camber problems

garethp6

garethp6

Active Member
hey guys its just a thought again when my p6 is jacked up the bottom part of the wheels stick in a lot and the car has done about 600 miles on new ish tyres and the tyres need replacing yet again how can i solve this problem also its affecting the steering as when i go round corners the steering gets so light it just wants to go straight and not turn i have got new springs to go on this year. i also messured the hight of it and she seems to high at the front it just seems like she needs to come down and the wheels migh pull out is there any way i can solve this problem
 
The P6 front suspension does indeed change camber as the car is raised or lowered. Fully jacked up the front wheels will show very marked positive camber - ie the bottoms of the wheels are closer together than the tops. Equally if you get all your mates to come and sit on the front to push it down you will see marked negative camber. At rest unladen the wheels should be either completely vertical, ie no camber, or showing slight negative camber. But you won't get to that after lowering the car off the jacks - you'll need to roll it to and fro and bounce it a bit to get the suspension to settle. Heavy front tyre wear is usually an indicator of either incorrect tracking or of very soft dampers, or both. I'd start out by getting the tracking done. Stand over them while they do it - not many tyre shops understand where the tracking is adjusted!! The ride height shown in your photos doesn't look far out.

Chris
 
well when the car is off the jack and its driving forward the bottom of the wheels have positive camber a lot but when the car goes back the bottom of the wheels have negative camber as this is costing me loads in tyres its a bity no 1 lives local to me so they could have a look
 
Just a thought, Presumably you have check the bottom ball joint. This can produce heavy tyre wear and not always
be immediately obvious when driving.
 
I used to get serious front tyre wear with Thunderdog.

A mate of mine owned a garage and one weekend we took it down there and measured everything. He even got another mate of his, a Rover Mechanic, involved and they spent most of the day finding out that there was nothing wrong with it.

Eventually they came to the conclusion that it was caused by and over enthusistic driving technique. :shock:

Have you got a 'side on' pic of it Gareth?

Richard
 
all the pics i got they seem to be right to be honest i am not bothered about the hight of the front its the wheels are i am more bothered bout as when i go forward i got postive camber then when i go back words i got negitive camber it been check my 3 local garages and a mot tester and cant find any play no where i even have replace the to bottom arms to see if that mad any difference but nothing as for my front tyres they have had it and its only done 600 miles on them and the set i had on it b4 i did think it was the rostyles on it but then i replace the front for standard wheels and mad no difference on that i have replace the shocks and nothing i am wondering if its somthing to do with the sring as she does take the bumps hard but the way the wheels are i am not surprise it does and for going round corners its horible i got to have my brakes on cause as i am trying to steerer the way i want to go it just feels like the car wants to go straight on
 
i was running the 185/14 on her but they were worn so i had a set of 165/14 2000 wheels but that has mad no difference i did have 30 in the front but then i have droped them down to about 28 cause of the steering was getting to light when it was wet is there any way i can adjust the camber as i said i got new spring to go on her soon but dont know if that will fix it or not
 
Hello Gareth,

So the camber of your front wheels changes based upon the direction in which the car is moving? If your front tyres are scrubbed out after only 600 miles, then to state the obvious...there is something seriously wrong with your steering setup or the way you drive. If the mot tester and your local garages can find no play,...do they offer any form of explanation as to a possible cause? How does it pass the mot if your front tyres are being scrubbed out due to the toe in (maybe) being way out of adjustment?

Have you taken it to a steering specialist?

Ron.
 
yea the camber does change on wot direction i am going at well i did ask my locals garages and they have no idea what is casuing this problem i even ask my local garage about having a look at the tracking and they said the tracking will not fix this problem it went throught the mot this year with the tyres but give it to the end of the year i will need to end up replacing them i am to scared to throw it round corners as i dont know wot its going to do i have driven loads of p6's in the past and this is the worst 1 cause of the shape of the wheels are at
 
Hello Gareth,

Does your steering self correct when you turn a corner or do you have to physically pull the steering wheel around to straighten up?

Ron.
 
to be honest i dont really know i think i think it does self correct i have replace the steering box as well as the 1 that did come out was worn and this had made a bit better but it still does not feel right
 
SydneyRoverP6B said:
Hello Gareth,

So the camber of your front wheels changes based upon the direction in which the car is moving? If your front tyres are scrubbed out after only 600 miles, then to state the obvious...there is something seriously wrong with your steering setup or the way you drive. If the mot tester and your local garages can find no play,...do they offer any form of explanation as to a possible cause? How does it pass the mot if your front tyres are being scrubbed out due to the toe in (maybe) being way out of adjustment?

Have you taken it to a steering specialist?

Ron.
Click to expand...

I think Ron got it right. It is not a matter of camber. If the toe-in is way out, it will cause the tyres to wear unevenly as you describe. And this is why the camber changes with the direction of the move! Gareth, you should really take your car to someone who knows P6s and their tracking adjustment.
 
Hello Gareth,

Well that will be a start. You need to find out for sure as that feature is directly attributable to steering "toe in" which for the P6 is to be set at plus or minus 1.5mm. Toe in is set by adusting the length of the track rod, and for this to be done correctly you should take the car to a steering specialist, along with the P6 steering specifications so that these can be established.

Ron.
 
yea i dont really know any 1 round here that really knows about the p6 i think i will start to make phone calls and ask them got to pop down my m8 garage 2moz i will ask them again
 
Hello Gareth,

Take a look in the phone book under steering specialists, even if you have to take a drive it will be worth it to you in the long run. Places that just do trucks might even take a look for you, they would have all the equipment, and you will never know unless you ask.

Ron.
 
so you reackon that might do it as i said if you stand in front of the car and look at the wheels they are miles out and when the car is jack up they are even worst i have never seen a p6 like this b4 i have had about 4 p6's and they were were almost straight when u look at them but the ones on this they look pissed to be honest
 
My V8s always seem to splay out a bit to be honest
10tdog.jpg


Gareth, can you take a photo of your car from this angle? ^^

You are aware that when you jack them up, the wheels will point inwards at the base, and when you drop it back down you should always push the car backwards and forwards a bit to level them up. This is normal.

If you google 'car tracking cardiff' you should get some companies up, just phone them first to check that they can do a P6, and take your manual along.

Richard
 
yea i will get a photo of this angle well i have done that when its come of the jack back and forard so the suspenion drop and i have drove the car round the block and then looked and the wheels are still the same wot ever i do the car will have positive camber but when i go back words and then look at the wheels then i will have negitive camber she is no play in the joints at all i have spoken to my local garage again to day about the tracking and they both said to be that the problem i got the tracking will not sort out my problem
 
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