Feed back on preload and camber

[Bighat]

I've had some feed back on camber adjust from another post but I would like more. I've been told I need both adjustable a-arms and preload adjustable shocks. I been told to get shocks first, I've been told to get a-arms first. I don't want to spend money on either but my inside tire wear is bad. The machine is heavy on the with a full cab, big heavy bumper, heavy winch, etc. I'd just like to get as much feed back before I have to drop some major coin to fix this problem. The first picture is before I noticed the tire wear the second is after. Also, about the second picture of the tire wear. The toe was way out and I adjusted it but it's to late for the tires. I just mounted a set of the same front tire I had in the garage that were 3/4's of the way wore out. Mounted them today and I'm going to be watching to see how much, if any, the toe adjustment helps.

 

[Admin]

 

[Robobrainiac]

If you don't want to spend crazy amount of money then I would start with pre load adjustable front shocks. Rough country shocks are your best budget set from what I have heard. Set your ride height back to factory or slightly higher using the pre load on the new shocks. This will fix some of the camber issue. Once you have your ride height set you can set your toe and you should be good to go.

If you want a perfect alignment for the front you will need the shocks mentioned above or any brand with adjustable pre load and adjustable a arms. Once you have your ride height set then you can set your camber perfectly where you want it using the A arms.

That is the most simple answer to your question I can think of without going technical or logical.

 

[Robobrainiac]

Using pre load to gain ride height will give you some positive camber.

Using pre load to reduce ride height will give you some negative camber.

Adding weight to the front of any vehicle reduces ride height and by proxy gives you a little negative camber.

Judging by your pictures above if your steering wheel is perfectly straight it looks like you are toed out greatly.

Any change of ride height will effect toe.

I hope that is helpful.

 

[Robobrainiac]

Also:

These machines have no rear adjustability. You can use pre load adjustable shocks on the rear and make some camber changes using pre load but your alignment will never be perfect without being able to adjust the rear of your machine. It is my understanding the @SuperATV arms give you the ability to adjust the rear and front. You can use the rear @SuperATV arms to adjust the rear and get a good camber/toe combination. You cannot adjust the two on the rear independently but you can adjust them together to get a combined good/straight rear alignment.

With that said

If you are not having rear tire wear issues and you want to fix the front with budget in mind. I would really recommend starting with the adjustable front shocks only if wear is your only concern. Set the ride height and maybe a hair taller to get decent camber and then set your toe.

 

[Robobrainiac]

In conclusion

Trying to keep it as simple as possible

If your only concern is tire wear. If you do not care about ride quality, load capacity, big brand names, etc...
If you are not having any issues with the rear tire wear and budget is number one priority.

I would get the rough country pre load adjustable front shocks only. Set my ride height maybe 1/2" taller in front than factory height. Then set my front toe to manufacture specs and see how it does for tire wear.

In theory that should be the answer to your question.

If you are having tire wear issues after that then adjustable arms is your cure. You can set your front and rear alignment specs to anything you need them to be to correct or compensate for any tire wear.

 

[Bighat]

Also:

These machines have no rear adjustability. You can use pre load adjustable shocks on the rear and make some camber changes using pre load but your alignment will never be perfect without being able to adjust the rear of your machine. It is my understanding the @SuperATV arms give you the ability to adjust the rear and front. You can use the rear @SuperATV arms to adjust the rear and get a good camber/toe combination. You cannot adjust the two on the rear independently but you can adjust them together to get a combined good/straight rear alignment.

With that said

If you are not having rear tire wear issues and you want to fix the front with budget in mind. I would really recommend starting with the adjustable front shocks only if wear is your only concern. Set the ride height and maybe a hair taller to get decent camber and then set your toe.

Thanks, that's good information. Both the pictures above was before I adjusted the toe in. It was out a lot. This is what I've been wanting to know. I have lost front height from the accessories on the front of the machine. Your saying, with adjustable shocks, I can reduce most of the negative camber and gain ride height. I know I want to keep a little negative camber and will. Thanks again.

 

[Robobrainiac]

Thanks, that's good information. Both the pictures above was before I adjusted the toe in. It was out a lot. This is what I've been wanting to know. I have lost front height from the accessories on the front of the machine. Your saying, with adjustable shocks, I can reduce most of the negative camber and gain ride height. I know I want to keep a little negative camber and will. Thanks again.

You are correct. Adding ride height on the front will give you some positive camber gains. Once you have it the height you want then you will set toe again.

At factory ride height you will still be negative in camber but will be better than you currently are.

Using adjustable a arms should give you enough adjustment to go positive camber at static/stationary status if you wanted. Typically some negative camber is always better.

 

[WagginTail]

The absolute cheapest option would be spring spacers on the front shocks. Essentially the same thing as adding preload to adjustable shocks. You will gain 2x the amount of lift as the thickness of the spacer. For example a 1/2" thick spacer will give you 1" of lift. 1" spacer will give you 2" of lift. They will stiffen the ride also.

 

[ODAMO]

my Guess is that toe out caused this tire wear not camber. The camber does not cause tire scrub, but toe does. Too much out OR in will cause tire scrub and excess wear from continuously trying to fight the direction ov travel. It’s just like when You plow snow with the blade angled, it’s constantly fighting the direction of travel by introducing a side load. And that’s what happened to your tires. Correcting the front to be slightly toed in will greatly reduce the tire wear your experiencing and will increase your fuel mileage also