[JT58]

My wheels on one side of my car protrude more than on the other side by about 3/8”- both front and back- the left hand side. The car also seems to sit higher on that same side by about the same amount. I recently purchased some beautiful 20 X 10 (square set up) rotary forged Stance wheels for a flush with the fenders look. It was not noticeable with the stock (18 X 8.5) wheels as they are inset from the fender. The protrusion is only visible from the top- highest point of the fender. Viewing the articulation of the suspension, it operates in an arc type of motion instead of straight up and down. Is it possible that this is an alignment issue- caster/camber? The car was never hit or in an accident. Settings are factory and it handles and tracks laser straight. I went to my premier auto shop and discussed this with them- they think it’s a caster/camber issue and I made an appointment next week for a 4 wheel caster/camber, toe in, toe out alignment. Most shops only do a toe in, toe out alignment.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this- and if you did, what was the issue and remedy?

[crosive]

It's possibly the alignment. I've seen stock cars be hit or miss from the factory with practically no miles on them.

I've never seen one so far out that its noticable with the naked eye, but I wouldn't doubt it either.

[B8TTYVILLEKID]

Not the same car, but my 2009 G8GT had a frigging lean of 1/2 inch. I tried to get the dealer to fix it but he pulled out the specs and it was acceptable to lean up to almost 3/4 of an inch !! Drove just fine but was very noticeable to me. Could not get them to do anything about it since it met spec. Bugged the crap out of me for 4 years until I finally got rid of it.

[95 imp]

The rear end in my Caprice was that far off from the factory. I had to order rims with 2 different offsets to make it look right.

[JT58]

The more I look at the protrusion I think it is alignment. The left side that protrudes more the distance from the center of the fender to the top of the wheel is wheel is higher than on the right side. Meaning as the wheel tilts outward more on the top side as it moves down in the adjustment range of caster/camber.

I don't know if my shop will be good enough with their alignment machine to adjust this. Another option is I was thinking to add 3 MM spacers to the right wheels only to make the difference less noticeable. Would this adversely affect the handling?

Most would probably not even notice the difference. When the stock wheels were inset from the fenders it was virtually not detectable. But with the new "flush" wheels I can see it and measure it. It's probably more noticeable to me as in my profession I am an engineer and when things that are not symmetrical I notice it.

[crosive]

Originally Posted by JT58

The more I look at the protrusion I think it is alignment. The left side that protrudes more the distance from the center of the fender to the top of the wheel is wheel is higher than on the right side. Meaning as the wheel tilts outward more on the top side as it moves down in the adjustment range of caster/camber.

I don't know if my shop will be good enough with their alignment machine to adjust this. Another option is I was thinking to add 3 MM spacers to the right wheels only to make the difference less noticeable. Would this adversely affect the handling?

Most would probably not even notice the difference. When the stock wheels were inset from the fenders it was virtually not detectable. But with the new "flush" wheels I can see it and measure it. It's probably more noticeable to me as in my profession I am an engineer and when things that are not symmetrical I notice it.

before you do anything, I'd have it aligned properly. Regardless of which shop you take it to, they should be able to give you before and after specs that you can compare. As you said, not every shop can align everything 100%, there are tolerances, but they should be able to tell you before any work is performed, what you have now, and if they think they'll be able to put it back in spec.

[wookwook]

i have a slight variance too but not that much maybe 1/16 inch, as an eng I feel your pain. I would double check the offsets on those rims too. try swap sides. and front to rear.

[JT58]

Originally Posted by wookwook

i have a slight variance too but not that much maybe 1/16 inch, as an eng I feel your pain. I would double check the offsets on those rims too. try swap sides. and front to rear.

Good point and I was going to do this although I had another idea and this weekend measured the back spacing on the wheels from the face of the hub they are mounted on to the outside wheel edge. It was so easy to do- I just used my tape measure in between the spokes on the wheel and my level fit perfectly (coincidence) right to and rested on the outer wheel edge so I had a perfectly straight and flat surface to measure to 90 degrees from the hub face. They all measured exactly the same, almost perfect.

I am thinking more and more it's the caster/camber- especially with the left hand side sitting higher than the right side. And from what I remember on my 2011 Camaro when I replaced the front struts there was so much adjustment on the caster/camber you could make the suspension sit pretty high and the wheel sit way inwards or protrude if you max out the adjustment.

So definitely bringing the car in for the alignment, will ask the shop what they found out BEFORE they make any adjustments and what they intend to do. I'll report back Thursday.

[NeverDie]

This was a big deal on the S550 Mustangs (probably still is because Ford quality doesn't seem to improve with time) because during assembly they weren't aligning the rear subframes. This was solved with a rear subframe mount kit that would positively locate it in the correct alignment.

[JT58]

Well I had an alignment and everything was dead on- toe in, toe out, caster/camber. So the car is asymmetrical from the factory. The stock factory wheels being so much inset from the fenders with a high positive offset it was not easily visible. So I either have to live with it or I may just install a thin 3 MM spacer on one side to lessen the overall difference between the two sides. Good to know my alignment is perfect.

I now wonder how many other Camaros are like this- I would bet quite a few are just no one notices it.

[JT58]

I installed the 3 MM spacers on the one side and both sides are just about the same, perhaps the right side now protrudes a little more. So the variance I would guess is only about 1.5 MM. It still bugs me a bit but it's not a huge amount. Probably within the manufacturer's tolerance.

[vtirocz]

Originally Posted by JT58

I installed the 3 MM spacers on the one side and both sides are just about the same, perhaps the right side now protrudes a little more. So the variance I would guess is only about 1.5 MM. It still bugs me a bit but it's not a huge amount. Probably within the manufacturer's tolerance.

1.5mm is less than 1/16 of an inch. That seems pretty tiny.and I'm surprised it's visually noticeable.

[Shawnqa800720]

I had the same experience, and it was the camber being off after a poor alignment. A high quality alignment should fix the problem. You shouldn't need to add spacers to keep wheel gaps appropriately. If so, you need to get to the dealer to see what is actually wrong - was the car ever in an accident (knocking frame off center)?

[JT58]

Originally Posted by Shawnqa800720

I had the same experience, and it was the camber being off after a poor alignment. A high quality alignment should fix the problem. You shouldn't need to add spacers to keep wheel gaps appropriately. If so, you need to get to the dealer to see what is actually wrong - was the car ever in an accident (knocking frame off center)?

I had a very high end shop check the alignment- toe in, out, caster, camber front and back and it is all within specification. I do believe the alignment is correct too as the car tracks and drives laser straight with the steering wheel perfectly centered.

No accident, I picked up the car used with only 6K miles on it.