Seat Alhambra Road Camber Reaction

[rickf]

My 2.0TDi 06 Alhambra stripped its inside front treads at 15000 miles. Moved rears to front, new tyres on rear. Fronts stripped again in 4000 miles. more new tyres fitted. Had the alignment fixed by a Hunter equipped dealer, I'm monitoring the situation. However, the car has always reacted badly to road camber changes and following realignment it's worse. One suggestion is a fault on the high pressure side of the steering rack. Anyone else experienced this?

[Seat Driver]

Rickf

When I purchased my Alhambra (2000 115bhp 1.9TDi) I had a number of problems. All were minor at first but each trip to the dealer only resulted in things getting worse. One of the problems was the wheel alignment, in fact the geometry of all 4 wheels. The problem is I can only adjust the front toe in/out. A discussion with the Customer Services Manager for the region had me so annoyed that I walked away disgusted. After arguing over the steering geometry and wheel alignment, he said that while the geometry could not be adjusted the bolts were not a perfect fit in the holes and therefore adjustment was possible.

I got the impression he had come across the problem in the past, and I have to say, while my car has not shown unusual tyre wear patterns I have always remained concerned about the wheel alignment and the geometry all round.

I would be interested to hear other peoples comments on your problem but there is a special piece of equipment the dealer referred to for checking the wheel alignment, and the amount of fuel in the tank is important. I am sure you will appreciate why I am reluctant to go to a dealer or Seat for advice.


Ivan

[Crasher]

Not being able to adjust the camber on the front of a significant proportion of modern VAG products is a problem. It is a stupid design decision to make not allowing some adjustment at the strut and at least there is a little slack in the ball joint bolts of the Golf 4 platform but the Sharan and Alhambra have nothing available. Slack in the subframe bolts only allows any disparity from side to side to be evened out but if the camber is out, that is it. Do you have any alignment figures?

[a8 tech]

Yes only slight adjustment at the subframe.The fuel tank must be full as the factory settings are based on the vehicle having a full tank so it will have a reaction on the readings (i agree with crasher about the camber adjustment).

[Seat Driver]

Guys

I find it difficult to understand how a vehicle weighing in at around 1700Kg unladen and has the capacity to carry 7 adults and luggage (OK not a lot of luggage with 7 seats) requires to have any given level of fuel in the tank before checking the suspension geometry. The difference between empty and full can only be approx 60Kg a fraction of the potential payload and almost nothing compared to the all up weight. The other extreme is driving with all the seats out. That must take at least 100Kg off the unladen weight.

I know someone is going to explain. The regional customer services manager was unable.

I had figures supposedly supplied by VW for the check I had made by one of the local tyre dealers. If I can find them I will see if I can scan them into my PC. The printout was a graphic display from the computer display on the equipment.

Ivan

[a8 tech]

Requirements● Suspension, steering and steering linkage checked for impermissible play and damage
● Tread depth on one axle must not differ by more than 2 mm
● Specified tyre inflation pressure
● Sensors properly attached and adjusted; heed manufacturer's operating instructions
● Vehicle kerb weight 1)
1) Kerb weight refers to weight of vehicle when ready for use (fuel tank full, spare wheel, tool kit, jack).

● Wheel alignment platform and wheel alignment equipment/computer may start to deviate over the course of time from their original position/setting.
● Wheel alignment platform and wheel alignment equipment/computer should be calibrated at least once a year as part of maintenance work.
‒ Take care to treat this highly sensitive equipment carefully and conscientiously.
● If appropriate, have manufacturer of wheel alignment computer provide a course of instruction.
● Vehicle properly aligned, bounced several times and allowed to settle
● When performing wheel alignment, make sure neither sliding base nor turntable is on end stop
● Perform wheel runout compensation
The permissible wheel runout may already cause the toe-in tolerance to be exceeded. The toe-in can then not be set correctly without performing wheel runout compensation Hope this explains the basic requirements for any alignment check.Here is something to think about as you both say the problem has become worse since alignment which leads me to think it has been set incorrectly. Read on.
One-sided wear, usually in conjunction with signs of scuffing on the ribs of the tread and in the fine grooves, always occurs when the tyres have been allowed to roll with an extreme tyre slip angle, causing them to “rub” on the road surface.
Driving fast on a stretch of road with lots of bends will cause increased wear, in particular on the outer shoulder.
A rounded outer shoulder on the tyre in conjunction with a particularly high degree of wear on the outer tread blocks indicates fast cornering. This wear pattern is influenced by driving style.
To optimise handling, the suspension is set to certain toe-in and camber values. Increased one-sided wear can be expected if tyres are allowed to roll under conditions which differ from those specified.
One-sided wear is especially likely if the toe-in and camber have not been set correctly. Moreover, there is a greater risk of diagonal erosion.

Toe-out or negative toe-in:

inner wear is more prone to camber or toe adjustment (toe in feet together toe out feet pointing outwards)

[Crasher]

I recognise those bullet points-naughty cut and paste Mr A8 man!

[a8 tech]

I found it on another forum

[Crasher]

I'll belive you.

[rickf]

I've read all suggestions with interest. Thanks for all the help. So far though, tyre wear looks even, 4000 miles after alignment. However the road camber problem persists. I rarely run the tank to below half way. All balance looks right and was done by a reputable fitter, I've used on previous Alhambras. The alignment was done by a firm used to VAG and Mercedes problems. The Seat mechanic said the problem was not uncommon but Seat UK and the dealer service manager said the usual---"Driving style, road conditions etc" This is my 5th Alhambra. I know how they should drive. But not like this one.