Technical Strange Front wheel alignment

[phantomactive]

Hi,
I have noticed that the front wheels on my mw are sticking out differently. On the passenger side there the tyre is just about level with the bodywork and the driver side is inset about 1inch or so. Tracking seems ok as it stays in a straight line with no hands at the wheel. Any ideas?
Many thanks in advance.
Jon

 

[andreist31]

Go to a garage and do a laser tracking. It is a known fact that old stilos (02-03 as far as I know) will end up eating the interior of the front tyres quite fast. Changed my front tyres march 2011, and need to change them now before the MOT (I've done only about 15000 miles though). I am not exactly sure about why it does that but it is something to do with the camber of the front tyres and even if you adjust it, it will change again.
Make sure the garage you go to will do laser tracking as it's the best and tell them to check the camber of the front tyres to make sure it's within normal limits. Should be around 20-30 quids the tracking. (that's the price in mid-wales here)

If someone could explain more why this is happening, as I haven't really looked much into it, how be brilliant!

Andy

 

[schumraid]

I didn't think you could change the camber on standard shocks

Don't quote me on that though, I'm runnin with coilovers these days

 

[Davren]

This is the service bulletin Fiat published about the problem.
.

 

[Yellow Peril]

Thanks Davren, I'm sure this will help a lot of people as irregular front tyre wear seems to be a Stilo trait.

It's interesting that since I installed my chassis braces (upper and lower, front and rear) my tyres run straight as a die with totally even wear across the tread...

 

[andreist31]

Thanks for that Dave. My tyres are not too uneven this time (unlike last year when I've changed them), but still pretty worn considering the fact that I've done only ~15k miles. What's the average tyre life?

Andy

PS: I live in wales -> loads of twisty hills and roads which affect the tyres even more

 

[phantomactive]

This is the service bulletin Fiat published about the problem.
.

Hi Davren, i will give it a bash at the weekend hopefully it will sort the issue.

 

[Davren]

I can't really see what the service bulletin procedure achieves.

By loosening the wishbone mounting bolts, then levering the wishbone outwards would just compress the rubber on one side of the bushes. Once the bolt is retightened, the rubber would revert back to it's original position.

The only situation I can think of where this would have any effect, is if the mounting bolt holes were manufactured too big for the bolts. I thought this could have been the reason that the wishbone and it's front mounting bolt were changed from 12mm to 14mm, but the service bulletin was issued in January 2003 whereas the the wishbone didn't change until August 2007.

 

[richydraper]

This is the service bulletin Fiat published about the problem.
.

I can't really see what the service bulletin procedure achieves.

By loosening the wishbone mounting bolts, then levering the wishbone outwards would just compress the rubber on one side of the bushes. Once the bolt is retightened, the rubber would revert back to it's original position.

The only situation I can think of where this would have any effect, is if the mounting bolt holes were manufactured too big for the bolts. I thought this could have been the reason that the wishbone and it's front mounting bolt were changed from 12mm to 14mm, but the service bulletin was issued in January 2003 whereas the the wishbone didn't change until August 2007.

:worship: god like knowledge!

 

[phantomactive]

Thanks Davren, I'm sure this will help a lot of people as irregular front tyre wear seems to be a Stilo trait.

It's interesting that since I installed my chassis braces (upper and lower, front and rear) my tyres run straight as a die with totally even wear across the tread...

hi yellow, where id you get your braces from and how much are they? would they fit the MW?

 

[Yellow Peril]

hi yellow, where id you get your braces from and how much are they? would they fit the MW?

Here you go:

http://www.ultraracing.my/Catalog.asp?Brand=Fiat&Model=Stilo MS 2.4&page=1

Seems they were designed specifically for the Schumacher, but would fit the MW. The upper rear one I used (not shown for the Stilo) is the one for the Bravo which fits just fine:

http://www.ultraracing.my/Bars.asp?ID=3626

Here is the UK supplier I used:

http://www.automac.co.uk/category/6241496

Suggest you ask them for prices as it's some time since I bought mine. Good luck, you won't regret it.