Rear tires slanted outward

[mckrishes]

Hello. I have a 1998 Honda Civic LX (4 door sedan). I just noticed today that both rear tires are slanted outward. It’s not significant, but it was enough for me to notice. I jacked the rear end of the car up and then set it back down. The problem seemed to correct itself. Then I took it for a test drive and when I got back home, I took another look and sure enough they were slanted again.

What direction do I need to go in. And what exactly am I looking for. Thanks for your help.

Topic

[Ian Williams]

Possibly has independent rear suspension , or just the way they’re cambered , have they got abnormal or excessive wear on them ?

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[mckrishes]

The previous owner has been rotating the tires and I have noticed inner tire wear on all of the tires. There is hardly any outer wear at all and two of the tires were just purchased 1 year ago.

[Erin]

Honestly that sounds like something a shop would have to evaluate. Wheel alignment isn’t something a home mechanic can accurately do at home. Maybe go through mechanical adjustments but getting it precise is pretty tricky.

When you say slanted outward, do you mean like if you look at the back of the car, the tires slant outward at the bottom? Do the front tires seem to slant inward? That is pretty normal.
If there is abnormal tire wear and the previous owner was regularly rotating the tires, who is to say the alignment issue isn’t in the front end?

For it correcting itself when you raised and lowered the back end, that is cause when the wheels were off the ground, there was no resistence but then during lowering, they caught the pavement and held them into place until the car moved down the road.

[mckrishes]

If it is an alignment issue, I will definitely take it to a shop to have it corrected.

Both rear tires are angled outward. The bottom portion of the tires are the ones sticking out. I’m gonna try and take a picture and post it here. The front tires look normal. I’ve never seen that before on a civic and that’s why I was concerned. I’ve owned three of the same model.

I am trying to determine if it’s an alignment issue or something else. I’m gonna try and get a better look and get some pictures.

[mckrishes]

Here are some pictures of the tires.

Attachments:

• Civic1-2.jpg
• Civic2-2.jpg

[mckrishes]

I just watched Eric’s video on aligment. In the video he stated that in his Acura Vigor, the alignment couldn’t be done until suspension components were placed. He said that was the case for his vehicle. I was wondering if the same applied to my 1998 Honda Civic LX. I’ve been reading some other forums and some have suggested that there is a toe in the rear that can be adjusted.

Here is a link to the video:

[video width=425 height=344 type=youtube]QBUxJSeYiow[/video]

[mckrishes]

I looked at the rear suspension components the other day. It doesn’t look like there is anything adjustable there. Nothing bent either. So I am thinking that the struts are bad. But I was wondering if bad struts could cause the tires to lean like this?

[Jake F]

This is peculiar because mine is doing the same thing in the front. Do you have vibrations above 65 to 73’ish mph? Weak struts should still support a relatively vertical alignment in theory, but they’d encourage inner and outer tire wear when cornering. This may sound utterly ridiculous, and I’m not sure how much beating your car has been through or how old it is, but I’m convinced that the frame of a car will stretch over time and throw many manufacturer specs off by a degree or more rendering that vehicle near its death (jk). I ran across this article on my car search last week and it was heart-wrenching.

TOYOTA RECALLS 1993 CAMRY DUE TO FACT THAT OWNERS REALLY SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT SOMETHING NEW BY NOW
“Tokyo — Saying it was simply time for drivers to move on, Toyota Motor Corp. issued a recall of its entire 1993 Camry model line Wednesday due to the fact that its owners really should have bought something new by now. “We understand that the 1993 Camry was tremendously dependable, but, honestly, there’s just no excuse for driving a 22-year-old car at this point,” said Toyota spokesman Haruki Kinoshita, adding that, with all the advances in automotive technology that have taken place, no one really had any business driving a vehicle for more than two decades. “We’re not saying you have to buy a new 2015 Camry or splurge on a flashy new hybrid, or even that your new car has to be a Toyota at all. But the bottom line is that you need to start fresh, however you choose to do so.” While Toyota is reportedly confining its recall to the 1993 Camry, it also issued a warning to owners of 1994 to 1998 models alerting them to the fact that they were really starting to push it.”
Reference here: http://www.theonion.com/

In all seriousness. If your lower control arm bushings are good and it’s affecting tire wear, you can purchase cam bolt kits to correct camber. I think it looks cool as long as it drives cool.

[Richard Kirshy]

Apparently there are some people who actually go and rework their suspension to get what you have…
Why.. I have no idea..

As the others have said …
Find a good alignment shop and have them look at it.

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• Acoord34.jpg
• v1.jpg

[Michael Bennett]

What does the wear pattern on the tire look like?

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[mckrishes]

Car drives fine with no vibrations above 55 mph. I think the camber kit only masks the problem. I am trying to figure out the cause and make corrections. The look may be cool, but I think I’ll pass.

[mckrishes]

Inside tire wear is noted.

[Frank Heiser]

[quote=”nightflyr” post=159443]Apparently there are some people who actually go and rework their suspension to get what you have…
Why.. I have no idea..

As the others have said …
Find a good alignment shop and have them look at it.[/quote]

Sad thing is a friend of mine had an ’82 Ford EXP that had the rear cambered like that but it was from total lack of maintenance, not on purpose. He drove it like that for years and years, couldn’t go over 45-ish mph or it would shake itself apart. He was one of those guys who never ever changed the oil (just kept adding it), never fixed anything he didn’t absolutely have to, and even then he fixed it wrong. lol

[Jake F]

With tires slanted to that extreme, it’s more a car being driven around town and/or ghettos. You make your mark. On the highway at 65, tires are getting chewed up. The funny part is, tires are so well built these days that the cheapest tire can hold up, but once it cracks in the middle. It’s done. 12k for a cheap buy. $40 tires.

[Jake F]

city speed your tires are fine for years. freeway driving, you’re f*cked after 5000 miles if you rotate and drive fast.

[Author]

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