redorchestra- He is right! If camber is not readily adjustable(most cars are not) and negative camber developed (always does as suspension components wear and get "tired") but still within specs, the resultant inside edge tire wear can be offset with adding toe in as specs allow to stay within limits.
I do alignments almost every day but only recently got around to do my own car as new front tires went on.
Here is my before:
And after:
Actually not bad for a car with over 200 000 miles on it and never checked by me before.
I guess I could have opened up the rear toe a little bit.. On the front I decided to do a slight toe out (but get it within specs) as a compromise between pulse or cruising (it will toe in slightly) and coasting / or when slowing down with the brakes (slight toe out).
I've been reading the conversations about alignments on this site (not necessarily in this thread) and I see people getting very picky with the numbers to be exactly even side to side etc.
I just want to say that some vehicle's specs actually compensate for road crown (leaning to the right) so camber and caster specs will not be the same from side to side!
On my images you can not see this screen,but there are cross caster and cross camber displays that also have to stay within specs and sometimes even if those geometries ARE adjustable (like most trucks), the alignment can be a challenge and it is always a compromise.
So unless the customer has a specific concern, (which I always try to find out before I do an alignment) when you get those parameters "green" or within specs, you are done!
People usually will not realize how little of an imperfection it takes to be out of specs!
I would bet that while we are driving down the road, most or even all the parameters are continuously going in and out of specs according to road surface changes, loading/items/cargo in the vehicle,heck even the weight of the driver!
Unfortunately I see very few vehicles factory equipped with fully adjustable front and rear suspensions (caster,camber,toe). Those are usually fun to do!
Have fun!
Barna