dmorsberger

I've recently took car in for alignment because the outside tread on all tires is worn a lot more then the center or inside. The alignment specs are attached.

The tech said he couldn't adjust camber and caster even though camber adjustment bolts are installed. The car has two camber adjustment bolts (left front and right rear of front lower control arms) and the tech said I need all four installed.

Will the initial specs (attached) result in outer tire wear?

Are the final specs (attached) okay or do I need to take back for further adjustment?

Do I need all four adjustment bolts?

Thanks,
David

RichardM98

Very few tire shops are equipped to properly do a four wheel alignment on a Mercedes. For that reason, I always use the dealer for alignments.

ohlord

That shop did not use the hunter machine,find a shop with one or go to the dealer they have the latest hunter machines.
Those specs are fine on initial and final.
Camber eccentrics will allow more. But not the problem.
Have you inspected ball joint wear,bushing wear,etc.
Habit of running the wrong tire pressure?
Or could be brand of tire?

dmorsberger

Thanks. I've had the front-end checked about 20k miles ago and had the lower control arm bushings replaced. I usually go to MB dealer or local MB shop. My cord was showing so I had to go to anywhere that was open. NTB was not my first choice.

I run approx 35 lbs of air and they have never been low when checked. I can increase to get more center traction.

I've run Pirelli plus Bridgestone. The latest set was Bridgestone. The wear was worse this time but I've had this problem since the first set in 2005. I'm now trying Continental ExtremeContact tires.

ejsheltra

your spec sheet shows your toe angle to be out of bounds all around. You appear to be scuffing the outside edge with to much toe in. That will also cause the excessive wear your are seeing. The Camber bolts for camber should do the trick. As suggested by Oh Lord, take it to a shop using a Hunter machine for 4 wheeled alignment.
The dealer is whom I use for this and for Road Force balancing issues. It does make a big difference for me. Your air pressure is fine. I measure mine so that front and rear height from center of hub to ground is the same front and rear. A carryover from my four wheelin days. That way you are getting same contact patch at all four corners. Rear pressure might be a little less than front depending on weight split between the axles.

saintz

Sears uses Hunter machines and can properly align a Mercedes. They are also cheap, easy, and nearly everywhere. Depending on the mechanic (I normally ask for someone that can do a custom alignment for racing, and they let you speak to the most knowledgable guy at the shop) they will do a very thorough job. I wouldn't trust my MB dealer with scissors, so your mileage may very depending on your local dealer and Sears as to which is better.

As Ejsheltra mentioned, toe is more likely to cause wear than camber. A small toe issue will scrape a tire to death, whereas you can run a pretty good amount of camber without severely shortening tire life.

dmorsberger

I noticed that with the toe. It went from too high, 0.40, to not enough, 0.00. I was with the tech when he made the adjustments and he set the toe to the center of the green region which was 0 degrees. I didn't get the name of the system but if the toe specs for my car are correct (0.05 to 0.15) then the adjustment screen is way off (0 degrees).

I will go somewhere else but I've already paid $175 for this alignment. Just because I own a MB doesn't mean I have money to throw around

dsmith

zero toe is fine, unless you routinely drive long distances over100mph. in that case the slight toe in factory spec becomes zero as the aero works to push the car down increasing toe out.

saintz

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that.

Generally, for tire life, you want no toe. The tiny amount of toe is to aid in cornering. If you are looking to cure wear issues, you want as little toe as possible, so you should be fine. It's only if you notice cornering issues that I would try to get a little more toe added to the alignment.