sparkyL

Anyone have any suggestions for how to get more camber out of a stock suspension system (the only change has been stiffer shocks).
I don't want to fork out for coilovers at the moment so I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive way to get a few degrees for my autocross tires this season.
i had looked at a camber plate kit but A, the spring perches (that hold the bearings) were built for coilovers and too small for the stock springs, and B it doesn't look like I'm going to get much travel with the fairly large diameter stock springs anyway.
Would appreciate anyones experience...
Cheers

REVHED

The strut housings can be bent to slightly correct/increase the camber. Or you can re-drill the control arm mount on the cross member.

Kentetsu

Drilling the crossmember is out. I already checked on that last fall. The only options that come to mind are, like you said, coilovers/camber plates or you could go with the adjustable control arms offered by Racing Beat (I believe).

The problem with the adjustable control arms is that whenever you adjust for camber, you will also be adjusting toe. I considered this option, but decided against it for this very reason. My car is an daily driver/weekend racer.

I got the Respeed camber plates, which did give me some camber. However, like you mentioned, this was limited by the size of the original springs. Later, I purchased the Respeed race coilovers (which are really quite reasonable). Now I feel I've got a pretty good setup that allows me to cross over from daily driver to weekend warrior in just a few minutes.

If you want to look into this setup, check out www.re-speed.com

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

just save yourself time and trouble:

www.re-speed.com

REVHED

You might need to check again because it's been done plenty of times.

Kentetsu

Well, of course it can be done. The problem is that it throws off the geometry and could cause some other issues. I was going to do this last year. I even had the cross member to use and everything. But before I started on it, I consulted with someone that I'm sure most people would consider to be an "expert" when it comes to suspension design and modification. That's when I learned the inside scoop on the potential downside to drilling the CM. The coilovers also give several other advantages, and I can change the camber from street to track without having to crawl under the car or jack it up.

Okay, I looked up the message from back then. Seems it is not as impossible or terrible as I was thinking it would be, but would still present some difficulties. Anyway, I went with the coilovers and don't regret it one bit.

"Well I looked at a spare crossmember this morning and my thoughts would not work. You need to relocated the holes outboard and up. this gets in the way of the engine mount structure. You would not be able to put a bolt in.

My other thought about a crossmember modification is that you will be changing the track as well as the camber. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing but it does change 2 things at once. That is usually a big NO-NO

I am thinking your best bet is coil overs up front. Lets you drop the center of gravity, lets you scale the car for better corner weights and give you the camber clearance needed. These would complement the rear setup you now have."

REVHED

The distance you can move the control arm mount is limited to about 20mm due to the engine mount. This provides about 2* negative camber. The general consensus is that the increase in track is beneficial. Bump-steer is also reduced as it brings the control arm and inner tie-rod end pivot point closer together. This can also be done in conjunction with spacers between the strut and knuckle arm to correct the control arm angle. Especially if the car has been lowered.

sparkyL

Do you remember how much camber you got with this camber kit and the stock suspension. I'll likely also be doing this in stages...

Cheers

Kentetsu

I never measured it, but it did make a noticeable difference during competition. I was able to get quite a bit more "dig" in the corners than without them. My codriver actually thought we were right where we wanted to be, but I'm sure that more camber would still be beneficial so I can't wait to try it out with the coilovers. First race should be coming up before too long....