2005-2009 Mustang Information on The S197 {Gen1}

Had my car aligned today and front tires still look like their leaning in to the top.

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Old 5/19/10, 07:03 PM
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Had my car aligned today and front tires still look like their leaning in to the top.

I had my local shop install maximum motorsports castor/camber plates today to correct my alignment and the front tires still look like they are leaning in to the top. Should they lean in slightly? Any Advise?
Old 5/19/10, 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by GAGT
I had my local shop install maximum motorsports castor/camber plates today to correct my alignment and the front tires still look like they are leaning in to the top. Should they lean in slightly? Any Advise?
Leaning in slightly should be fine as long as it's about 1.5 degrees or less. Leaning in is better than straight up or leaning out.
Old 5/19/10, 07:14 PM
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a little camber is sexy
Old 5/19/10, 07:24 PM
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I notice it on mine too. I'm at stock ride height with GT500 rims. I would say i have 8k miles on them and the wear is perfect.
Old 5/19/10, 07:31 PM
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Ive had my alignment checked a couple times , was OK, but at 33k the tires are toast...yeah, I only rotated them once, but all 4 had noticable inside edge wear...I tend to take corners faster than I should, was expecting outside wear but the fronts that were on the front for like 20k were to the cords on the inside, just to the wear strips everywhere else...anyone else noticing excessive inside edge wear? anyone running different camber/toe specs to help tire wear?
Old 5/19/10, 07:35 PM
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Did they align the car or just install the camber plates? If they aligned the car, they should have given you a printout of the alignment settings. Give us those settings and we can tell you if you have too much negative camber or not.

If you enjoy taking corners in a spirited manner or ever want to autocross or are interested in handling, then some negative camber is a good thing. I've got -3.0° camber in front on my Bullitt, but it is mostly used for autocross. On the other hand, if you do an excessive amount of freeway driving, hate cornering, and any racing you might do will only involve drag racing, then getting as close as possible to 0° camber may be more desirable.
Old 5/19/10, 08:30 PM
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90 K on our 05 , tires have always leaned in a little, factory settings, even with lowering Ford racing springs and struts. no wear on inside or out. Saleen 19 wheels, 19 x 9 fronts 19 x 10 rears.
Old 5/19/10, 08:31 PM
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put a big enough level on each wheel that you can touch rim edge to rim edge and see what the bubble says....


Andretti
Old 5/19/10, 08:32 PM
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Yes, they did align the car, but they didn't give me any printout. I looked at the top of the struts and I can tell that they have been moved over (to the outside) from the original position, so maybe it is right, but maybe I should call them in the morning to make sure.
Old 5/20/10, 07:22 AM
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you could always have them stand them up more if you wish.
Old 5/20/10, 10:16 AM
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I looked at some brand new cars on the lot this morning and they look the same as mine, so I'm assuming my car is fine and I am worrying over nothing, as usual...
Old 5/20/10, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by GAGT
I looked at some brand new cars on the lot this morning and they look the same as mine, so I'm assuming my car is fine and I am worrying over nothing, as usual...
Just call the shop who aligned the car and ask them for your alignment settings, for peace of mind if nothing else. They really should have given them to you when you picked up the car. If they don't have them, take the car back in and have them put the car back on the alignment rack and give you a printout of the alignment settings -- at no charge. If they aren't willing to do this, I would recommend finding another place to work on your car.
Old 5/20/10, 01:17 PM
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They said the camber was 1 degree negative.
Old 5/20/10, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by GAGT
They said the camber was 1 degree negative.
You should be fine with -1.0° camber in front. My S197 has around -.7° camber in front as it came from the factory.
Old 5/20/10, 02:05 PM
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That's good to know, because I didn't want my tires wearing unevenly. Thanks Guys!!!
Old 5/20/10, 02:45 PM
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I run -1.0 with my street setup. You're good to go.
Old 5/20/10, 11:50 PM
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You will still see some inner edge wear more than the outer, but it's fine where it's at.
Once I get my front tires off Ill snap a few pics and show you what -1.4 does to the insides. No rotations as well. Waiting for the right day to burn off the rears before I swap the new ones on
Old 5/21/10, 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Stoenr
You will still see some inner edge wear more than the outer, but it's fine where it's at.
Once I get my front tires off Ill snap a few pics and show you what -1.4 does to the insides. No rotations as well. Waiting for the right day to burn off the rears before I swap the new ones on
hey John, you think there could be 'something' with the rack and pinion that could be tweaked would be kinda like changing the ackerman angle(?) that makes the inside tire turn in more than the outside...just kinda wonder if the stock setup turns in a tad too much.Mine werent a little worn on the inside, I actually had cord showing on both inside corners(right at the edge of the belts- was just like a single thread of cord showing all the way around- and the inner corner was very noticably rounded compared to the outside). every other car Ive kinda tossed around on the corners always seemed to scrub the outsides- but the mustang had very little outside corner wear...just seemed kinda odd to me.
Old 5/21/10, 08:36 PM
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Originally Posted by ford4v429
hey John, you think there could be 'something' with the rack and pinion that could be tweaked would be kinda like changing the ackerman angle(?) that makes the inside tire turn in more than the outside...just kinda wonder if the stock setup turns in a tad too much.Mine werent a little worn on the inside, I actually had cord showing on both inside corners(right at the edge of the belts- was just like a single thread of cord showing all the way around- and the inner corner was very noticably rounded compared to the outside). every other car Ive kinda tossed around on the corners always seemed to scrub the outsides- but the mustang had very little outside corner wear...just seemed kinda odd to me.

I doubt it, I think its just the neg camber from the factory. Before I dropped it I was getting some inside wear as well. Now its just worse with adding more neg camber. But I knew what I was getting into. 120 a tire, its not a huge deal.


Heres my front tire after a few years on the front, with one side to side rotation, and -1.4 camber

















Who puts drag radials on the front of a Mustang!!!!


Me, lol. I took the fronts off and will bring them to work and have a tech swap the new ones on.
I dont have the time at work on Saturdays to pull the car in, set the rack, lift up, etc.... SO I took em off at home, and slapped the drags on there, lol.
My saturday job at Gooyear is 8 blocks from home, and all residential streets, no worries, and I dont think anyone will see me and be like WTF! thats not a Honda!


Old 5/22/10, 12:57 PM
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at least theyre not 12" slicks- that would look way too fast and furious


as I drive about 40 miles a day mostly highway, you think I could get better tire life at .5 degree? or would it really screw with the handling? went to wider tires, a bit worried the inside wear might get even worse

My old Mark VII had some negative camber too, but it would eat tire outside edges ifpushed around much at all...then too it had like 4" mushy rubber bushings on the suspension too, so it probably tucked under severely...


Quick Reply: Had my car aligned today and front tires still look like their leaning in to the top.



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