Tire is worn unevenly?

[drtruong]

I have Tein shocks and struts from previous owner. I have noticed the left gear tire is worn down on the inside more; the left side front tire is lower than the passenger side front tire. What are the signs and the symptoms? Bad shock? need alignment?

I want to fix the problem first prior replacing the new gear tires. Thanks in advance

 

[EdinKali]

Did the previous owner have the car re-aligned after installing the Tein's?

Check for leaks and you can do the bounce test on each corner to check the shocks. Should only rebound once. If it keeps bouncing the shock has lost the ability to dampen the spring.

 

[drtruong]

I went to 2 places to have the alignment: the 1st place would not do it because he said the car is too low (quoted $49); he then referred me to another place. This place is younger kids who work there. Once I pulled the car over, all of them came out from the shop while he was in the office talking to another kid at the reception area.

He said his computer broke down and try to get it fix by tomorrow. I asked how much would it be? He replied " uhmmm..... $149".

I asked why it is more than the usual. He was b*ll sh*tting me "Because it is NSX, it takes more time to adjust".

When I left, I said " I am taking the car home because your computer broke" The other young kid in the shop jokingly said " you can leave it here". I jokingly asked him as I entered the car: " For the joy ride ?" .

These are bunch of young kids whom I don't trust to have my NSX done by them.

How much does cost to do the alignment for NSX?

Will Acura dealer do the alignment, anyone knows?

 

[EdinKali]

If I recall correctly a full 4 wheel alignment will run between $80-100 at a decent alignment shop.

Some dealers may have an alignment rack. Even the small shop I used to work at had a 4 wheel Hunter alignment rack. Call the local dealers in your area and see if they have one.

 

[Sandman1962]

I just got my allignment today. It was at a Les Schwab (where I've always been treated great - even at three different locations). They had the set up necessary for the allignment (the one that uses a mirror system, as I didnt want to remove any body parts for the wheel to wheel laser system).

It didn't seem to take all that long and I cannot vouch for the accuracy of their allignment. The computer print out indicated my allignment wasnt really that far out of spec. The kind of bothersome thing is that the specs are not identical to both sides, but certainly within the "specified range."

Anyways, It ended up $83.50 for allignment all around. Not bad, but still in the back of my head, 'why are the left and right numbers not identical?....'

 

[drtruong]

I just got my allignment today. It was at a Les Schwab (where I've always been treated great - even at three different locations). They had the set up necessary for the allignment (the one that uses a mirror system, as I didnt want to remove any body parts for the wheel to wheel laser system).

It didn't seem to take all that long and I cannot vouch for the accuracy of their allignment. The computer print out indicated my allignment wasnt really that far out of spec. The kind of bothersome thing is that the specs are not identical to both sides, but certainly within the "specified range."

Anyways, It ended up $83.50 for allignment all around. Not bad, but still in the back of my head, 'why are the left and right numbers not identical?....'

Do you think Les Schwab did a good job on your car ? And how long did it take them to finish?

I talked to a closest dealer which is 80 miles from my house that they do alignment.

Would the dealer be more competent than Les Schwab since they know more about NSX?

 

[nsxnut]

It didn't seem to take all that long and I cannot vouch for the accuracy of their allignment. The computer print out indicated my allignment wasnt really that far out of spec. The kind of bothersome thing is that the specs are not identical to both sides, but certainly within the "specified range."

The left side front tire is lower than the passenger side front tire.

Anyways, It ended up $83.50 for allignment all around. Not bad, but still in the back of my head, 'why are the left and right numbers not identical?....'

Caster can and may want to be different side to side to account for road crown.
Camber and toe should be the same side to side.

You mentioned one side being higher than the other?

I suspect the ride height is not set properly when the Tien's were installed.
Changing the ride height will effect camber and toe.
You will need an alignment after adjusting the ride height.

Ideal ride height would account for the drivers weight.
Drivers side would be slightly higher without anyone in the car. Not much though.


Inside edges will always ware first on an NSX. Unless you have all the camber
taken out.


If the one shop was going to charge you $149 and set the ride height that would be a very good deal.

 

[drtruong]

Caster can and may want to be different side to side to account for road crown.
Camber and toe should be the same side to side.

You mentioned one side being higher than the other?

I suspect the ride height is not set properly when the Tien's were installed.
Changing the ride height will effect camber and toe.
You will need an alignment after adjusting the ride height.

Ideal ride height would account for the drivers weight.
Drivers side would be slightly higher without anyone in the car. Not much though.


