Z95m6

Does anyone know what it means when the outside edge of your front tires are being worn faster than the rest of the tire. I just had the car realign a month or 2 ago and they are wearing rather fast all of a sudden. Its had both tie rod ends replaced and i jacked up the car and shook the wheel to see if there was any noticable play the wheel. There was none. Can worn shocks cause this? Also does replacing the front shocks with oem ones require the car to be aligned again. i only ask because i know when i had my motor out the bottom i had to get the front end realigned and i figured it was because i had the shock mounting points loose and positioned differently. I'm gonna have my front end apart for LS1 brake upgrade and was wondering if i need to replace the shocks too if that could hurt the alignment or tire wear. I want to get it all done so i only have to get the car aligned once after the new brakes.

RE AND CHERYL

The tires wearing on the outer edge can be caused by anything from your camber and toe adjustments to the driver taking turns too fast.

When you install the LS1 brakes you will have to get the car aligned again because you are changing the spindels and minor differneces from one to the other will effect your allignment.

Z95m6

well the outside tire wear just started not to long ago and is pretty aggressive wear. I know i'm gonna have to get everything realigned after the LS1 brakes. I was just wanting to know if there is anythign i should check or replace before i take it to the shop. I don't want to waste money having to get it aligned twice because there was some worn out part like shocks that i didn't know about. I also don't want the shop to tell me they can't align it because they need to replace some worn out part that they will charge me 4x the amount it would cost me to replace it myself. Make sense?

LT4Firehawk

If you are doing the LS1 front brakes, it would be a great time to go ahead and replace the front shocks too. I'd recommend a set of Bilsteins, you'll be amazed at the difference over the stock units (which really are not very good at all, even with stock springs).

If you can, have them check the alignment specs before they start the work. It's possible that you don't have enough negative camber (or even have positive camber). This could definitely cause premature wear on the outside. GM's alignment specs suck for these cars, and should NOT be used, even for just a daily driver. The specs I'd recommend are:

max negative camber (should be -.5 to -1)
max positive caster (from +3 to +4)
1/16 to 1/32 toe in

If you have lowering springs or aftermarket front A arms, you might be able to get more negative camber, in which case I wouldn't go any more than -1.5 (I run that and have perfectly even wear). Also, if you want quicker steering response, you can go zero toe, or even very slightly positive. The problem is this will make the car track on ruts a little more. I run zero toe and am very happy with it.

agrsiv95

When checking front end play, you need to jack on the lower control arm you are checking to take the load off of the ball joints. Put your hands at 12 and 6 o'clock and push to rock the top and bottom of the wheel in and out. This will give you a better idea of upper or lower ball joint play. when you check the inner and outer tie rods, put your hands at 3 and 9 o'clock and do the same thing as above except with lighter pressure. The car should have both front wheels of the ground and the steering wheel should be unlocked so you don't feel the steering lock play. If you have a second person they (or you) can touch the respective part to feel play. If your front struts are worn out it uneven wear (choppy or cupped) across the whole tire tread section. Check your ball joints and lower control arm bushings for the wear you describe.

Hope this helps,

J