Custom FD front Camber/Caster Bushings

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05-22-11, 12:53 PM

#26

jkstill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by AMRX7

I have some bushings like these for the lower control arms and they worked fine for years. As mentioned I had upper a-arms fabbed since I wanted them adjustable. One thing to bear in mind when doing the uppers is wheel clearance. The Japanese arms shown would likely have issues with large backspace wheels on the rear side of the arm.

-Andy M.

Did you have any issues with the bushings rotating?

Or did you pin them somehow to prevent that?

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05-22-11, 08:33 PM

#27

Howard Coleman

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hey Kevin, congrats on your usual really nice work.

i have been noodling on upper control arms for my FD. i was planning, and probably will go for: chrome moly adj length upper arms for front and rear.

only i want to go the opposite direction.

i plan to run a very low ride height at the Oct Texas Mile. as you know the FD has a ton of negative camber gain on bump. as you lower the car camber goes negative.

there quickly comes a point where you can't dial it out.

my objective is 200 mph and i want zero camber at that speed.

i could just reverse your bushings but would not be able to get anywhere near zero.

i plan two piece uppers in the front w a Right/Left sleeve adj.

howard

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05-23-11, 07:50 AM

#28

Kevin Doe

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Sorry for the delay of posting the drawings for these bushings. I had another kid about a month ago and all of my free time was gone for a while. I'll pull the drawings up and scan them in. I'm old school, so they're just hand drawings to scale.

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05-23-11, 03:16 PM

#29

jkstill

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Thanks, and congrats on the new child!

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05-24-11, 07:30 AM

#30

Kevin Doe

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Thanks.

And here are the drawings. They're big so you can save them and print with good resolution:

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l5.../Bushings1.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l5.../Bushings2.jpg

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05-24-11, 09:58 AM

#31

jkstill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Doe

Great, thanks Kevin.

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05-26-11, 04:37 PM

#32

AMRX7

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jkstill

Did you have any issues with the bushings rotating?

Or did you pin them somehow to prevent that?

Yes, just a simple (like a 1/4" button head) screw through the outside of the arm and into the bushing, down to about the depth of the metal bushing insert. Never moved.

-Andy

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02-07-13, 02:37 AM

#33

jkstill

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4 completed lube-groove offset bushings - that should get 3 degrees camber and 6 degrees caster - just need to install them now.

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02-08-13, 02:39 PM

#34

PandazRx-7

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^Looks great! Will you be offering these to some of us track junkies?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Doe

I'd be a bit afraid that eccentric pin would slip and change alignment in high G corners (which is why I didn't go with an eccentric pin). I had no idea these were available though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Doe

I suppose it could. Plus they're a pain in the *** when aligning the car, and if you remove the arm and put it back on, its alignment time. For me, I can remove and install the upper arm and retain the same alignment time after time. Plus its one less thing to worry about.

I'm trying to wrap my head around this... how would the alignment change with the SuperPro eccentric pin? Do you mean the pin would spin inside the bushing and change where the offset hole is? Do bushings spin around the pin when the arm is is motion?

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02-08-13, 04:43 PM

#35

jkstill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by PandazRx-7

^Looks great! Will you be offering these to some of us track junkies?

probably not - not only for the reasons Kevin has stated, but it also takes too much time - beginner machining skill + minimal lathe setup.

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02-08-13, 04:44 PM

#36

jkstill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by PandazRx-7

With offset hole in the bushing, the bushing can be pinned.

With the offset hole being in the insert, that insert can spin around in the bushing, which in fact is what it does anyway - that's why there is a lube groove.

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02-15-13, 12:41 PM

#37

jkstill

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Bushings installed.

Previously 1.7 max degrees of negative camber on the front left.
Now it is 4.1 and I will actually have to back it off a little.

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07-08-13, 10:21 AM

#38

$lacker

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Is the metal part of the bushing a re-used stock piece?

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07-08-13, 11:17 AM

#39

jkstill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by $lacker

Is the metal part of the bushing a re-used stock piece?

No, it must be custom made as well.

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08-21-13, 07:45 AM

#40

$lacker

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Doe

Not really. I'll post up my technical drawings for all to copy if anyone wants. I decided I'm not interested in dealing with potential liability of suspension parts. For what its worth, it takes about $15 in delrin, and $60 in machine shop time to make a set of these.

Looking at $250 to have these made locally
Wish I had a lathe

Thanks again, Kevin

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08-29-13, 09:15 PM

#41

$lacker

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$250 later I've got some nylatron bushings with stainless inserts. This evening I pressed out the stock pieces and pressed the new ones into place. They appear to fit great. Install into the arms was done in 30-45 minutes using a cheap 5" vice.

I have them clocked as accurately as I could eye-ball... given that the car needs an alignment anyway, will it matter if they're off (from each other) by a few degrees?

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08-30-13, 10:56 AM

#42

jkstill

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Quote:

Originally Posted by $lacker

I have them clocked as accurately as I could eye-ball... given that the car needs an alignment anyway, will it matter if they're off (from each other) by a few degrees?

Also just eyeballed mine - was good for ~ -3.2 degrees.

Be sure to pin those bushings in place.

What I used was a 6x1 button head hex bolt - I forget the length, seems like it was 25mm - just measure it to be sure.

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09-02-13, 06:15 PM

#43

$lacker

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Kevin, I installed everything today, thanks again for the awesome idea and accurate diagrams
I'll be taking it for an alignment this week so I have no idea what the camber is right now, however logic would dictate that it's maxed out (because it was prior to the install) and it looks pretty goofy

I might just leave the Hoosiers on all the time so I don't get mistaken for part of the hellaflush crowd

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03-16-18, 02:37 AM

#44

James2u

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Anyone have pictures of these installed on the arms before installing the arms on the car? I had these made and I want to make sure that they are installed in the correct orientation before I installed them on the car. My question is how does the rear bushing installed on the arm? Is the thin flange bushing facing toward the rear on the rear portion of the rear attachment point? See picture for reference.