Inside edges will always ware first on an NSX. Unless you have all the camber
taken out.


If the one shop was going to charge you $149 and set the ride height that would be a very good deal.

This is the man I need to talk! I will post some pictures of the tire and the height of the Tein. I will ask you more on this topic.

The shop was going to charge me is for only alignment, not to adjust the height of Tein. But i am not going there, who knows what they are going to do to the car when i am not there (Well, at least the way they acted when they saw the car, the way I felt)

 

[PoohBEAR]

that is normal....search for the camber kit in the vendor section. I fixed it with that....

 

[drtruong]

Caster can and may want to be different side to side to account for road crown.
Camber and toe should be the same side to side.

You mentioned one side being higher than the other?

I suspect the ride height is not set properly when the Tien's were installed.
Changing the ride height will effect camber and toe.
You will need an alignment after adjusting the ride height.

Ideal ride height would account for the drivers weight.
Drivers side would be slightly higher without anyone in the car. Not much though.


Inside edges will always ware first on an NSX. Unless you have all the camber
taken out.


If the one shop was going to charge you $149 and set the ride height that would be a very good deal.

Hey Don,

The origin Tein shocks were set up evenly on both sides of front tires. I noticed the front left tire was rubbing against the fender liner, so I raised the front left shock up to even it out by measuring the height from the tires to the front highest point of the fenders (see the pic. below) the darker green (on the front left) is the difference that I needed to raise up to even it out on both front tires:

It is 1/2" difference of the left side





I still cannot figure it out why the front two don't have the even height when the shocks were set up at even height ( the tires are identical)? Please explain. I think this is the main problem that I am still puzzling.

If both of you (PoohBear and you) say that it is normal to have a wear on the inside more, why the right gear is worn more evenly than the left gear?

I only weigh 155lb. I hope I am not that fat:biggrin:.

See pictures below: front right and left heights respectively at even height after adjusted the left shock as the pictures above.

 

[nsxnut]

I don't know what tien's you have. The RE's you can extend the shock length and also move the spring perch.
I had these at one time. I have moved on to the Comptech Pro setup but that is a different discussion.

Ride height is set by measuring the height of the car at the jack points.
The jack points are the right behind the front tires and in front of the rear tires.

When you install the shocks you measure and set each shock. this will get you close.
Once installed you need to set the ride height by measuring at the jack points.
When done you should have the car aligned.

You should have about 1/2 inch forward rake. aka the back should be 1/2 inch higher than the front.

The springs may not be identical. Weight side to side may not be identical.
If you have the RE's the Length of the shocks may not be set the same.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Don

 

[NMYMIRR]

I'm not sure where you're located, but if you can make the trip out to Milpitas and go to http://www.autoinnovations.com/, they can probably help you out. Talk to Orlando, they have been doing aligments on all my cars since 1990. There are several members here who have used them.....http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41528&highlight=auto+innovations They're very professional and, NO they won't take your car out for a "JOY RIDE". Good luck with that!

Orlando Cagatao
Auto Innovations
1337 Minnis Circle
Milpitas CA 95035
(408) 956-8004

www.autoinnovations.com

 

[drtruong]

I don't know what tien's you have. The RE's you can extend the shock length and also move the spring perch.
I had these at one time. I have moved on to the Comptech Pro setup but that is a different discussion.

Ride height is set by measuring the height of the car at the jack points.
The jack points are the right behind the front tires and in front of the rear tires.

When you install the shocks you measure and set each shock. this will get you close.
Once installed you need to set the ride height by measuring at the jack points.
When done you should have the car aligned.

You should have about 1/2 inch forward rake. aka the back should be 1/2 inch higher than the front.

The springs may not be identical. Weight side to side may not be identical.
If you have the RE's the Length of the shocks may not be set the same.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Don

Hey Don, thank you very much. It is very informative.

 

[drtruong]

I'm not sure where you're located, but if you can make the trip out to Milpitas and go to http://www.autoinnovations.com/, they can probably help you out. Talk to Orlando, they have been doing aligments on all my cars since 1990. There are several members here who have used them.....http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41528&highlight=auto+innovations They're very professional and, NO they won't take your car out for a "JOY RIDE". Good luck with that!

Orlando Cagatao
Auto Innovations
1337 Minnis Circle
Milpitas CA 95035
(408) 956-8004

www.autoinnovations.com

My brother lives in Fremont. I might have to take the car down there to have it done. Thank you