Camber/Alignment SOS!

[GPReyes]

Changed front suspension bushings a couple months back, and noticed a very slight leftward track...but quite negligible. It's been raining in Manila and last week I hit a pothole and since then the car goes left a bit more pronounced than before. I had her aligned today and apparently the camber is jacked... (my 280 has eibachs and bilstein sports on) but the thing is the left front is neg .70 while the right is neg 2.40! causing major innner wear to the tire and and making her go left.

I know lowering fucks up the camber..but I'm just wondering why the huge disparity. (any ideas?)

In any case I've been reading up on those speedybenz camber kits...how much are they? and are they the only solution? why is my right so much more jacked than my left? and is there any way to adjust so that they can at least come close to each other so the car can track straighter even if the wear is on the inside?

I also know of another 202 here who put on some sort of eccentric bolt for all four tires which can adjust the camber to almost zero...any one heard of those?

Need help cause unlike Derek Zoolander all I'm doin is goin left.

Thanks guys...

[fastmayte]

hey, is your car saging to any side? maybe it's starting to sag and getting more camber. could be a bushing gone bad again. can't think of much that you do that much of a camber on just one side. sure your control arm is not bent?

oh and aren't his camber kits just for the rear? not sure

[speedybenz]

You can try the MB camber bolts for the front and this will help get the camber correct. If your rear camber is no more than -1.5 degrees you will most likely have little tire wear due to camber. But if is more like -2.0 or more you may want to try my Camber Arms. They are $260 shipped unless they are going out of the USA. They will fix your rear camber problems.

Jeff

[GPReyes]

Just had the suspension checked...everything looks ok according to the tech dude. control arms, new bushings, ...

thanks for the info speedy...the alignment guy said my neg on the rear is not that bad vs. the mind boggling front problem.

the car stands pretty level...could it be a spring or shock problem that I'm not seeing?

Anyway where can I get these mb bolts for the front and how do they work? price? My brother is in LA and is comin back to Manila for the Holidays so I'll be able to have him get em for me.

Thanks guys

[Denlasoul]

It's those crazy ass roads out there! ;)

[GPReyes]

I concurr...it's a minefield...

now anyone know more about those bolts???

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by GPReyes
I concurr...it's a minefield...

now anyone know more about those bolts???

seek, and ye shall find:

http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2071&highlight=camber+adjustment+bolts

[GPReyes]

Just got the camber bolts on...haven't had time to align cuz the store closed right after the install... but it looks like the alignment straightened out..just have to check the camber...

thanks a bunch for the link...really helped...

btw what's the proper psi for a 225/40/18 tire to maximize tread life?

[allirroz]

Quote "what's the proper psi for a 225/40/18 tire to maximize tread life"?


You're running eighteens on the roads of Manila !
( Bingkung special man)

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by GPReyes


btw what's the proper psi for a 225/40/18 tire to maximize tread life?

check your gas tank cover....

The ideal air pressure in your tires is primarily driven by its need to support the weight of your car and your need to maximize the contact patch when driving. The only time tire size becomes an important factor in the decision is when you use low profile tires. And at that point, people use elevated pressures to save the sidewalls, at the cost of some performance.


For max tread life, you want your tires to wear as evenly as possible... If they start to wear more on the outside edges than the middle, go with more pressure, if the middle wears out first, or your roll line's too far from the shoulder of the tire, you've got too much pressure.

The recommended pressures on your gas cap cover are the best starting point. Also, having your car aligned to factory specs (with up to +.5 camber, minor toe in up front, and conservative caster) Will aid in increased tire life.

However, the most often overlooked factor in maximizing tire life, is just the regular monitoring of your tire pressures. Get lazy, and all the effort to find the right pressure and pay for an alignment goes for nothing.

[GPReyes]

alliroz,

yep...18's in manila...I'm not the only crazy fool though...there's are lotsa 202's and 203s with 18's...keeps us driving at sane speeds I guess...especially since there are basically no speed limts here ( or rules either haha)

renn,

Thanks for the post...very helpful...does it matter what suspension you're running?so essentially you're saying the right psi derived at through trial and error? will check my gas tank when I get up...but yeah thanks for the advice.... my treadwear is mostly concentrated on the inner area (cause of neg camber) will really appreciate any help in increasing tire life...

