I have excessive wear on the inner edge of my rear tires consistent with what I've read is too much toe out. (makes sense)

Have the new tires but wondering what I should expect in average life of my stock and original control arm and thrust bushings. (The car has 58k street-only miles on it.)

I know I could proactively buy new arms/bushings but haven't had the time to do the research and wondering it's a given that at 60k they're done or if previous work (this will be the first rear alignment under my ownership) may also be the cause of my toe-out condition.

Thanks fellas!

- Dave

 

The arms/bushings should last way longer than 58k street miles.

Have your car alined to these specs and you will maximize tire life.

 

Thanks Carlo,

Today I read the section in the workshop manual about doing an alignment and went out to measure the height of the car first as one of their pre-requisites to doing an alignment.

(my favorite quote: "The toe values are of decisive significance for driving dynamics and tyre wear.")

Didn't realize it but the wear on the passenger side is down to the cords but not on the driver's side.

Best I can tell the height in the rear (as measured using the procedure in the manual) is 130mm on the passenger side and ~135mm on the driver's side.

Granted, it was my first time measuring the height and I could have been a little off but the fact that the wear is much more pronounced on the passenger side leaves me wondering if I don't have something else contributing to it.

Not that familiar yet with the dynamics of this suspension but guessing that difference would have an effect on toe and tire wear.

 

What suspension is installed? Stock rear height is 163 ±10mm.

 

Yeah, that's a great question. I noticed the difference too. I was under the sincere impression it was a stock USA turbo setup but it's sitting closer to an x73 height. The front is at 130-134mm according to my noobie measurement. Requires some pretty precise positioning to get an accurate measurement but no way I was gonna get another 30mm out of my tape.

No x73 listed on my build sticker and would be stunned if the previous owner had installed it but I'll know more tomorrow when I take the wheels off to have a look.

It's not the official measurement but I eyeballed about 50mm of clearance between the top of a stock front tire and the bottom edge of the front fender which I think makes it look like a monster truck. (Rear is tougher to judge without putting a straight edge on the tire.)

Any specific markings on the springs for me to look out for?

This is my first time really studying my suspension.

- Dave

 

yes the springs are color coded.

 

Why change parts and not align the car properly?

 

I would start with a tape measure and a helper. Measure the current Toe, you probably have toe out.

 

My concern is that the car may be out of alignment because the bushings are done and creating the excessive toe condition in the first place.

Guess I'd rather not pay for an alignment, destroy another tire and then replace the parts only to re-align the car, that's all.

My plan is to take the wheels off this weekend and have closer look to see if it's obvious if any of the bushings are past their prime but have an alignment and tire install scheduled for Monday morning first thing.

In the meantime have to figure out why she's sitting so low.

This is me. Does it look like it's sitting lower than a run-of-the-mill USA turbo?

 

It's easier to look at the springs and you'll see little dots that indicate what kind of springs they are. It does look a tad lower, but again, you're asking strangers on the web to look at a 2d pic to decipher, it's tough.

Jack the car up with the wheels on and move them around. You can test it to see if the ball joint has play. IMO it's prob fine, just get the car re-aligned. Start with the easiest thing= the alignment before you go and start taking things apart. IMO it's the wrong way to approach what is probably a simple issue. An alignment is also cheaper than replacing parts. Sucks our ball joints aren't serviceable either.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the dots on the spring. That was the piece I needed and hadn't gotten to myself. Also, fair point on eye-balling the pic.

I'll have a look tomorrow and report back. I'm off next week and would love to get the tires mounted and be done after an alignment.

Thanks again.

 

So which springs are these?

Anyone know off the top of their head or have a definitive list? Can't seem to find it anywhere. (At the shop to get the alignment)

 

Just wanted to tie up the thread with the alignment results.

Looks like excessive camber was the cause of my tire wear.

(Passenger side on the left)

 

So how does it drive now? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Hah. Sorry. Good point.

It feels great. I've never experienced first-hand the noticeable effect an alignment can have on handling but two things stand out after this one.

1. The rear end no longer has a "speaking part". In the past, it felt tight. Not jumpy but just the slightest bit annoyed by direction changes and because this is my first alignment I didn't really know any better. Now, the rear just follows the front. A simplistic way to describe it for certain but in the past, it just didn't feel as relaxed in direction changes. The car seems more settled/planted in the rear and flows better. I suppose having too much camber on just one side will do that.


2. I had a noticeable vibration at higher speeds which has all but been eliminated.


I'll be keeping a much close eye on the wear of my tires now, though. Still really enjoying getting to know the car and how it's put together. The rear suspension is a fair but more complex than the semi-trailing arm setup I'm used to from my e30 M3.