Jeep_junkie

already tried search but there's apparently not very much discussion about how to restore front wheel camber on lowered cars.

I am running Intrax springs which lower the car a good 1.75" in the front. These car's don't have enough adjustment in the front suspension to deal with that kind of drop. My alignment guy says he had to max the adjustment out to get -1 degree of camber but I think it's more like -2 or -3 degrees, since the neg camber is painfully obvious to the naked eye, not to mention the way I am going through front tires - the outside edge looks untouched but the inside edges wear down to the cords in no time.

The way I see it I have 2 options: slot the camber adjustment holes in the K-member for a greater range of adjustment or install a camber correction kit in the upper A-arms.

The alignment guy discouraged slotting the adjustment holes in the K-member because there just isn't enough room in it for a meaningful difference. As for the camber correction kit, I know Sam Strano makes offset bushings for the upper A-arms but those are out of my budget at the moment. Is there a cheaper alternative?

I was thinking about slotting the bolt holes in the upper A-arms out a little bit to push the tops of the tires out. Is this doable?

Cap'n Pete

iTrader: (2)

So you're saying that there isn't much more material in the K-member to slot the holes further in from where they're already at?! Hmm. I'd try reaming those slots out as far as you can go. I really don't see any harm in slotting them further IN. Obviously you can only go so far OUT before you're going to run out of material, but going in? I see less of a problem there.

However, do you know what your toe in/out is set at? AFAIK, toe has a greater overall effect on tire wear .

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

Are you sure those specs are right? Most people can't get enough negative camber after lowering (for auto-x and RR). Getting rid of it should be easy. -1.0 degree, with zero toe, will NOT wear the tires badly. Toe eats tires more than camber.

I find it unlikely you have -2.0 or -3.0 with stock suspension arms and simply drop springs. Make sure they loosen both the caster and camber bolts before adjusting it too.

Jeep_junkie

the computer printout the alignment shop gave me shows the following specs:

Left front: Right front:
Caster 4.0* 4.8*
Camber -1.0* -1.0*
Toe 0.00* 0.05*

-1* camber should not really be noticeable to the naked eye but in this car's case it's painfully obvious. I asked if I could run a bit of toe in, but the guy said it will make the car dart around real bad, which it already does on rutted roads with the 275s up front.

he showed me why the holes can't elongated any more. For one thing it would approach the welds on the K-member. Moving the arms too far in will also cause them to hit and bind up on the innards of the K-member.

Mojave, where's the caster bolt? is it the one on the trailing end of the lower A-arm? I never thought about the need to loosen that one before. Man I wish I could make these adjustments myself so at least I could see what's going on...

Jeep_junkie

anyone??

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, the caster bolt is the other one on the control arm (the one that points towards the ground and is closer to the rear of the car).

I think you should take it to another shop and have them re-check it if you think that it doesn't really only have 1 degree). I really have never heard of this situation before (most guys can't get enough negative camber).

Toe in will make it less darty. Toe out makes it more darty.

Jeep_junkie

Thanks Mojave! I spoke with Sam Strano about this also and he said the same thing. I'm gonna look for a reputable alignment place here and have them check it out.

Cap'n Pete

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like a good idea!

I don't like the darty feeling of toe-out, so even though I want a responsive car for the track, I have a little bit of toe-IN on my car, and I much prefer the feeling .

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

I installed my Eibachs 12 years ago, and while I was in there, I made the adjustment slots a little longer...inward, of course. Because it was 12 years ago, I don't exactly remember how much I went, but I would say it was around 1/4".

Jeep_junkie

The more I think about it, the more I feel the alignment guy didn't know what he was doing. He told me toe out makes the car more stable at speeds.