ebolick

Hey everyone,

I have a question regarding my alignment. I just bought new tires about 2 months ago and the inside of my front passenger side tire is wearing out bad. But my car drives straight as can be.

Is this a alignment problem or something else?

whoover

First step is get the car aligned at the dealer. If there are worn suspension parts or Airmatic problems, they'll surface during the alignment inspection.

newton22

You have negative camber. The dealer will remedy the issue.

ebolick

hey Newton what is a negative chamber is this a part? or somthing they can adjust?

Thanks

whoover

Negative camber just means your wheel is tucked in at the bottom more than it should be. Camber is one of the alignment specifications.

That diagnosis is based on your symptom. It may be right or not (only an alignment readout will tell). But whether that's the parameter that's off (or perhaps one of several), there's no way to tell whether your front-end geometry is out of whack because of a misadjustment, a bent part or parts, a worn part or parts, an Airmatic problem or something else, without having a competent shop measure it and inspect.

The only thing you can know for sure now is that you have a front end problem.

newton22

Read up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camber_angle

The dealer can usually determine if something is wrong or broken, or if your car is simply lowered, they can provide camber bolts to help the issue, but not entirely fix it.

Speaking of which, I could really use some camber bolts because my S is slammed.

whoover

BTW, alignment must be done with the Airmatic at a specified height. This requires the Mercedes diagnostic computer system. It's the reason that most independent shops can't get the alignment right on these cars. Never let anyone other than a competent MB dealer do alignement or suspension work on a W220 unless you're sure they truly specialize in Airmatic.

newton22

Correct. I let an independent shop work on my car. After they were done, my car started drifting to the right on the fwy, which puzzled me, until I found out they really don't know jack about the suspension geometry on these cars.

Oh well, a waste of $69.95.

ebolick

Thanks guys for the informaiton this helps allot

Vader55

You could have some bent wheels in the front. Take them off and have them checked. I had the same problem with some AMG 19's I had about 4 years ago.. I was wearing on the the front inside really quick and thought, out of line ? but found out later that the front wheels were very badly bent.

ebolick

my old rims were cracked but i had to replace them. now you have me thinking, my old rims were cracked on the inside which was really strange the shop could not figure how that happened. maybe there is something really wrong with it.

By the way since you car is lowered how much did they charge you for a alingment?

ebolick

BTW should i take off my lowering kit (washers lol) before i take it in?

newton22

If you like the height, leave it. It's not gonna change anything if they find the washers (you have to pay for the alignment service anyways right?). Everytime you change the ride height, camber changes.

ebolick

i heard the they charge more for lowered cars, not sure if that is true just what i heard

newton22

Well, the alignment alone will run you almost $100. If your car is lowered a lot (like mine, 8 washers on a modded nut LOL), they will install camber (also called crash) bolts and instantly your bill will be in the hundreds.

ebolick

okay so i took it to the dealer and there charging me 225 for alingment, is this more then normal? Newton said he paid almost 100.

newton22

Sounds right if they installed bolts.

ebolick

From my understanding that is just the alingment,

whoover

That's about what the dealers here charge for a four-wheel alignment.

ebolick

okay thanks then i dont feel ripped off, but ofcourse they have not called me to tell me what else i need i have to get done lol

ebolick

well i got the call and sure enough my bill is at 1900. they said i need motor mounts, and a control arm bushing. These people are like the mafia you can never win with them.

my06clk

Tell them no. and get a second opinion. Motor mounts are not that expensive and have nothing to do with tire wear at ALL. Control bushing are not that expensive either. a couple hundred for the 4 wheel alignment, and a few hundred for parts and the rest of this Raping is inflated labor!! Sorry you have a sick dealer there...

dav818

I had the alignment done today at the dealership and when I came home, I've tried to use the level meter just to check if it is straight but it is not, if I hold the level meter straight , the top part is about 3/4" away from wheel . is that normal ? can any one check it on their cars ?

my06clk

Nice idea, but there is a lot more to an alignment than whether or not the wheel is straight Thats why it has to be done on an expensive machine...

Actually the camber is always negative on the S class per spec.. I don;t know why that is, but there is an actual measurement that put's it within specs.. I've seen the chart but I can't remember the range for camber.

Simply using a straight level won't cut it though... Are you having pulling issues? is your car lowered?

There is however a physical trick for toe that I've found but that's another thread...

I do know there is a substantial change in camber when the car lowers itself 3/4 inch after 80 mph.. So depending on how you drive, you can wear your tires to the inside and it will look like theres an alignment issue and its really not. But since the car constantly goes up and down, wear will depend on your driving style.

dav818

the tires that I had before were worn inside , well I went there today they replaced some ball joint ( bushing ) and did alignment. yeah it is lowered (washers )