Went to sears today and got 4 new kumho solus hp4s and an alignment check. They told me they had to adjust the toe. When they were done, the mechanic said that if the car pulls to any side that I would need an alignment camber kit and if the rear tires get uneven wear then I would need shims installed.

Why would I need either of these. I just replaced the stock tires. They're the same size and my car isn't lowered. Are they trying to get me to buy unnecessary parts?

If I should, I can upload a copy of the paper with the adjustments of the toe.

Thanks for the help

 

i thought u only needed chamber kit and shims if you were dropped more than 1.5 inches. you may need the alignment but i dont think you need the chamber and shims

 

Exactly. Thats what I thought. We'll see if it pulls today when I jump on the highway.

 

Okay, jumped on the highway and it pulls to the right. So do I need this so called alignment camber kit or did they screw up the alignment?

 

if you are still on the stock suspension, you shouldnt need any camber kits or shims of any kind. new tires are not going to effect your alignment. it scares me that the tech told you these things. also make sure your tire pressures are the same in all the tires. it only takes a couple psi to get a pull

 

i got lowering springs on the way, its going to lower the front 2" and the back 2.5" whats a camber or shims, never heard of it before

 

If they adjusted the toe, they probably messed it up. If you had typical wear on the old tires, I would have told them not to touch the suspension. What they might have done is adjusted the toe on 1 wheel so that 1 points pretty stright and the other points to the right. Or maybe they both point right now.

"Toe" is the distance between the front of the front tires vs the distance between the back of the front tires. "Toe In" means that the front of the tires are closer, or the tires are slightly pointed in. "Toe Out" means that the front of the tires are farther than the back, tires are slightly pointed out.

"Camber" is the lean of the tire and is completly seperate from the toe adjsutment. "Postiive Camber" means that the top of the tire leans out, and will cause more wear on the outside edge of the tire. "Negitive Camber" means that the tire is leaned in at the top and will wear the inside edge more. All cars typically are made to have a small amount of negitive camber to assist in cornering but don't create excessive wear to the tires. If you have lowered your car, it might be necessary to have the camber adjusted.

 

I had an alignment done and the fronts are fine. However, the rear camber on the one side is too positive, and from what I am told, it is not adjustable, Now, I am getting uneven wear on this tire only, and it is apparently not able to be fixed.

Today a mechanic told me that he would check to see if it was adjustable with shims, and he told me no.
I have never hit anything, but there is a .4 degree difference in camber between my two rear tires now. So, at this point I am kind of worried about this.

 

I used to be a tech at a good year repair shop, but yeah ^X2 same size tire & with no mods to the suspension you shouldnt have that prob. if ya have the warr. still on the bolt id take up there & let them fight with it....