Camber adjustment on Rover 600

Autodata says the camber is not adjustable on these, at all.

They're usually not designed to be adjustable but that's doesn't mean it can't be adjusted.

How do you mean? I have 17" rims and lowered suspension on the car and the tyres wear excessively on the inside edge (the company that performed the lowering the car 4 years ago didn't tell me about the camber issue and it's only recently that a garage told me the inside wear was due to that!)

Bigus

I don't know of any car of this type that has easily adjustable camber.

The message from "Bigus" contains these words:

I often wonder why people think car manufacturers make cars they way they do!

So you've been wearing out tyres on the inside for four years? It may or may not be due to the lowering. Probably not unless it was excessive. Sometimes manufacturers produce adjustment kits designed mainly for when cars have been in an accident and the geometry needs to be adjusted or quite often you can get camber adjustment kits from the spring companies. Another option is the usual ovalling of the strut top mounting holes allowing you to adjust the camber.

Well, in my limited knowledge on these matters, I thought it may be just the tracking that goes out easily or something. However, the National Tyre bloke seemed certain it was the camber and on the rear tyre he showed me the tread across the inner 25% of the tread surface was basically gone, while the tread on the outer side of the tyre was "as new". He reckoned the outer edge wasn't even touching the road. Of course everything apears normal when the car is stationery.

Is that safe then? Presumably on a specialist modding company would do that for me?

Bigus

F*ck me, how much has it been lowered?! It must drive and handle like a tea tray on ice now!

Either source or have some adjustable rose-jointed lower wishbones made so you can correct the *massively wrong camber, or put it back to standard ride height straight away.

You realise you have probably been driving an un-insured car for 4 years don't you?!

Tim..

Isn't it somewhat bleeding obvious that when you lower a car it pushes the lower suspension arms out and gives negative camber to the wheels? If you stand at the front of the car and look down it are the tyres leaning in noticeably at the top? In moderation this is fine but it's hardly surprising that if the tyres are only touching the ground on the inner edges that's where they're going to wear out.

The bit I can't get over is that someone pimped a Rover 600. I thought only grandads drove those.

-- Dave Baker Puma Race Engines

Camp American engineer minces about for high performance specialist (4,4,7)

Sometimes rears are adjustable with eccentric bolts that are fitted (from the factory) and i guess this might be the nut that you referred to. It used to be old granadas that looked like the suspension had collapsed. I can't imagine tyre fitters being "experts". Negative camber helps you in the corners but if you don't corner very much then it's not much use. The amount of extra negative camber that you get when lowering depends on the suspension design. If the guy can adjust it then fine, otherwise put some reasonably standard springs back on. If it looks "normal" then it is probably the tracking that is out but you coudl; guess the suspension angles measured and get back to us.

Bigus ( snipped-for-privacy@abdcdefghijk.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

This mob?

If their mechanical competence is up to the standard of their styling...

Dave Plowman (News) ( snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Which, when you think about what Kwik-Fit et al (and, yes, OP, I *am* including National) manage to do to tracking, is probably a VERY good job.

not a drastic amount.. this is my car (with the previous, and bad choice of, alloys on it):

I've since got rid of those and got some multi-spoke ones that resemble the ones commonly fitted to MG ZS's, but still 17" and 215/45 tyres.

I've always found it handles pretty well, tbh. I don't drive like a rally driver but do drive (and corner) fairly enthusiastically. Only once has the car not gone exactly where I pointed it, and that was on a particular bend with some standing water that got under the driver-side wheels causing the car to veer wide by a couple of feet. That's it in 4 yrs and it's driven every day.

not an option - I dont have the original springs or wheels for that matter

I have insurance covering the lowering and aftermarket wheels.

Bigus

not to me it aint! I don't know how car suspension geometry works

they don't!

hehe. I think they are very good looking cars but have always been a bit understated.. and a 200bhp 7.2sec 0-60 car deserves a bit of attention :)

Bigus

yep. it's all "Maxx Power" excess, but they've got a pretty professional set up out in a series of done-up barns tucked away in rural Oxfordshire. I think they must have had outrageous spoilers on their mind when they did my meagre lowering job!

Bigus

ahhh, that's probably why it corners pretty well then :) Must admit these new tyres I had on the front are crap (Millenium are the make) - they pull more easily on furrows in the road etc.. the previous Falken were much better for the cheaper end of the tyre market.

OK thanks.. I'll take it down to the place that does camber adjustment later and see what they say - if they can't adjust it then they can presumably measure how far out it is.

Bigus

Ok now send up a pic with it lowered :-)

There's *no way* that you have a camber problem. The rears look pretty much upright to me.

LOL. Yeah, there is a certain 'standard ride height' smell about that. OTOH, it does look slightly lower than any of these:

Yes - a bog standard E39 BMW has more negative camber than that and it doesn't wear its rear tyres unevenly.