I recently installed Tien S Techs on my 05 6mt, and immediately noticed a definite increase in tire noise. The drop was beautiful, and really gives the car a more aggressive stance, but it really disturbed the wheel alignment, especially in the front which is very noticable. Undoubtedly, if left unchecked, I could see that it would prematurely wear the tires on the inside corners.
So, I made haste to my local Infiniti dealer for a complete 4 wheel re-line which set me back 90 bucks and lo and behold they basically said that they got it as close as they could but its still off and it will prematurely wear the insides!!! WTF?*&!!
I intend to exchange the stock nineteens and Bridgestone rubber for something different here soon but want to get this resolved beforehand. Actually, should I wait untill I get the new rolling stock and then make the corrections accordingly AND exactly what do I need to do to get this baby back in line?
I would really appreciate the brain trust helping me out on this. And...I know i'll probably get some stern feedback in terms of... I should have figured this out before doing it but, I stumbled onto a deal for the springs and just dove in head first!

 

Congrats on the lowering. Unfortunately what you will soon learn is that the factory suspension does not allow for positive camber adjustment in the front. In stock form there is already a slight negative camber built in. In fact some people including myself experience tire roar from the stock setup.

Now that you have lowered the car you have taken the already unadjustable slighlty negative camber setup and increased the negative camber on all four corners. It will handle better not only because of the lowering and stiffening from the springs but also because you have increased the negative camber.

Unfortunately, I think after many attempts at the alignment shop you will realize that the only way to get the camber to a degree that reduces or eliminates the tire roar will require a camber kit. Some may say you do not need to go this far but I am trying to save you some dough in the long run. Most just live with the roar and increased tire wear, and some seem to only experience a mild form of these symptoms dependent on their amount of lowering, tires, rim size, offset and interpretation. But in the end it comes down to aligning the setup properly. And properly most often means camber kits. This is why the dealer explained to you that they got it as close as possible.

If you have a good alignment shop they may be able to channel and shim the you setup, but this only if you have confidence in your shop and it wouold increase the likelihood of the alignment more easily being knocked out of alignment when you hit potholes and what not.

I hope I saved you some unecessary trips to the shop. Good luck, let us know what you decide.

 

Although its not what I was really wanting to hear, I certainly appreciate the detailed information. Its good to know because I felt that the dealer was simply avoiding doing anything beyond the norm. I know typically they are opposed to modifying cars from stock and really hate working on those that have been modded. I was ready to head to a speed shop with check in hand.
I actually only get the noise briefly at around 20mph, which isnt that bad unless I get into a lot of stop and go traffic.
At this point the big question is how quickly the tires will wear?
Since my car is a daily driver I would seriously hate to burn through a pair of new tires in a few months time.

 

G35SD pretty much said it all...

You will be amazed at how fast you will go through the rubber. Especially if you go w/ a set of aftermarkets like 275 or 285's. It is funny, but different people have gotten different results, so much so that i wouldn't know exactly how to describe how much wear you'll get after dropping. But from first hand knowledge in my experiences, the S techs do drop the car almost perfectly w/ aftermarket wheels. The front tires won't wear as much as the rears, but it will wear. You won't notice really unless you work on your car alot and get underneath, since all the premature wear will come from the insides. The outsides will look nice and pretty while your insides get as bald. I'll give it about a year before you have to replace the tires depending on the miles you put on.

Wait until the springs settle a bit before you do more work. Once you've driven a while and have the springs settle a bit, the best thing to do is get a camber kit. The alignment you got will be off slightly since the springs tend to settle changing the geometry again. Aftermarket springs have higher tolerances but best to wait a bit.

My recommendations would be drop it (camber kit now or a little later), ride on it for a while, then align it. Cambers cost a grip, but in the long run, it will save you money on tires.

Some like the cambered look and can live w/ premature wear. The OEM's w/ 19's are asymetrical tires, so you can't swap across, but if you get symetrical aftermarkets, do a tire swap every so often to even out the wear somewhat.

 

i have camber issues and my suspension is stock and untouched-i noticed though that the very insides of my front tires are wearing and i am experiencing that roar.

because the G doesn't have any camber adjustments am I correct in saying that I have to buy a camber kit to get my car to spec? that makes no sense....

 

I guess I got very lucky because I also have S Techs with aftermarket wheels and the shop I took it to was able to get the rears back to factory spec and the fronts are off by just a hair. It was recommended to me that I wait a month or so after I got my springs installed to let the springs settle and then get the alignment done. That's what I did and it seems to have worked out well. I will definitely keep a close eye on my tires though. Toyo T1R's are not cheap!!

 

Since we are on the topic of camber kits, what are we looking at for cost and what is recommended kit to buy? I have S techs new in the box but just haven't had the time to install them. Now I am thinking of waiting and potentially doing the camber kit at the same time.

 

I just want to chime in and say that this thread is how all threads on this forum should be. Detailed, well written and helpfull without a shred of negativity or stupidity.

 

I also inquired with them about getting a camber kit and the guy told me I would just be wasting my money. He could have easily made some $$$ off of me but instead he was honest with me and I really appreciated that.