Guys with lowered cars + 17" wheels...question

That's not a "correct" alignment for a lowered car. Put 1.25 degrees of negative camber in it, pay attention to the toe setting (0 to 1/16th inch total toe out), and it won't rub and they won't wear funny. If you stand the tires up so straight that they rub the fender lip, you're doing it wrong.

What does your premature wear look like?

atey950 said:

I need to do some homework on this. So you're saying the wheel shouldn't sit plumb?

Click to expand...

It should absolutely not be straight up and down. First, at the risk of oversimplification, the tire needs to lean into a corner in order to generate the most traction. I can point you to several literary sources that explain why, or you can trust me However, as soon as it generates traction, the body rolls, and then what happens? If you have 1.5 degrees of camber, but 2 degrees of body roll, what do you have? half a degree of positive camber, and now the tire is actually pointing outward, onto the outside edge of the tire. Furthermore, there's a concept called "camber gain". That's where the tire gains more negative camber the more the suspension is compressed, according to its "camber curve". But in a strut suspension like these, camber gains at a decreasing rate. Put simply, when you lower the front end of a strut suspension like these, and you don't relocate any of the suspension pivot points, you set it up to lose camber relative to body roll.

Study this for a visual: http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm#Curve

Bottom line: You need negative camber, especially with a lowered mustang. Now it won't be long before some knuckledragger comes along and says "negative camber wears the inside edge of your tires". No, it doesn't. TOE wears the tire, and negative camber concentrates it on the inside edge. So be careful about your toe setting, make sure your tie rod ends and bushings are good, and set the front end to 1.25 degrees of negative camber, then forget about it.