Alignment question?

wrote in

> On the camber for the rear wheels, the + .03 to - 2.3. So if you had
> it aligned and the camber measuremet came it at + .4, would you expect
> the tech to set it to the specification's midpoint? Firestone told me
> if it's in spec, they are taught not to adjust it. They also said the
> ajustment from .3 to mid point is very small. Agree/disagree?
>
> The reason I ask is that I'm going thru tires in 25 K miles and I
> want my car aligned as good as it can be.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Frank
>
>
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I have had to replace both rear wheel bearings and three sets of tires in
75k miles. The factory settings on the rear are stupid and guarentee
that the tires will wear out in 20-25k miles. I have had mine set to 0
degree toe-in with me sitting in the car and the feathering/wear has been
reduced to a more normal pattern. Current tires have over 30k miles and
still have 50-60% tread left. The excessive toe the factory quotes is
probably the cause of the wheel bearing failure as well.

Another issue with the factory toe-in is VERY dangerous. With such a
light car, while driving in weather, it is possible to unload one side of
the car or the other. That is, get one tire to plane on water or slush
and the other side of the car stays planted. When that happens, the tire
on the loaded side of the car, (the side NOT planing) will push against
straight travel and can (did in my case) cause a spin. At the factory
setting (as recieved 2.5 degrees toe-in on both sides!) it shot the rear
end to the right when the right tire unloaded on slush. Compounding that
problem is that on most roads, the big semi's typically have left slight
depressions in the tarmac that collect a bit more water than the crowns.
A small car like the Focus does'nt ride equally in both depressions so
the likelyhood of having equal ammounts of water/slush under both sides
of the car is less than that of an bigger car/truck and increases the
likelyhood of a spin because of the above. Add to that the tires wearing
very rapidly (worn tires plane much more easily than fresh tires) you
have a great recipe for disaster.

Other than the above I am extreemly happy with this vehicle. A bonus for
us BIG guys, 6ft 3in tall is that I actually fit in the damn thing and my
brother, same size can travel with me. Loads of interior room, (Head and
Foot) in the front seat and with the two door entry/egress is not the
twist, bend, lurch activity typical of most small cars-big people
matings. Don't even talk about the rear seats.... My five year old
grandson does'nt fit now, I can't wait until he is ten. lol.
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