After I installed the Belltech 2/2 drop (done with keys and shackles [or hangers, whichever is at the rear of the leaf spring]), I have fairly sever inner tire wear on the fronts. Is this inherent to the drop, or do I have some other problem?

 

you need a allignment. your camber is negative big time to wear that fast

 

Think thats it? I mean that was my first thought, but then I thought that an alignment wouldn't totally fix it due to the changed geometry from the drop. I know its only a 2/2, but I know nothing when it comes to this stuff, so I assume the worst. I will try the alignment and see what happens.

I just realized you have a similar setup (except I am AWD) with a bigger drop than me. You don't have any issues? Have you changed the torsion bar keys, or was the front done with spindles?

 

Inner tire wear is usually an indication of excessive negative camber. Get an alignment done, which should have been done immediately after the suspension work.

 

I had one done after I installed the drop and everything was fine. That was about 6 months ago. Only in the last week or two have I noticed it (I can actually see the negative camber in the front tires). Today I saw the inside of the tires, and saw he wear pattern. Another thing that's making me think something else is up, but I can't put my finger on it, is there is a shake in the steering wheel. Not predictable, it happens at random speeds, sometimes it shows up after hitting a bump while turning. To make it a little more confusing, if I turn the wheels from side to side a bit, like NASCARs before a restart but not as drastic, the shake in the steering wheel goes away. Something tells me these things are related, any idea what to change first?

 

Actually, if you have excessive inner tire wear on BOTH front tires, it is caused by toe angle. Many cars on the road actually require negative camber and do not scrub the tires.

With the shake you are describing, I'm gonna guess that something in your front end is worn out. Also, there's a strong possibility that your caster is not set properly.

 

well the priginal post says right after he did the drop. so i figured camber is negative bad. but when you do a allignment they adjust everything else so i figured that was pointless mentioning

 

right after I did the drop, I had an alignment done, and everything was good. Something has gone wrong in the past two weeks or so to make this start happening. I have a set of ball joints (uppers I think) and a set of tie rods (outers?) that I bought for my Z71. I hope they are the same. I will collect the remaining wearable front end parts and do a big swap out, then another alignment. That should fix the problem for another 100K.