Proof of tire wear benefits of accurate alignment and rear camber

[Xenoilphobe]

About the price of 4 Michelin Pilot Super Sports

 

[pimp-boy]

$1200 with shipping for the aluminum set.

With the newer cars, did they fix the camber issue? I don't see people complain on the forums as much and it seems lots more people are getting better longevity on their tires.

The camber adjustment is worth it in the long run. Slightly more road contact with your tires and longevity especially when tires are so expensive and RWD.

 

[pimp-boy]

Where did you go?

@RandyR Do you have the camber kits yourself? If so, where do you get it aligned in the bay?

 

[Larry]

With the newer cars, did they fix the camber issue? I don't see people complain on the forums as much and it seems lots more people are getting better longevity on their tires.

The camber adjustment is worth it in the long run. Slightly more road contact with your tires and longevity especially when tires are so expensive and RWD.

I'm wondering this myself as my June 2016 90 D is currently at the Dublin SC. I have 14000 miles and the 2 front tires are measured at 2/32 and 3/32 and the alignment is off. I know the roads are trashed but the rears have 6/32. Anyone know of alignment issues in newer cars?

 

[Xenoilphobe]

With the newer cars, did they fix the camber issue? I don't see people complain on the forums as much and it seems lots more people are getting better longevity on their tires.

The camber adjustment is worth it in the long run. Slightly more road contact with your tires and longevity especially when tires are so expensive and RWD.

I think the "D" cars don't have the excessive camber that the early RWD cars have.

 

[RandyR]

@RandyR Do you have the camber kits yourself? If so, where do you get it aligned in the bay?

No, I don't have them. I was thinking about getting them, however when a post came up about a local installation, I was curious.

in the mean time, while my S90D was in for its first annual service, I noticed that the rear camber was set to -1 degree. This does not seem too excessive...

 

[Xenoilphobe]

-1 degree is perfect. You should be good..

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Sounds like a manufacturing defect to me. Shouldn't Tesla be covering the alignment issue if it's eating tires? I've never heard of 12,500 mile tire before. Shouldn't my 19" Goodyear Eagle Tourings be rated for at least 35,000 miles? They are blaming it on the weight of the car and it's high torque. And my driving style.

 

[BrokerDon]

Aggressive driving + RWD only + heavy vehicle weight = high rear tire wear. When I drove my 3,100 lb. RWD 2006 Corvette Z06 aggressively my rear tires wore out FAST... 9,000 to 12,000 miles. Nothing wrong with the suspension or alignment. Lots of Z06 owners had the same problem.

OTOH our 4,600 lb. AWD 2015 MS P85D with the rare Plus suspension and 21" ContiContact summer only high performance tires last 15,000+ miles... or less if I do a bunch of INSANE launches or high speed corners.

YMMV

 

[Xenoilphobe]

My understanding is that the severe over-pronation or severe negative camber is used to increase high speed cornering grip. That's why you see the ricer dudes riding around with severe over-pronated tires or severe negative camber. This helps them increase speed on high speed turns. Tesla probably did this to help pass some government oversight group that measures this stuff.

Also it gives the drifting guys the ability to control the drift.

I have noticed increased straight line traction and some oversteering when I do 3X to 4X the suggested speed limit on off ramps with the -1 camber on my RWD S. When it lets go, you really "feel it" and have to react smoothly...what I mean is don't drop the accelerator in a turn during aggressive cornering, it will break free in the rear and oversteer... smooth is fast on accelerator transitions.

I'm not a pro racer so I defer to those that are - but this has been my experience with the -1 camber in the RWD S. Also I have NO tire wear on the inboard side of either rear tire -- so in my book - its mission success for a daily driver like mine with 65,000 miles on it, going into year two with tires I used to change annually...

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Here is the low IQ version.

 

[Phunkfarm]

Ok so can we talk about refreshed X specifically Plaids?

Have the recent cars addressed this issue?

Looking to find a solution to permanently drive in Very Low mode without sacrificing tire life.

 

[cleverscreenam]

BTW, I don't let Firestone put this back on. They mixed up the anchor screws with the machine screws and I had to use a threader to clean out two of that machine holes. So now I just put it back on myself when I get home.

Everyone does. My solution was to take green and yellow paint markers, and paint each screw head and plastic hole. Machines are green, anchors are yellow. Now I just tell every shop, make sure you match the colors
Next, I want to paint the rubber rectangle jack points green to make sure everyone ONLY lifts on those rectangles. Tesla definitely should have done this at the factory, and they should be lower than the battery vents (so lifts don't have to use extensions) that everyone loves to jack up under (the vents resemble pinch points on ICE cars that manufacturers tell people to put spare tire jacks under.)

Ok so can we talk about refreshed X specifically Plaids?

Have the recent cars addressed this issue?

Looking to find a solution to permanently drive in Very Low mode without sacrificing tire life.

No. A decade of Model S's and Tesla still hasn't changed it, same with the front motor still mounted too high. Like @Xenoilphobe said, it's probably intentional to pass some government regulation.
The only solution is aftermarket adjustable toe and camber arms. My favorite is website N2itive.me they also have lowering links to reduce the front motor driveshaft angle so you don't develop acceleration shudder and have to keep replacing your driveshafts.