Alignment "rules of thumb"

I see so much mis-information coming from dealers and shops it seemed like this was overdue.
In a perfect world you want 0 degrees of camber on all 4 wheels, as much positive caster as possible on both front wheels, and just a touch of toe in. Maybe a 1/4 degree of positive camber on the left or 1/4 degree negative on the right to compensate for road crown. The challenge is no one takes these measurements or makes these adjustments under a normal loaded state. Meaning if you typically ride empty and alone you should be behind the wheel while it's done. If you typically carry 500 lbs of stuff and 4 big dudes you should load the truck with 500 lbs and at least 150-200 in each seat...you get the idea. If your having front tire wear issues on edges something is off. These specs aren't achievable on some vehicles due to adjustment limits, but you get the idea. Running over 1/2 a degree of positive camber on each side and any toe in is going to cause excess tire wear, no matter what the "factory specs" are. Not doing an alignment with a normal load is a crap shoot also.

 

mods please move to general 3rd gen discussion lol...