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2019 R rear camber problems

Mikejt1954

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Charlotte, NC
I’ve just worn out the very inside edges of my Continental tires on my 2019 R. $470 to replace them. The outside edges had a least another year’s worth of tread. Took the car to the dealer and they said the rear alignment was spot on. Obviously it isn’t. How could they get this so wrong? Has anyone else has this problem? Thanks
 

tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
Rear toe...with more than 1-5 to 1.7 deg of camber...kills tires...and green in VWs specs...means F all for tire wear. Zero toe is great for tire wear, but not "green" on the alignment machine.

Do you have any suspension mods?

Either way...
Reduce the rear camber....and set zero toe on all 4 corners...and Rotate every 5000K miles....

When the dealer trys to tell you...but its not green or but...tire wear....ask them..."how will zero toe....increase my tire wear?".

They won't have a coherent answer....or you may get lucky...and they wont give you any shade...and will do what you asked...since you are paying them for an alignment....and not their opinions.

Also, with tires that worn...an alignment on WORN TIRES will be mostly worthless....so fresh tires first...then minimize camber and set zero toe...

Since your in Charlotte....have you looked into a good VW indy shop...a few like DAP repair?
 
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Mikejt1954

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Charlotte, NC
Rear toe...with more than 1-5 to 1.7 deg of camber...kills tires...and green in VWs specs...means F all for tire wear. Zero toe is great for tire wear, but not "green" on the alignment machine.

Do you have any suspension mods?

Either way...
Reduce the rear camber....and set zero toe on all 4 corners...and Rotate every 5000K miles....

When the dealer trys to tell you...but its not green or but...tire wear....ask them..."how will zero toe....increase my tire wear?".

They won't have a coherent answer....or you may get lucky...and they wont give you any shade...and will do what you asked...since you are paying them for an alignment....and not their opinions.

Also, with tires that worn...an alignment on WORN TIRES will be mostly worthless....so fresh tires first...then minimize camber and set zero toe...
I will keep that in mind, and thanks for the adjustment info.
 

tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
I will keep that in mind, and thanks for the adjustment info.
look into dap repair...since you are in the charlotte area. If your dealer just says OK...when you say...zero toe...thank them...

Keep in mind...zero rear toe...is going to increase the amount the rear of car "rotates" in turns...when driving more aggressively...than normal commuting...

So don't go 100 mph down the highway, playing street rossi, cut the wheel aggressively, and expect traction control to save you from a spin...or less if it is raining...
 
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Mikejt1954

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Charlotte, NC
Dynamic Auto Tune is also a very good place in Charlotte for wheel alignment. They recommended and set my alignment with zero toe on my 19R.
Can’t thank you enough. Have a Thursday appointment with them. I’ll report their
Rear toe...with more than 1-5 to 1.7 deg of camber...kills tires...and green in VWs specs...means F all for tire wear. Zero toe is great for tire wear, but not "green" on the alignment machine.

Do you have any suspension mods?

Either way...
Reduce the rear camber....and set zero toe on all 4 corners...and Rotate every 5000K miles....

When the dealer trys to tell you...but its not green or but...tire wear....ask them..."how will zero toe....increase my tire wear?".

They won't have a coherent answer....or you may get lucky...and they wont give you any shade...and will do what you asked...since you are paying them for an alignment....and not their opinions.

Also, with tires that worn...an alignment on WORN TIRES will be mostly worthless....so fresh tires first...then minimize camber and set zero toe...

Since you’re in Charlotte....have you looked into a good VW indy shop...a few like DAP repair?
Just got back from DAP. Rear camber was -2.0. Way off. He wasn’t surprised that the dealer called that “within specs.” Thanks again for the info. Really appreciate it.
 

tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
Can’t thank you enough. Have a Thursday appointment with them. I’ll report their

Just got back from DAP. Rear camber was -2.0. Way off. He wasn’t surprised that the dealer called that “within specs.” Thanks again for the info. Really appreciate it.
Yeah...dude, glad you got it sorted out.

Most dealer(s) are under educated and lazy....plus it means they sell more tires and and shitty alignments to customers that don't know any better.
 

Salami

Autocross Champion
Location
North Carolina
Car(s)
MK7.5R
Can’t thank you enough. Have a Thursday appointment with them. I’ll report their

Just got back from DAP. Rear camber was -2.0. Way off. He wasn’t surprised that the dealer called that “within specs.” Thanks again for the info. Really appreciate it.

So DAP did the alignment? I thought you were going Dynamic Auto Tune?
 

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
Back in the stone age, 1984, I bought a new Z-28 with the "H.O." engine and 4-speed automatic. Those who are old enough will remember the front toe-in was set for stability. It was probably the best handling U.S. car at the time, except maybe for the 'Vette. I can't remember the setting, but you could take your hands off the wheel and it would track straight ahead for quite some time, especially on roads that were crowned in the middle for rain run-off. I had few miles on the car and both fronts were severely worn on the outer? side. The tech was a friend and set the toe to or closer to zero. "Abnormal" tire wear was gone, but the car was squirrely, requiring pretty constant correction to maintain a straight line. I had to go back and tell him to put it back where it was. I decided I'd rather buy tires more often and have the handling. The Continental tires you bought are very inexpensive compared tot he $1500 I paid for four Michelin PS4S (no alignment), and they wear well on the factory settings. Don't be told you need an alignment unless you bend something on the suspension. I once hit a rock that bent a wheel, and the car still tracked fine. Even a tech I know well told me it takes quite a lot to knock the alignment out of our cars. Like was said, it's a good money-maker for a dealer. They always try to sell you one even though they never once looked at your tires. I heard one tell people it's required because they have the advanced driver assist system. I always ask a new advisor if they were techs before becoming an advisor. When they say no, I tell them I was, and that my alignment's fine. Shuts them up.
 
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doctorGolfR

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Boston
Car(s)
MK VII Golf R
Can’t thank you enough. Have a Thursday appointment with them. I’ll report their

Just got back from DAP. Rear camber was -2.0. Way off. He wasn’t surprised that the dealer called that “within specs.” Thanks again for the info. Really appreciate it.

Just for future reference in case someone is searching this: negative camber is not necessarily what kills tires; it's often incorrect toe specs (as was mentioned above.)

Obviously an egregious amount of negative camber will cause issues, but I don't believe that rear camber of -2.0 was causing your issues. I'm sure it was the toe. Do you have a print out from DAP?

Please always ask for a print out of your alignment so you can verify what you're being told is true. Also, I would advise to do some reading to understand how toe-in vs toe-out in the front vs rear can affect driving characteristics. From my understanding, zero toe in the rear can create some sense of instability but I have ever tried it.

In my case, here is my most recent alignment below. As you can see, the camber is around what you noted as being a "problem," which isn't necessarily true. I've been running these specs for over a year now without any increased tire wear. I have CSS knuckles up front hence the increased neg camber in the front.

I also lowered the car on Eibach Prokit Springs, which surprisingly didn't change the camber at all it seems--I guess that's how minimal of a drop they provide while adding a much needed increase in spring rates (for me). The lowering did throw the toe out of whack, however, which is what you see in the "before measurements." I also rotate my tires ~every 5-6000 miles. The car handles incredibly.

Golf R alignment 2023.JPG
 
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tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
Your car would handle even better removing at least 1/2 of that rear toe...
 
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