Hey all,
I'll most likely be buying new tires for my 2007 Chrysler Town & Country in the next year or so, and may be getting an alignment done on it soon. I recently replaced the outer tie rod ends, and did a home alignment on the toe. And it's decent; it drives stable and straight. There's a mild-to-moderate amount of edge feathering on the right side front tire, but interestingly, the left side seems to be wearing perfect. I have almost 40,000 miles on the current tires, so I plan to get an alignment done soon to maximize the life I have left on them (about 6/32").
I will list the alignment settings, as noted by the Factory Service Manual.
Preferred {and range}
Camber: +0.10* {-0.30* to +0.50*}
Caster: +2.31* {+1.31* to +3.31*} Total toe: +0.10* {-0.10* to +0.30*}
In my experience, a little camber can be helpful for tire wear, if within reason. I'm thinking about asking for -0.10* to -0.20* of camber. I also prefer the least amount of total toe (Left/Right toe is not given). I've had this van at both extremes when doing my home alignment (toe in and toe out), and the van drove pretty stable at all settings. It didn't seem to be wandery, even when toed out quite a bit. I'm guessing that I'd want a slight amount of static toe OUT here, right? Is a positive total toe, toe out, and a negative total toe, toe in?
I have no idea what my alignment settings are right now. It's never been checked, and tire wear has been okay. It's always feathered the outer edges of the front tires. It's a heavy FWD minivan with a MacPherson strut front suspension.
Alignment experts, what do you recommend for me so that I can achieve the most even tire wear? I understand that tire wear is often sacrificed for vehicle stability. I also understand that factory preferences and tolerance ranges are not always great either. What do you think about my preference for a slight amount of negative camber and a slight amount of static toe out?
Thanks!
I'll most likely be buying new tires for my 2007 Chrysler Town & Country in the next year or so, and may be getting an alignment done on it soon. I recently replaced the outer tie rod ends, and did a home alignment on the toe. And it's decent; it drives stable and straight. There's a mild-to-moderate amount of edge feathering on the right side front tire, but interestingly, the left side seems to be wearing perfect. I have almost 40,000 miles on the current tires, so I plan to get an alignment done soon to maximize the life I have left on them (about 6/32").
I will list the alignment settings, as noted by the Factory Service Manual.
Preferred {and range}
Camber: +0.10* {-0.30* to +0.50*}
Caster: +2.31* {+1.31* to +3.31*} Total toe: +0.10* {-0.10* to +0.30*}
In my experience, a little camber can be helpful for tire wear, if within reason. I'm thinking about asking for -0.10* to -0.20* of camber. I also prefer the least amount of total toe (Left/Right toe is not given). I've had this van at both extremes when doing my home alignment (toe in and toe out), and the van drove pretty stable at all settings. It didn't seem to be wandery, even when toed out quite a bit. I'm guessing that I'd want a slight amount of static toe OUT here, right? Is a positive total toe, toe out, and a negative total toe, toe in?
I have no idea what my alignment settings are right now. It's never been checked, and tire wear has been okay. It's always feathered the outer edges of the front tires. It's a heavy FWD minivan with a MacPherson strut front suspension.
Alignment experts, what do you recommend for me so that I can achieve the most even tire wear? I understand that tire wear is often sacrificed for vehicle stability. I also understand that factory preferences and tolerance ranges are not always great either. What do you think about my preference for a slight amount of negative camber and a slight amount of static toe out?
Thanks!