Somedude505

Hi, newbie here with a suspension question for a 2007 s2000. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.
Working on my girlfriends s2000. The rear tires are not wearing out evenly. The inside is worn out considerably more than the outside. I figured a simple alignment and new rear tires would be all it needed. However at the shop I was told that the camber adjustment was already maxed out and that it needed a camber kit worth about $250.00. He showed me on the car and sure enough, no more adjustment. As far as I can tell the suspension is stock but I am not sure, which brings me to my questions:
What is the stock ride height on a 07 s2000?
How do I measure it?
Would worn out shocks cause this problem?
Should I get stock suspension or the camber kit?

I should mention that the rims are original and the tire size is 245/40/17

I am not really interested in a lowered car, I would prefer stock height.

Thanks again. I did try to do some research first but found little and contradicting information...

rpg51

Did they tell you they can't put it at OEM specs? Why would you want camber max'd out? What is the toe setting in the rear?

Somedude505

Is not that I want the camber maxed out. Is that the camber is maxed out trying to get the wheels straight, or to factory specs... basically no more adjustment is possible and the car is still not straight... I do not remember what the toe is...

_valtsu_

I don't think aftermarket camber kit is way to go here. First thing I would do is figure out what is causing this. Check that springs are not broken and shocks are not showing any kind of leaks. Check both sides at rear. If they are ok maybe something is bent?

B serious

Are you sure they were turning the correct adjustment bolt? The rear toe/camber alignment is tricky...and some techs have trouble with it. So...there *may* not be anything wrong with your car.

Shocks cannot cause this. The shocks don't control ride height almost at all. Even if the air spring inside the shock blew completely out...it would be worth almost nothing.

Shocks also don't directly impact alignment angles on a S2000. Its a double wishbone car. Not a macpherson strut car.

A stock S2000 should have a wheel center to fender lip measurement of like 14.38", IIRC. That measurement technique is very innacurate. But make sure you do it on level ground if you're going to do it.

The manual has a different measurement specified. But you'll need the car to be on an alignment lift or other drive-on lift.

I would check for bent spindles or control arms. Spindles are the first thing that bends in some sort of collision.

Your subframe could also be loose or shifted.

Bushings could be worn.

A subframe alignment tab weld might have broken or the tab itself may have been damaged.

etc etc etc etc.

Tips:

Your uneven wear was probably caused, in majority, by TOE. Not camber.

Alignment places will give you before/after print outs. Its good to ask for them in advance.

You should be aligning the car around 1 time a year. I usually go for lifetime alignment deals at Firestone. Other people have other preferences.

Fix whatever is wrong (if anything is indeed wrong). Don't just slap on an aftermarket camber kit. Something is either badly bent/damaged/worn...or the tech didn't know what he was doing. S2000's have tons of adjustment. Even lowered cars don't often need aftermarket kits. There's no reason your stock one should.

rpg51

I agree with above. Maybe try another alignment shop. I asked a friend who is a car nut and former parts manager at a local dealer for a recommendation. The guy he is recommended is excellent. Or, maybe get the car to a good experienced s2k mechanic to get it up on a lift and figure out what is going on.

Car Analogy

If the alignment issue was because the car was lowered, it would have to be so low you wouldn't be asking us how to tell if its lowered or stock height. It would be way obvious it was a lowered car.

Issue likely something else.

Somedude505

Thanks for all the help guys. So this is what Im thinking, tell me if you would do something different.
Since I cant find something oviously wrong or bent with the car, Im thinking of taking it to the stealership for an alignment. If they can align it then Im done. If not, Im sure they will tell me whats wrong with it and ofcourse want to charge me an arm and a leg for it. But once knowing whats wrong I can attempt to fix it myself.

And to B serious, that was a lot of useful information. Thank you.

I will keep you guys posted, maybe it can help someone else.

lookstoomuch

As another data point for you, I recently measured ride height for my stock '06 w/97K on an alignment pad. Measurement taken ground to the furthest forward / rearward points on the frame rails. Results:

Left Front: 4.875" Right Front: 5"

Left Rear: 5.125" Right Rear: 5.25"

There was about a half tank of gas at the time with a hardtop on with RS3 tires.

Car Analogy

If you go to dealer, if they even hear you wisper possible damage, they will give you a quote that involves replacing nearly every component in the rear suspension, and it will easily exceed $1k.

Not that they will actually have any valid reason for claiming all those parts are bad.

Likewise of they can't align it, they'll do the same thing. It would not surprise me one bit if the actual damaged part wasn't on their list.

So your goal of having dealer tell you whats wrong so you can fix it elsewhere is not likely to be achieved.

Bring it to a competent alignment shop. They will be way more equipped to handle this.