Question: C-5 alignment problems

[bling vette]

I've been having alignment trouble with my 2004 convertible from day one from the factory. It looks like my convertible was set up for extreme driving. Well to make a long story short, after 29,000 miles later and three alignments I am still at a loss for answers ! After browsing through the Mid America catalog, I noticed that Baer makes heavy duty tie rods for the C-5 specifically, when driving over rough roads. Does anyone have an idea on this dilemma ?

 

[Hib Halverson]

I'm a little unsure of the exact issue, here?

Is the problem that the front or rear suspension will not hold an alignment once it's done?

Is it that you have unusual tire wear problems?

What were the alignment settings that leads you to belive the car was set up for extreme driving?

 

[bling vette]

The issue primarily has been with the front end alignment being out of whack. The first set of tires wore out on the inside edges after 9,000 miles of normal driving. After the tires were replaced and aligned to proper specs, my present front tires have extreme inner wear on the drivers side. I'm wondering if weight displacement might have something to do with it. Most all of the driving is with two passengers, myself (223 lbs), and my wife (350 lbs). Could this have an effect on alignment ?

 

[gmjunkie]

I'm a little unsure of the exact issue, here?

Is the problem that the front or rear suspension will not hold an alignment once it's done?

Is it that you have unusual tire wear problems?

What were the alignment settings that leads you to belive the car was set up for extreme driving?

From the factory,There set up for as Extreme as the car will do!! They can't let one go that you can't handle at top speed,It's a Liability Issue because there is always some Idiot that has to see if it will do it!!:L:L:L Just like the Z rated tires, If she will run 160 MPH + it has to have tires that will handle it!

Now what kind of problems are you having,Inside front tire wear with scalloping?? Very Common!! Who is doing the alignment,someone that is well versed in alignment and knows how to set one up for your driving characteristics or some computer wiz kid toe and go artist that sees it is within specs and prefers to take your $$$ and run???

 

[gmjunkie]

Most all of the driving is with two passengers, myself (223 lbs), and my wife (350 lbs). Could this have an effect on alignment ?

Will make a Big Big Difference!! If I were the guy aligning your car, with that kind of weight,You would be in it!

 

[Hib Halverson]

The weight difference, side-to-side, will not affect alignment but the overall weight, depending on how much cargo you carry when you guys take a trip and the percentage of driving where the car is over its GVW, might affect treadlife. I'd take Junk's advice and, when you have the next alignment done, either sit in the car when they do it or have the shop put weight in the seats to simulate the driver and passenger.

When the first set of tires wore out, was it all four or just the two in the front.

If the second two fronts both wore in the inside, the front end has either a camber or a toe-in problem.

I'll also guess that the alignment shop that did the first alignment didn't do it correctly.

 

[Nevets2004]

You guys are getting me nervous. I also have an '04 and I've had two alignments and three sets of tires (I'm counting the original set). I put my third set on at 46k miles.

Each set had extreme wear on the inside of the fronts. The rears were always OK.

My first alignment was done at a place that buys, sells and repairs only Corvettes. That was my first set since the originals and they were Eagle F1's.

My third set and second alignment are Michelin Pilots (run flats) and so far I only have about 500 miles on them. This alignment was done by my regular mechanic who also services "metal" csrs.

I'm a little concerned since I went through two sets of tires in only 46k miles. Both wnet bald on the inside. I hope the Michelins hold up a little better

 

[gmjunkie]

You guys are getting me nervous. I also have an '04 and I've had two alignments and three sets of tires (I'm counting the original set). I put my third set on at 46k miles.

Each set had extreme wear on the inside of the fronts. The rears were always OK.

My first alignment was done at a place that buys, sells and repairs only Corvettes. That was my first set since the originals and they were Eagle F1's.

My third set and second alignment are Michelin Pilots (run flats) and so far I only have about 500 miles on them. This alignment was done by my regular mechanic who also services "metal" csrs.

