strange alignment Issues, camber plates and still no camber!
08-12-09, 11:53 AM
#1
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strange alignment Issues, camber plates and still no camber!
Hey guys, just got back from the alignment shop, and encountered some wierd results.
Background on car, its an 86 with 5 lug conversion silling on tien HR coilovers, with camber plates up from, rims and tires on the front are stock, and the rear has 18's with 245/45/18 tires.
the car is not lowered dramatically, i have about 2 inch fender gap all around. the guy at the shop calls me and asks me to come take a look at his machine. i asked him to do 1/16 toe in on the front with -2 degrees camber.
He said that he could only get -.02 degrees on the pass side, and -1 degree on the drivers side. with the camber plates being maxed out.
What would cause this, i know the frame on the drivers side is a little messed up, but i feel like that wouldn't explain the camber issue.
The backs both had -1.45 degrees camber
any chance the camber plates were designed to work wit the car lowered further? doesn't make much sense!
Background on car, its an 86 with 5 lug conversion silling on tien HR coilovers, with camber plates up from, rims and tires on the front are stock, and the rear has 18's with 245/45/18 tires.
the car is not lowered dramatically, i have about 2 inch fender gap all around. the guy at the shop calls me and asks me to come take a look at his machine. i asked him to do 1/16 toe in on the front with -2 degrees camber.
He said that he could only get -.02 degrees on the pass side, and -1 degree on the drivers side. with the camber plates being maxed out.
What would cause this, i know the frame on the drivers side is a little messed up, but i feel like that wouldn't explain the camber issue.
The backs both had -1.45 degrees camber
any chance the camber plates were designed to work wit the car lowered further? doesn't make much sense!
08-12-09, 12:54 PM
#2
Lowering the car won't give you significant camber gain at the front - my car's lowered ~1 to 1.25", and I didn't gain any measurable static camber - I ended up using a pair of camber/crash bolts to get -.5. This is pretty typical of strut-type front suspensions - keep in mind the upper mount is close to being vertically located over the lower ball joint, so lowering the car doesn't affect the camber geometry much. I am a bit surprised you have to max out the adjustment with the camber plates to get such small, and mis-matched numbers. Could it be the camber plates are poorly installed? Regardless, frame damage can definitely make it hard, or impossible to get proper alignment.
Having a lot of static negative camber isn't always necessary. I have a lot of caster (maxed out), so I get a lot of camber gain under cornering - enough so, my front tires wear very evenly in auto-crossing and track days - with the added benefit that straight-line braking and tire wear on the inside edge isn't hurt by high negative camber.
Having a lot of static negative camber isn't always necessary. I have a lot of caster (maxed out), so I get a lot of camber gain under cornering - enough so, my front tires wear very evenly in auto-crossing and track days - with the added benefit that straight-line braking and tire wear on the inside edge isn't hurt by high negative camber.
08-12-09, 01:00 PM
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are the camber plates installed right? if they are backwards, or swapped right/left you don't get your full normal range of adjustment.
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