Rob Burgoon

Hey guys,

I have a two day at laguna in just a few days, so I need to figure this out fast.

My left front has corded and all of a sudden wore very fast on the inside of the tire from just street driving. Right front looks good and is wearing evenly (!!). I guess that means the toe is fine...

Camber setting is maxed out on both sides of the front.

There has been a bit of a clunk coming from the LF on low speed turns going forward and back.

What do you guys think? Broken UBJ? LBJ? I assume it's gotta be massive negative camber to get that wear pattern...

Thanks!

Solofast

The LF wheel bearing takes a beating on road courses....

Jack it up and check the wheel bearing....

I am just doing short answers for a while.................

CHJ In Virginia

Your problem could be caused by several things - Get the car up on a lift or jack stands and check all suspension items - ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. check bearing / hub wear, check for slop in the rack and pinion. Check condition of all bushings in upper and lower A arms. Finally get a new tire put on and get a quality alignment. It sucks when you destroy a tire like that.

Rob Burgoon

No biggie, the old tire was cheap crap and the rears are nearly dead. What scares me is what this issue will do to the new NT05s if I don't figure it out.

gkmccready

Don't assume toe is fine just because the RF is fine. The LF toe could still be out of whack. If you suspect camber you can park on a level surface and through a level against the wheel on each side and check if the readings are close.

When I had a weird clunk in the front it turned out a LBJ nut had backed off... I kept thinking it was a wheel bearing going bad... :-/

ErnieN85

The scary thing is when something falls off and Ball joints, tire rod ends & wheel bearings are in that category, better safe than sorry

Rob Burgoon

That doesn't make sense to me. If the LF toe was out of whack, the steering wheel would be off center and the RF would still suffer the same wear fate. Right?

Your LBJ nut backing out sounds promising though...

fatbillybob

My WAG is Bj or blown out bushing in an A-arm or even a suspension pickup point fracture.

Rob Burgoon

My apologies gentlemen, upon further review with a strong flashlight, the other side had the same issue brewing, but it was REALLY hard to see.

I think it was too much camber and I just never looked far enough to the inside to see it.

I jacked up both sides and everything in there seems to be good. I'll check the toe with a tape measure once I find a buddy to hold it.

Sorry for the false alarm guys.

NT05 order placed!! Look out Laguna, here comes trouble!

Sidney004

When are you going to be there? RedtopZ and I will be there on Thursday.

Rob Burgoon

Saturday and Sunday.

mgarfias

If its wearing only on the shoulder, but the rest is flat, you've got too much toe out (basically any on the street).

davidfarmer

if it was toe, it would be wearing on both sides. I is surely either too much camber, or a damage component

mgarfias

Thats what I get for reading this when I'm tired. I thought he had shoulder wear on both tires. I still don't think camber will do it (unless its really bad, but then you should be able to see that). I go with something bent/busted.

CP Thunder

Too much camber doesn't give you a 'clunk'. Something is dying in there.......find it........before it gets worse and does serious damage. Get it up on a lift and try wiggling the tire with your hands at 12 and 6 (checks wheel bearing) and again at 3 and 9 (checks bearing AND rod end). Simply pulling on some parts to see if they are loose won't work due to the tension from the spring and shock. Might also try having the car in the air and then load the front suspension (jacks or on jackstands) and cycle the steering. A friend comes in handy for this......

And since you mentioned 'max' camber, check your camber eccentric bolts. That is exactly what it sounds like when they move under pressure, but you can't MAKE them move by hand.......takes the load from the car turning to do it. Thats my bet on your 'clunk'........those GM bolts don't like 'max' camber settings (especially if you run stickies)........voice of experience here!!!

Clunks are clunks......

Rob Burgoon

See post #9, I do have it on both sides after all.

mgarfias

Well damn, I guess I did put the crackpipe down.

Rob Burgoon

Update! After 3 brake failures and 3 cracked rotors that day at laguna, I swore off track days in the corvette for good.

After the event I got a street alignment. Shortly after, the steering wheel became off center and I was still getting a strange feeling on occasion when turning tightly. The LBJ boot was torn open from all the heat, so I figured I might as well replace and see if things improve.

After much swearing I got the LBJ out of the spindle (does anyone know of a nice little press that will do this?) and replaced the LF lower control arm. The old LBJ would slide around easily and the new used one was very stiff.

Put the car back together, the clunk might be gone and now the steering wheel is straight again. Booya!

I still need to get a tape measure and check the toe.