Rear Camber adjustment

[Mittens247]

Our 2018 Passat seems to have acquired some negative camber on the rear wheels that is visible to the naked eye and causing feathering on the rear tyres. Is this a common problem? I assume it should have zero camber? Is this an easy job to fix and where is the best place to get it done?

[Crasher]

It should have what you would think is quite pronounced negative camber of -1° 20′ ± 30′ and this can get much more pronounced when the rear bump stops and the lower spring plate inner bushes wear which also cause excessive toe. The upper camber eccentrics are usually OK, the lower toe excentrics are usually rusted solid in the bushes and the bolts have to be cut away with an air saw.

Toe adjustment



Camber adjustment

[Mittens247]

Thanks for that. So it comes set up with negative camber from the factory. What's the thinking behind that? Is it to improve handling at the expense of tyre life? So what is causing the feathering of the rear tyres, the negative camber or the toe being wrong. I am assuming all the components need checking for wear then I need a 4 wheel laser alignment?

[Crasher]

When the car squats, the camber goes even more negative, changes the toe and so scrubs the tyres with certain brands of tyre being more susceptible. We get our alignment chap to set the camber no more than -1° 20′ ignoring the -30′ extra allowable, then set the toe dead on spec. With new springs, dampers and bump stops, set up like this stops the problem, for us on Uniroyal tyres. We also use Powerflex inner toe bushes to prevent toe change.

[Mittens247]

Reading further you recommend changing the inner bush for an upgraded one. Is item 14 the correct one?

Passat B8 (2015 on) | Powerflex | Black Series

You also mention setting the camber at -50' and adjusting the toe to 10'. Is this still the recommended solution?

[Crasher]

That's the enemy! This one. The camber varies to VIN, what is yours?

Powerflex Black Rr Tie Bar Inner Bushes For VW Passat B8 (2013 on) PFR85-812BLK | eBay

[mickeybo]

We do a lot of these after wards they have to be set up with 4 wheel alignment

[Mittens247]

Thanks for the update. My VIN is WVWZZZ3CZJE038253. I will be looking to get this sorted soon. £100 sheets for 2 bushes but worth it to sort the problem.

[Mittens247]

Coincidentally, this week I picked up a puncture on one of my rear tyres. I removed it and checked the so called feathering mentioned on the MOT certificate and there was no evidence of it whatsoever!

Garage touting for business?

[Crasher]

-1°20′ ± 30′ Maximum permissible difference between both sides max. 30′ so I would be looking for say -1° which is within spec but not so negative, then set the toe to +10′