Are stock springs prone to settling/ softening up/ collapsing? My 03 MCS (47k miles) has visibly negative camber in the rear. So much so, that my daughter, who knows nothing of cars, asked "dad, are the tires supposed to be tipped like that?" The inside third of each tire is getting ground off.
I understand that this setup is what Auto-Xers aspire to, but for my commuter, this aint working! And since the camber is non-adjustable (stock), the only thing I can think of to cause this would be the springs.
Thoughts?
ps: will get some pics up later. It's 18F outside right now.

 

Check your lug nuts. I really doubt your springs are sagging. Maybe they have popped out of the seats? (doubt it)

I can't think of anything else that would cause this, but when you find out, please let me know.

 

OK, just uploaded some pics to my gallery. Please let me know what you think?

 

Yes, springs can sag over time which is why 40 year old cars automatically look like lowriders, but it's not common in so little time unless the springs were improperly tempered. My Bentley manual lists the stock rear ride height with 17" wheels as 22.48" plus or minus 0.4" from the fender lip to the bottom edge of the wheel (not tire).

BTW wear on the inside edges of the tires is usually from toe-out, not that little camber.

 

BFG9000, thanks. Just went and measured, and getting just a blonde hair under 23" on both sides. Seems to be on the high end of spec. ?

 

Forgot to mention that was with a full tank of gas and 330lbs in the car, so it sounds close enough. The camber probably just looks so severe (when it's really not) because it is being compared to the front, which has zero degrees as stock.

 

Well, the inside tire wear is leading me to believe that something is off.
Just called the shop that did my alignment 5-6 weeks ago, and got the camber #s from them. After alignment the left rear was -0.7 deg and the right -2 deg. Spec, according to them, is between -1 and -2 deg. Seems that even -2 would not be noticable to the naked eye, so either something has changed, or I need to get my eyeballs re-calibrated.
Thanks for the help so far.

 

-2 degrees would be noticeable to your eye.

I'd find a new alignment shop if I were you. That's crap.

Maybe some suspension bushing is worn in the rear. A good alignment shop (maybe a race oriented shop) would find that.

 

Mitchman, don't forget that the camber is not adjustable on the earlier models. I know that they are not the best shop, but I didn't give them much to work with, either.
Looks like it might be time for some adjustable control arms.
Drat, another mod.

 

While the front subframe is located with dowels and immovable, I've heard the rear subframe can be moved around a bit. Simply centering the subframe then may give you -1.35° on each side without having to buy parts.

Like mitchman said, find a race oriented alignment shop that won't settle for barely within spec. Rapid tire wear on the rear of a FWD car is extremely unusual.

 

Wow, you guys are very helpful! Thanks for the info, I'll have to do a little research on good alignment shops.