2011 C70 Front Camber Adjustment

[Nvrsady]

Does anyone know of a way to adjust the FRONT camber on a 2011 C70?

The Dealer said there is no adjustment capability on the original. Front camber is within spec but the car came with 18" wheels and low profile tires that have very limited sidewall flex on the tires. Thus the inside shoulder of the tires are feathering and will eventually cup and make excessive noise. I have already replaced the tires because of this issue. A camber adjustment to be less negative would help reduce or alleviate the problem.

[iantowil]

I have a 2008 C70. I get the feathering problem on the rear but nothing on the front. From memory, the negative camber on the rear is over 1 degree. I found the problem worse with directional tyres.

[Nvrsady]

I too had a problem with the rear. Mine was -2.5 degrees, but that is within spec so the Dealer could not do anything as there is no adjustment. However, the Dealer did handle an aftermarket part that was adjustable. The had actually done this on other vehicles including their parts vehicle. I did the change on mine and brought the rear to the minimum spec and only time will tell if that cures the problem or we need to adjust further. Now it is the front I would like to address as the front is -1.3 and the spec goes from -.1 to -1.5, so again I am in spec but on the wrong end of that spec. The part that is supposed to fit, did not. So I wondered if anyone else has changed the camber on the front and wondered how they did it. I think my problem stems not only from the negative camber but the car came with larger wheels and lower profile tires that have limited sidewall flex, thus aggravating the problem. If you run across some one that found a solution, let me know.

[iantowil]

Apologies, you were correct on the rear camber - it is more than 1 degree negative. You can see that just looking at the rear wheels.

Only advice I can offer is tyres do seem to make a big difference. When I bought the car it was fitted with Avon ZZ3s (235/40x18 on Mirzam Alloys) - a lovely looking symmetrical tyre. The rear tyres had around 5-6mm of life left and they were severely stepped causing noise and vibration above 50mph. I've had non symmetrical/directional Kumhos and they only stepped on the last few mm of life, and the Barum Bravaris 2 on at the moment seem pretty good.

Also when I was sorting the initial problem, I had a 4 wheel alignment done by the local Volvo dealer. They had very modern equipment where they start by setting the rear and move to the front (again from memory). The toe-in on the rear was way out. I was with the mechanic when he was doing it, and the sensitivity to the adjustment was dramatic - just moving the adjusting nut a little made quite a difference to the toe reading.

Also just remembered that a friend into Golfs says his car is tremendously sensitive to stepping with the wrong tyre - again the symmetrical/directional tyres seem to be the culprit.

[iantowil]

Forgot to add, to protect the rim I went up a tyre size to a 245/40x18. Haven't had any problems with this and it gives a very slightly taller side wall.

[Clan]

Volvo do a different rear upper control arm , the C shaped one if you cant get the camber into specification . I have seen quite a few V50/C70/S40 cars with uneven trye wear on the edges , in most cases the tyre pressures are too low ! aim for a minimum of 38 psi with these sports tyres .

[xjogger]

I have a 2010 C0 D5 and went through this loop several times with the dealer after destroying the Pirelli Cinturato fronts the car came with in 8000 miles due to extreme asymmetric wear on the inboard edge of the tyre.

The answer which seems to work is to ignore the Volvo "normal" tyre pressures and use the (Volvo recommended) ECO pressure settings which are slightly higher. We also changed to Michelin Pilot Sport which, although slightly noisier, have then given better mileage and less obvious asymmetric wear. I can only assume that the extra 2 or 3 psi stiffens up the tyre enough to reduce the loading on the inboard edges quite so much when turning, while loading the centre of the tyre more.

There does not appear to be any substantial change in handling and ride from using the ECO setting.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by xjogger

I have a 2010 C0 D5 and went through this loop several times with the dealer after destroying the Pirelli Cinturato fronts the car came with in 8000 miles due to extreme asymmetric wear on the inboard edge of the tyre.

The answer which seems to work is to ignore the Volvo "normal" tyre pressures and use the (Volvo recommended) ECO pressure settings which are slightly higher. We also changed to Michelin Pilot Sport which, although slightly noisier, have then given better mileage and less obvious asymmetric wear. I can only assume that the extra 2 or 3 psi stiffens up the tyre enough to reduce the loading on the inboard edges quite so much when turning, while loading the centre of the tyre more.

There does not appear to be any substantial change in handling and ride from using the ECO setting.

Volvo recommended tyre pressures have always been ridiculously low in my experience of 46 years working with volvo cars . Exactly the same problems were evident 40 years ago with the Volvo 343, the recommended front pressures were 28 psi , it was almost impossible to steer the car when the tyres were more than 25% worn due to the weight of the steering . set them to at least 34 psi and the steering was transformed . With today's trends of ultra low profile tyres and setting of negative camber on all 4 wheels for stability and accurate steering feel it is essential that pressures are kept high for good tyre life and equal wear . In my experience the vast majority of drivers do not consider tyre pressures at all from one service to the next and even with the latest mandatory tyre pressure warning systems it makes no difference , they just cancel it and re-calibrate it to the low setting which set the warning message and carry on regardless , often until the tyres have worn through the cords and beyond ... .. The C70 is a much heavier car than you realise , it is the same weight as the V70 about 1700 kg so needs careful tyre pressure monitoring ...