I have a 1993 G20 with an R-title. The car was totalled (hit in the rear in this case) and re-built to roadworthy standards. It was re-built using an alignment rack according to the paperwork, but...

I bought this car in early/mid September. Before I bought it I had it aligned to make sure that something wasn't seriously wrong with it. In just 3 months and 6,000 miles, my front passenger tire (with 7/32 or whatever the denominator is for tire tread) mysteriously wore down to the steel belt but only on the outer edge...

Is alignment typically a problem with the G20?? I went ahead and put on a pair of killer snow tires since the other one was shot, and it seems to be running straight now. However, will they also wear funny, too? I am making an appointment to have the alignment checked again to make sure that the first job wasn't crap......

Thanks in advance!!!

Originally posted by saturntangerine
I have a 1993 G20 with an R-title. The car was totalled (hit in the rear in this case) and re-built to roadworthy standards. It was re-built using an alignment rack according to the paperwork, but...

I bought this car in early/mid September. Before I bought it I had it aligned to make sure that something wasn't seriously wrong with it. In just 3 months and 6,000 miles, my front passenger tire (with 7/32 or whatever the denominator is for tire tread) mysteriously wore down to the steel belt but only on the outer edge...

Is alignment typically a problem with the G20??

Hmmm. Could be a few things. Commonly it's caused by underinflation and/or over agressive driving. Kind of odd that it would only happen on one side. However, if only the one was underinflated, aggressive driving would produce odd wear on just the one.

Could be bad toe or camber setting. Camber is not adjustable, so if that's it, there are coachwork issues.

I wouldn't worry about coachwork issues at this point though. There are other, more common, issues that could do this.

Geo, maybe there is some way to measure the chassis geometry? Like measuring distances between axles on respective sides, as well as some sort of diagonal measurments. I'm totally guessing here, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work.

it seems to me Geo and myself are the only ones who try to help Tangie out :):):)

Originally posted by ales
it seems to me Geo and myself are the only ones who try to help Tangie out :):):)

*lol* And I am totally grateful! Since my inspection is up in January, I am planning on getting the alignment checked first, and then getting it inspected. Thanks again for the help! :D

Originally posted by saturntangerine


*lol* And I am totally grateful! Since my inspection is up in January, I am planning on getting the alignment checked first, and then getting it inspected. Thanks again for the help! :D

Have you checked the tire pressure yet?

If the alignment is way off and they can't get it into spec, the FSM does indeed include measurements between various points of the chassis/coachwork to determine if it is straight.

Originally posted by P10DET


Have you checked the tire pressure yet?


Before I had my snows put on, I reset them all to 32psi (recommended).

But when I had the snows put on, the place put the 2 fronts to 32psi and the rears to 29psi... and they are saying that is right....

I've been meaning to ask, but I have been busy with modding stuff....

Thanks again for everything!

That seems a tad low to what i normally run, but I'm thinking that is because of the snow? I usually run a tad higher in the front than the rear. Unless i go on long drives (over 100 miles each way), then I usually inflate the rears to the same psi as the front.

Also, if the alignement comes out weird, and you want to check some of the chassis alignment specs, i could scan those pages of the fsm in and post them, if you don't have a FSM that is.

Originally posted by JustinP10
That seems a tad low to what i normally run, but I'm thinking that is because of the snow? I usually run a tad higher in the front than the rear. Unless i go on long drives (over 100 miles each way), then I usually inflate the rears to the same psi as the front.

Also, if the alignement comes out weird, and you want to check some of the chassis alignment specs, i could scan those pages of the fsm in and post them, if you don't have a FSM that is.

Hey, that'd be great! My G20 goes in for State Inspection and Alignment on Jan 2 so it'd be good to be ready.

Oh, and are there any questions I should ask about my car when it's in for these services??? I am going to ask about camber since I've been having problems, but is there anything else that I should specifically have them tell me???

Thanks once more for everything! :D

I have the same alignment problem. My passenger side front corner has too much positive camber, my driver side front corner has too much negative camber. On the back the driver side has too much negative camber. So the only corner that is within spec is the passenger side rear tire. It is a bad news to me (to all of us) that the camber(s) cannot be adjusted. But I am looking into the adjustable camber bolt from a company called something like "Speciality Product" - it makes all kinds of chassis parts. I wish someone will make a camber adjustment plate for P10s. On the meanwhile, I will probably replace all the struts and springs since if the struts are bent then the alignmentswill be off too. I will go with HKS springs and KYB struts.

On the sidenote, my G20 got hit in the front (it has been professionally repaired). So I am not surprised that the alignments are off in the front since things can never be perfect again after accidents.

saturntangerine and nelam,

could you guys give me an update? have you gotten anything fixed? none of my wheels are aligned properly either due to an accident prior to me purchasing the vehicle.

Bump: I got your PM but decided it simpler to just post for all to see...

I haven't noticed any funny wear with my snow tires on. I am starting to drive my G a bit "harder" now, so I really ought to be watching them more carefully :o . I'll take a look at them next time I have the chance. (stupid school)

Originally posted by nelam
... It is a bad news to me (to all of us) that the camber(s) cannot be adjusted. But I am looking into the adjustable camber bolt from a company called something like "Speciality Product" - it makes all kinds of chassis parts. I wish someone will make a camber adjustment plate for P10s. On the meanwhile, I will probably replace all the struts and springs since if the struts are bent then the alignments will be off too. I will go with HKS springs and KYB struts ... Nelam, camber plates will do nothing on a G20 front suspension (it's a different setup from other cars - see diargram attached). For the same reason, bent struts will have little effect on camber as well. Finally, there are better alternatives than eccentric bolts (crash bolts as Geo calls them) for front camber adjustment.

It would be in your interest to read these threads:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t19255.html
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t25217.html
;)http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/442366frontsuspension.jpg

T4 Primera can you shine some more light on the crush bolt that you are talking about. My friend has a 94 Geo Primz, and he also had difficuty on aligning his front wheels. The alignment place told him that he needed something call "replacement camber bolt". It seems like the bolt is adjustable compare to the old bolt. So does crush bolt = replacement camber bolt?? Does that mean if I use this type of bolt then I can have my wheel align properly??

I recently replaced my old worn out (worn on the edge) tires - whole set. I don't notice any pulling never since. My car used to pull to the right even with a road without any horizontal slope. But it could just be the new tires. I will expect the pulling will come back when my tires start to wear out. But I am satisfied at this moment.

Please let me know about the crush bolt. Thanks.

Nelam,

I'm assuming what you have seen at Specialty products is a bolt with an offset centre section (the part that resides inside the mounting bush) used to offset your suspension link. Geo refers to this type as "crash bolts" but I'm not sure if it's because of what they are used for?, or because of the potential for failure?

If they are just bolts with an eccentric section in the middle, then the step between the diameters can cause stress risers in the bolt, possibly weakening it against shear stress and tensile stress. Although, if they are carefully engineered then they may be strong enough.

Hope that helps.