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[Redeye]

Would changing a front shock absorber affect the tracking? I had a problem last year with both front tyres badly worn on the inner edge. I had the tracking done at the local dealer and both tyres replaced, 11 months later and both tyres are badly worn exactly the same as last time. In December I replaced the front nearside shock absorber which was leaking, could that have affected the tracking?

[jonathanh]

I double that you will have affected the tracking (toe in/out setting) as you do not need to change this when you change the strut.  However you will have had to release the two pinch bolts that hold the strut to the hub.  This is where the camber is set.  Omega's are sensitive to camber and will give uneven tyre wear when this is incorrect.  

I think the general view is that it is worth getting someone knowledgable to check the front geometry. (that is probably not your local tyre fitter!) Wheels In Motion are oftern talked about here.  Before you shell out on a geometry check do check out the front wishbones, the bushes fail and can upset the camber so it is not worth paying for the geometry work before the wishbones are replaced.

In my case, I replaced both front struts and reset the camber using a spirit level guage as a rough guide.  3000 miles later my tyre wear is still even so I reckon I'm about o.k. but when I replace my tyres I will get it checked out.

[Kevin Wood]

Make sure you're getting a full geometry check, normally with an optical sensor on each wheel, as well, and get them to set the camber to the specified values rather than making sure they are in the green. The limits on most geometry testers are very wide, meaning you can have 2.5 degrees on one side and hardly any on the other, which, whilst within those limits, will give poor handling and tyre wear.

You should get a print out with, at the minimum, camber, toe and castor angles for each wheel, front and rear.

Kevin

[TheBoy]

Omega will wear inside edges badly if camber is not right, and by replacing shock, you have adjusted camber.

From memory, the camber settings are from about 1 to 2 degrees.  Set them near 2 (still within spec) will eat the tyres.  Mine are set to around 1'10, but that is specific to my MV6....

[Redeye]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I'm hoping to go back to the dealer who did it and present them with the invoice detailing the work they did to correct the tracking and the two new tyres they put on and show them that they're as bad now as before they did the work. Hopefully they'll give me a big discount  .. at least!

 

[stan]

Hi guys.

I have Omega estate cdx 2.2
My problem is that the car is pulling left all the time. I had tracking done 3 times. Finally I was told that i have to replace 'track ends' or something like that. Now when that is done there is no real difference. I am just fed up with the garage but what can I do
Any Ideas what should I do.
Thanks

[jonathanh]

Hi guys.

I have Omega estate cdx 2.2
My problem is that the car is pulling left all the time. I had tracking done 3 times. Finally I was told that i have to replace 'track ends' or something like that. Now when that is done there is no real difference. I am just fed up with the garage but what can I do
Any Ideas what should I do.
Thanks

short answer is take it to someone who knows about geometry: Wheels in motion will help.  However one hint is that even if the geometry is spot on now, if you have uneven wear on your tyres it will not run well.  

[monza789]

Hi There,
I had the same problem with my 2.5V6 tourer.
Both inners were chewing up like tyres were going out of fashion...!
I went to a tyre services near leicester forest east on the M1.
They were good they did 4 wheel alignment properly on their computer and hey presto it seemed to do the trick....18months later and no inner wear to speak of.
The guy knows about omega tyre wear and is a good place to go.
They are called Walker Tyre Services of Leicester.

Cheers
Monza

[Seth]

Yep - sounds like the camber is incorrectly set up.
Did mine with a home-made spirit-level gauge. Tyres are wearing evenly after having covered over 5000 miles. I too, must have got it set up pretty accurately.