[Renn 208]

If you want to help with tire life while still maintaining the neg camber, try to get as much positive caster as you can. That will help with keeping your tires on track. And to answer your question about suspension setups and tire pressure, I don't think that it's a simple 1 to 2 step. A statement such as "What's the correct tire pressure if I'm running H&R springs and bilstein shocks" doesn't really make sense. It's only when we discuss secondary effects of the suspension setup that we get to pressure issues.

In any case, another thing to note is that alignment specs are not something static. What you set your car to is static, but it's how the car behaves when you drive that determines how it performs, and how long your stuff lasts. For a good intro to suspension and tires go check out:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp

In the end, performance and longevity are a classic trade off. We all need to make compromises based on what's important to us. As one last example, having your front tires toed-out will help with crisper turn in (better for the track), but will both sacrifice straight line stability and might even switch the car from mild understeer (safer to drive) to oversteer (not so safe unless you know what you're doing). Know what your goals are, and adjust accordingly.

Given your situation (i.e. lowered car, mostly for style, want to minimize tire wear). I'd go with my original recommendation of getting your alignment specs as close to stock as possible (min neg camber to +.5 camber, spec toe in, factory psi to start and go up according to how it wears). For a regular road driver, it's really only 20% setup, and 80% taking the time to maintain.

[speedybenz]

Well said AJ.

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by speedybenz
Well said AJ.

I bow down to the master:cool:

[GPReyes]

very very helpful. learning so much. going to alignment place today... will try all the tips...

thanks again. much appreciated

[jnenad16]

hey jeff,

can you post the pics of your camber arms or email them to me(jnenad16@aol.com), and does $260 price include shipping to hawaii. I am very interested in your product.

nenad

[speedybenz]

jnednad16,

I don't know what shipping to HI costs but lets just say it is $10 extra for now. If less I will subtract it off the total. So the total would be $270. Paypal account is: Kimdac@aol.com

Below are the pics. They will fit right up and correct your rear camber. I have made about 65 sets to date and they are holding up well and performing well with no reported noise from the bearings.

Jeff

http://www.joeyandmona.com/albums/speedybenz-c43/DSC00643.sized.jpg

[jnenad16]

jeff, thank you for your reply and the picture. I also wanted to ask you how many arms are there in you kit for each side, because last time i had the alignment done, the tech told me that he needed to bring out the toe as well, because when you adjust the camber toward positive, the toe-in increases as well. this is why im asking if the toe adjustment arm comes in the kit as well(the one below/next the top camber arm). also, would there be any discount if I ordered two sets? to be honest, currently my dad and I are working on both his and mine rear suspensions trying to solve the alignment problems. we came up with the idea to expand the holes where the arms connect to the subframe. so far we finished mine, and now are working on his. if this project fails(ie. the allignment shop is unable to align our cars), we wil most likely go for your kit. again, thank you very much for your responce.

nenad

ps to the person who started this thread, i did not mean to hijack it, sorry about it

[speedybenz]

There is a Camber Arm for each side of the car. The stock rear toe links are adjustable and will work with the new camber arm to allow you to set the camber back to a reasonable number for tire wear.

If you buy 2 sets I will give you a discount to $230/ set plus the shipping. There is just not that much profit in these products to reduce the cost too much.

Thanks,

Jeff

[ryhi]

nm...

[ryhi]

the camber correction bolts.. is there 2 kits per side? or is there one per side? i went to the dealership today and the parts dude told me there were 2 per side (4 sets total - $60).. but i wasnt sure so i only bought 2 sets because no one has specified how many kits to buy.. can anyone confirm?

[speedybenz]

There are 4 camber/castor bolts to buy. They are like $8-$9 each. There are two bolts required for each side of the lower control arm. Two for the drivers side and two for the passenger side.

These bolts are capable of changing the front camber and castor by about 0.5 degree per side.

Jeff

[ryhi]

Originally posted by speedybenz
There are 4 camber/castor bolts to buy. They are like $8-$9 each. There are two bolts required for each side of the lower control arm. Two for the drivers side and two for the passenger side.

These bolts are capable of changing the front camber and castor by about 0.5 degree per side.

Jeff

where can i get these for $8-$9 each???

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by ryhi
where can i get these for $8-$9 each???

At a dealership that isn't trying to rip you off...

[ryhi]

maybe i bought the wrong thing... does anyone have a pic?? mine came with 2 washers with little bumps on them, 1 nut and 1 bolt...?