Status so far...

alignment - ok
bushings - ok
tire balance - ok
tie rod end - appears ok
ABS ring - need to check
bad brake pad - ??
faulty caliper - need to check

If anyone has any more suggestions, I'm open. I'm still getting some of the suggestions checked out.

 

I gotta resurrect this thread because I'm still having the problem.

Since, a mechanic checked it and found that one of the pistons in the right caliper had somehow lost all it's grease and wasn't sliding well at all, so he greased it up. That was several months ago. It seemed to be a little better, but now I pretty much still have the braking problem.

My right front tire is now bald on the inner edge while all the tread on all the tire everywhere else still has Lincoln's head (2mm or more).

Straight line braking still quickly activates the right front tire, and no matter how hard I slam on the brakes I can't get the front left to slip.

Camber and toe are all still within spec and no visual damage or play when I shake the tire while jacked up.

I'm ruling out:
- toe, otherwise I'd see wear on both sides and this doesn't explain the braking problem
- camber, it's within spec
- calipers because they were recently checked

Interesting data:
- my right front pad never mated well even with regular "break ins" and so it chatters and scores the rotor. On the pad, instead of the smooth break in, it looks like there are splotches where it got "stuck and abraised".

 

More info... when changing the front suspension, anyone who's done it themselves knows that the hub connected to the lower A arm and axle tends to want to be higher than the suspension assembley's mounting fork. So to align the holes for the connecting bolt, you have to push down on the hub some how... ok... so my right side was SIGNIFICANTLY harder to push down than the left.

I'm guessing that this contributes to the right front suspension wanting to compress more than the left, thus increasing negative camber due to the geometry of the front wishbone setup. So I theorize that on braking, the front compression that occurs means more dynamic negative camber on the front right compared to the left, thus at least contributing to the greater tire wear on the inner side of the right front tire.

MY QUESTION: What would cause the right suspension components to more upwards tendancy than the left?


Is it the shorter half shaft (closer to transmission)?
Or is something wrong with my suspension?

Would corner weighting possibly reveal anything?

 

Thrust alignment?

 

But if it was a thrust alignment problem, wouldn't the left front tire also show a problem?

 

Mmm, what does the wear look like exactly?

 

What sort of stuff have you changed on the suspension? Any aftermarket shocks/springs/bushings?

Edit: Also, has you car ever been hit in that area?

 

I'll try and get pix, but the wear just looks like negative camber wear: inside is just worn quicker than the rest (just on my right front tire), kinda like this:



I have had no accidents.
I have stock everything except H&R OE Sport springs and KYB AGX struts.
Running 99 Si 15" rims on 195/55/15 yoko ES100's.

 

My intuition is telling me that I have some kind of dynamics problem... statically the alignment is correct (as revealed by professional alignement checks) but during braking the forces create/exaggerate this problem... but that's just a guess. I'm pretty sure this is due to braking (ABS activates just from front right tire), not acceleration (because I can't spin the tires; low torque econobox pos...), and not cornering (because I don't drive the limit on the streets; just lightly spirited, no squealing)

 

Ok, here's a pic of my tire wear (behind the tire, so left is inside, right is outside). My camera phone SUCKS but it's the most accessible.

Note the bald inner side which should have a tread pattern mirror image of the outer side.
(I tried illuminating the tire with maglite but my batteries are dying... and oh... my camera phone SUCKS)