended) tyre pressures acerbate this affect.

As said before very good idea to keep the suspension within spec but not sure plain experimenting is such a good idea. Don't forget to keep an eye on the rear setup too as that can affect front wear

 

[PNL]

I think the bolts are a perfect solution for a car with excessive inner tyre ware they are simple to fit but would advise anyone using them to get the camber set up by some one who has optical equipment ..and as far as I can see fiat in their arrogance didn't deem it necessary ..but how wrong they are as this would have been a very easy way of sorting the problem out..I can recall working on VW's with camber bolts as part of the suspension set up and my fathers sirocco is just one that comes to mind..

Thanks for the link

 

[Argonought]

I can recall working on VW's with camber bolts as part of the suspension set up and my fathers sirocco is just one that comes to mind..

You're right about the camber adjustment on the Scirocco. Some moron at a local garage decided to undo the bolts on mine (to remove the drive shaft) and then tightened them up any old how

The car was a death trap when I drove it away

To cap it all they had the bloody nerve to issue me with an MOT certificate when it clearly wasn't roadworthy :tosser: I should have had them shut down :bang:

 

[Stilomeister]

I don't think you'll find adjusting the camber will make any significant change to the front inner tyre wear issue that many Stilos suffer from. Pretty sure the wear issue is related more to the dynamics of the front suspension itself :chin:

I'll have to disagree with you on this in my case. The rear tyres wear normally & after a comprehensive check on the front & rear components to eliminate wear or damage,tyre pressures, rotating tyres, decided to try the bolts.

I had previously had a 4 wheel laser alignment from a highly recommended garage

http://www.thistlethwaitestyres.co.uk/align.htm

Which was useful but the problem persisted.

For around £40 for the bolts, seems cheaper than 2 tyres every 6 months.