jeffjob

Hi All;

I am in full obsession mode and I have read a few posts about Vettes being found out of alignment after early tire wear.

How do you all feel about getting an alignment done at 1500 miles?

Is it true that the C6 is set up with a camber adjustment for better cornering?

If I had it adjusted would the shop change this and would it effect cornering?

Is a good tire shop a good place for a wheel alignment or is a dealer required?

Right now, I am inclined to do nothing and gather some more information.

Thanks, Jeff

EVRGRN

From what I've read, it's a good idea to get your car aligned as soon as possible after purchase as the alignment is usually off from factory. Many people seem to think that a good tire shop is usually better than most dealers for the alignment.

Probably the OEM alignment specs are good for now until you figure out what you settings you want specifically.

CQRT

How is the car tracking ?? Remember that the wide Goodyears are very susceptible to uneven pavement, grooves and seams in the highway - - that being said, does it seem to pull one way or the other at highway speed?

Also, take a look at your tires to see if they're beginning to indicate wear - - and certainly, make sure you're running 30 lbs of pressure cold.

These tires won't generally provide great tire wear - - most folks are looking at replacement by 20k miles or earlier-- but that would probably be more guided by the type of driving you do and how well you monitor air pressures.

Certainly, if paying for an alignment and/or balancing increases your comfort level, you can do so - - no downside I suppose. But absent symptoms to the contrary, I would't make it real high on your to-do list.

Just my .02

Walt White Coupe

Result of keeping the factory alignment on my 05 for 19,000 miles. I intend to get my new 09 aligned very soon. This is right front tire.
.

DUMAN

wow you got 19000 on that tire

not even close to the wear bars thats great i hope ot get that many out of mine

Nd4spd2

I've had 3 new C6's and all of them were out of alignment. They won't do it until you have at least 500 miles on it. Even then you have to push to get it done. Ruined the front tires on my 05. Had my 07 done at around 700 miles and it was out. Same thing with my 08. Get it aligned.

mhmayhem88

I would recommend it. I think it would pay off if you're interested in extending the life of your tires. I've read quite a few stories on here about the alignment and the inside of the tires wearing down and sometimes quicker than they should. At 28k miles I went in to get my brake pads replaced because they squeal and while they were doing that they noticed the inside of my tire was worn down to pretty much nothing. The rest of the tire was in really good shape except for the inside. Being that they were pretty much down to nothing it started to become a safety risk so I opted to get them replaced. Rather costly but it had to be done.

DEO

I was told that Corvettes come with the alignment set for performance handling. Like many others I discovered my front tires were worn out at 17K. Fortunately, I found an individual that knows how to do an alignment that does not take away from the handling but extends the tread life. I have put 7000 miles on the new tires with the settings below and after very careful checking the tires still look new.

My settings are as follows:

Camber (LF) -0.2 (RF) -.01
Caster (LF) 7.3 (RF) 7.4
Toe (LF)0.02 (RF) 0.02
SAI (LF) 8.4 (RF) 8.8
Included Angle (LF) 8.3 (RF) 8.7
FRONT
Cross Camber -0.0
Cross Caster -0.1
Total Toe 0.04
Set Back 0.32


Camber (LR) -0.2 (RR) -0.2
Toe (LR) 0.04 (RR) 0.05


REAR
Total Toe 0.09
Thrust Angle -0.00

Hope this will help

JOHN MOORE

Had my '08 aligned @ 1500 mi after reading many of the horror stories posted...had it done at an independent shop (good reputation)...my factory settings were very close (only 3 adjustments), but it was well worth the cost to have the peace of mind...

ranger 66

Cool thanks for the info. If I take this setup to a tire shop or the dealer they can set the car up like this?

RLTW

poulosd

Question about the settings that were given a few posts above.

Is this for a Z51 with sc tires??

Or is it for an f55 with the gs-2 tires????

Does it make any difference if you have a Z51 or f55??

JRHAWK9

had mine done on my '08 at 1,700 miles. Here's my before/after. My OEM alignment wasn't as bad as some I've seen on here. I originally wanted -0.4 camber all around but he told me that I can go up to around -1.0 degree w/o having to worry too much about tire wear, as most tire wear is the result of incorrect toe. I know my Firehawk has -1.0 degree of camber and has no issues with inside tire wear with my driving style, so I went with that.

wbear

I would get yours aligned now. Just had my 07 done last week with 3300 miles and it was already showing signs of camber and toe wear on the drivers front tire. All of my settings were off except caster which was close.

My front camber was -.6 on drivers and 0.0 on the pass side. One front tire had toe out and one toe in.

Drivers rear camber was -.3 and pass side was 0.0. toe and thrust angle was off too.

The car tracked straight, did not pull, steering wheel was straight and I thought I was good to go until I noticed the tire wear.

My independant alignment specialist has a corvette tax. 4 wheel independant suspension alignments on all cars except vettes $75. Vettes $150. When I asked him why he said "cause its a vette". That is a rip off but I had him do it because he will set it to exactly what ever I want with no tolerance, I get to stand there and watch everything and at his shop he never even gets in the car. The customer drives his own car on and off the rack. I could have had my dealer do it for free but it was quicker and easier this way.

Pylons

Having almost no front negative camber certainly takes away from handling. Not saying you should have more...that's clearly up to you, but don't think that it wouldn't handle better with -2.2 or more rather than only -0.2.

Pylons

Might as well stay in the car once it's on the rack then, rather than stand there...settings will change with you in the driver's seat...and I'm willing to bet that that's how it gets driven

AORoads

I don't think you have to wait for 1500 miles on the odo. It depends on how compulsive you are....

If it were me, I'd get it done. By the time you start noticing unusual wear, or unusual handling, you've already reduced the life of the tire to some degree (could be little, or a lot).

You also need to find a very good shop that doesn't just say, it's in spec.

wbear

Yeah I thought about doing that but I wanted to watch him do it underneath. Maybe I'll stay in the car next time.

JRHAWK9

that is BS! The place I go is also an independant shop that is known in the area to be -the- place to go to for a true spot-on alignment. They set up numerous cars for road racing and autocross. In fact one of the instructors cars at RA a couple weeks ago had his ZO6 aligned there before the event. They charge $69.99 for all cars. The guy that aligned mine mentioned to me while he was doing mine that he loves aligning Vettes because they are so easy. His second choice is the S2000. I, too, got to watch his every move and ask questions along the way. He did ask me if I wanted to be in the car while he aligned it but I also wanted to watch him and be able to ask questions.

Wah

Actually 1500 miles are not unreasonable for an alignment. A bit late in my book.

This is the 2nd Corvette I own. The first one ('03 Z06 with 2,376 miles when I got it) was lowered, corner-scaled and aligned by the Danny Popp just a few hundred miles after the acquisition. Minor issues were addressed too.

This one will have an appointment with him in a couple of weeks (at least lowering, corner-scaling and alignment) and currently it has only 57 miles on the odometer I want him to see if several non-preferred features can be, uh, adjusted.

Red Rochester

Just Had mine checked today. Rear were reset to Camber -0.25 ,Toe 1/16" in of spec to reduce wear. Front were on spec. Camber -0.5 Caster left. +7.5 deg Right + 8.0 deg , toe 1/8" in. Was the set up for max. wear street conditions. We will see how it goes Oh, $64.00 Independent shop owner. Hunter equipment