I'm a little concerned since I went through two sets of tires in only 46k miles. Both wnet bald on the inside. I hope the Michelins hold up a little better

No need to be nervous!!
You just need a alignment technician that knows what he's doing!!
One that can look at tire wear,drive the vehicle and tell what it needs!!
Your driving habits have allot to do with tire wear too,so that needs to be taken into account along with the kinds of roads you drive on as well!
Just because the rack they have maybe cost $20,000- $50,000,don't mean they know Wheel Alignment!
Most alignment shops nowadays just have Toe and Go artists, don't know anything other than the machine says it's within specs,Take the $$$ and run!There is allot more to it than that,and you don't need a $20,000 to $50,000 machine to do it right,Just Knowledge,a little time,and know how a vehicle is supposed to feel on the road!!!
There are only about 4 people in the whole country that I'd trust to do alignments on my personal or customers vehicles,2 of them are retired,1 is a New kid on the block thats wants to learn that has some Nice Hunter Equipment that I'd kill for and myself!!

Now with that said,My 03 Z-51 coupe is on it's 2nd set of tires with 53,000 miles on them and the alignment hasn't been touched since January of 05 and the rears are almost to the wear bars!! Fronts have about 3-4/32 nd's and purdy much evenly worn!!!
The settings I'm running the car is a handful above 135-140 MPH,but I have excellent tire wear,I'm older/wiser nowadays and don't drive that fast anymore anyway unless I'm trying to catch up with Vett Boy!!!

 

[c4c5specialist]

Hi there,

Lets be very clear.

Specifications for alignments on Corvette are specific for a few reasons.

#1 Handling, this means cornering, stability and this is all at HIGH SPEEDS.

#2 Ride Quality also does play into it.

#3 Tire wear is always a secondary concern.

Every c5 and c6 Corvette is set up with the tires tilted in at the top of the wheel, so that will wear the inner part of the tire. Toe wear or scalloping can be avoided with accurate alignments.

If your not road racing the car, you can get away with changing the alignment specifications of your car without sacrificing the handling alot.

Simply ask your alignment shop to place Camber near 0.00 for all 4 wheels and Toe at +.05 for each wheel and you will be just fine.

And yes, have the car loaded in order to assure accurate results.

Allthebest, c4c5

 

[fixvet]

I had the same problem with my factory GY's. Bought new non-runflat Kumho ASX's and had new alignment set to zero camber with me in the car since 95% of time...I'm the only person in the car. Since then...5yrs and 45k miles.....not a single front tire problem and still have tread left. I'm just a normal cruiser type of driver, not into any type of road racing etc.

 

[jrose7004]

My alignment guy always has me in the car when the alignment is done.

 

[motorman]

You guys are getting me nervous. I also have an '04 and I've had two alignments and three sets of tires (I'm counting the original set). I put my third set on at 46k miles.

Each set had extreme wear on the inside of the fronts. The rears were always OK.

My first alignment was done at a place that buys, sells and repairs only Corvettes. That was my first set since the originals and they were Eagle F1's.

My third set and second alignment are Michelin Pilots (run flats) and so far I only have about 500 miles on them. This alignment was done by my regular mechanic who also services "metal" csrs.

I'm a little concerned since I went through two sets of tires in only 46k miles. Both wnet bald on the inside. I hope the Michelins hold up a little better

have the camber set as close to "0" as possible to prevent inside edge wear. this a corvette engineers advice

 

[Nevets2004]

have the camber set as close to "0" as possible to prevent inside edge wear. this a corvette engineers advice

I have the alignment report and it looks lke I have -0.5 and -0.7 for the camber. The toe is 0.07 and 0.07. Also, I wasn't in the car while it was being done.

 

[RonJ]

have the camber set as close to "0" as possible to prevent inside edge wear. this a corvette engineers advice

Just the slightest amount of negative, cured my inside tire wear problem.

It can come with a big whack of tire wearing negative camber and still be in specs. If the car is a cruiser, get closer to zero camber.

RonJ ...