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2003 ford focus zx5
Stock 205/50/16 tires
Have owned car for a week.
Previous owner I believe did not rotate the tires regularly so the rears have noticeable wear on the inside and scalloping. Rear passenger is worse and noisy.

Rear camber is currently at -2.20 and -2.30 on driver/passenger respectively as indicated by steel bar/iPod method.

The internets have revealed ford recommended settings eat tires but am unsure what the right settings are. Some say 1.5 to 1.8.

The car is a teenager dd. I want to minimize excessive rear tire wear. I Am not looking for autox optimized settings....just whatever makes sense to even our the tire wear.

I found reference to a tsb with ford for the model year for an upper control arm kit but can't tell if it's been done. Am going in to get keys programmed tomorrow so will see if they can look it up by vin...

Mercy/gtratze for your inputs

(06-19-2011, 09:24 AM)Jethro Wrote: [ -> ]2003 ford focus zx5
Stock 205/50/16 tires
Have owned car for a week.
Previous owner I believe did not rotate the tires regularly so the rears have noticeable wear on the inside and scalloping. Rear passenger is worse and noisy.

Rear camber is currently at -2.20 and -2.30 on driver/passenger respectively as indicated by steel bar/iPod method.

The internets have revealed ford recommended settings eat tires but am unsure what the right settings are. Some say 1.5 to 1.8.

The car is a teenager dd. I want to minimize excessive rear tire wear. I Am not looking for autox optimized settings....just whatever makes sense to even our the tire wear.

I found reference to a tsb with ford for the model year for an upper control arm kit but can't tell if it's been done. Am going in to get keys programmed tomorrow so will see if they can look it up by vin...

Mercy/gtratze for your inputs

I've never experienced excessive wear with a stock suspension and recommended alignment settings ... however, if your vehicle has had a lowering suspension put on it (and lots do) ... then without the addition of rear camber-adjusting bolts, you will find the tires wear excessively on the inside.

Have the alignment done . Seems to me like there's a toe problem . Check that first . Also , when adjusting the toe ( I think you have too much toe out because it it wearing the inside ) it can slightly change the camber too . Number 1 wearer is the toe , after that is camber . I have 2+ degrees of negative camber at the rear with no wear . Set the toe in at 0.05 degrees and you'll be fine . That assuming that nothing is bent on the rear suspension . For the noisy tire... could be a bad tire that needs replacement .

If the rear camber is that excessive then your rear springs are either shot or broken (there was a recall on this IIRC). If you're running aftermarket springs you can buy aftermarket camber adjustment bolts, they're not expensive but can be a PITA to put in.