Pedders top hats and subaru camber bolts... results.
 

A few days ago, I installed pedders top hats and subaru camber bolts. Today, I had my alignment checked. -2.19 camber on the drivers side front and -1.91 on the passenger side with everything else in spec. The mechanic didn't have to touch a thing. So far, so good. The steering is a little heavier but the fron grip is much improved. No more feeling the front tires roll over during hard cornering.
Big thanks to the DIYs and torque specs on this site.

Glad to hear your positive impressions.
I have similar parts awaiting installation ASAP.

I am very interested in these, thanks for the review.

Did they come with dust covers for the strut opening?

And how you noticed any popping noises?

So pedders tophats are worth ~ -2dg. That's more then single set of camberbolts of ~ -1.5dg.
Imho these, if they will last (unlike whiteline Com-Cs), might make good combo with single set of camberbolts, to together be able to dial front camber anywhere 0-3dg, sufficient for basic track setups at budget (and w/o NVH issues). Dual camberbolt set nets less cumulative negative camber (-2.3) and i guess might be less strong then such combo.

OP: Do you track your car too? Can you report here later on after having these for longer time, how they stood up after longer mileage (hopefully including track use), if bearing won't bind and such?

Dust covers are reused from the stock tops. I followed all the torque specs and had replacement subaru nuts for 3 on the top hat mounts and the nut at the top of the strut since these are all one time use. I also had new subaru 14mm camber bolts and nuts. No poppings noises, no grinding, all good so far. 250 km today over some rough roads, no problems.
I will try to do up a parts list of the nuts needed and post it here.

Pedders states the tophats are good for -.75. I also used the stock subaru camber bolts (14mm) top and bottom. So -2 is a combination of both.
Pedders warrenty on these is 2 years or 24000 miles.
No tracks in these parts but I do auto X once in a while. The rest of my driving is spirited back road runs. I will update as the miles increase.

Well, "subaru 14mm camber bolt" is normal bolt, and if it's as in stock location, i.e. lower hole, then it acts as what it is - normal bolt that is, with no extra adjustment provided. Only when one uses this smaller diameter bolt in upper, 16mm, hole, there is adjustment, IIRC slightly less but comparable to lobed camberbolts.

Hmm, so offset range is a bit less then i expected. So i guess to reach -3 one still will need camberbolts in both holes + these topmounts, or single set of camberbolts + these topmounts + powerflex eccentric control arm bushing.

I ordered the pedders top hats.

20327CA010 x6 for the top hat nuts. I've never replaced them but I might do it this time around.

I will pair them with new OEM x4 crash bolts (901000394) and x4 nuts (902380008) to see if I can gain front camber similar to yours.

Please report back your results, as I am also quite interested in this.

I think 20327CA010 is the strut top nut. You only need 2 of those. 902350027 is the top hat mount nut. You need 6 of those. I ordered extra just in case. It definitely helps to put the sway bar back on the strut before using the camber bolts. You will also need a pass-through socket wrench for the strut top nut. I picked up a cheap spring compressor from princess auto.

902350027 is the strut top nut. When you google it you can see it described as "self locking nut"

https://imgur.com/KFFrzNC.jpg

I'll rent some compressors just be on the safe side.

Hmm, why not reuse original nuts? I doubt a bit them being that often bolted on/off for thread to be stripped ..

Normally I’d say reuse them, but in my case I have 130k miles on these nuts and I’ve taken them off and on dozens of times. Might be worth it for me to just to spend the $6.

Not really related to this thread, but... genuine top hats do have an orientation?

They have a red/pink dot that should point forward like this:

http://i65.tinypic.com/x59s7s.jpg

Having said that, I've seen factory top hats installed in different orientations. Probably they were installed by some not well trained personnel or they were installed in hurry. If the orientation doesn't really matter, then what is the point of the dot?

Subaru often uses paint dots to differentiate between similar looking parts.

The various STI springs for GD chassis back in the day (02-03 pinks, 04-07 pinks, USDM, JDM, gymkhana, Arai, etc.) would have different paint dot codes. The standard vs Group N top mounts also had different paint dots.

- Andrew

Nope

Got the goods in the mail today! I will most likely install this weekend.

https://imgur.com/mmJO2OH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Yn7xfUj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KRJpb9F.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GKQIfhK.jpg

Finally had a chance to install these. Everything feels great and these aren't rough on crap roads at all compared to stock. Maybe 15% more firm.

I still haven't had an alignment but it's clear that I've gained camber over my measly 0 degrees I previously had. My alignment will be tomorrow morning at a Subaru performance shop.

Even though I messed with my SPC camber bolts and threw these top hats in, the car still drives surprisingly straight so that's how I was able to test these out a bit.

On a canyon road these were silent, however upon pulling into my awkwardly paved parking spot I did hear a small popping noise from the passenger side strut tower. Might've been my STi V-bars though. I'll post my spec sheet once I get her aligned.

Nice work. Will be interested to see your camber results. Driving my car yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks, I am still impressed with the extra front end grip. I also smacked a deep pothole with the drivers side front at speed. Everything held up good.

Welp I went to the alignment shop but they recommended I replace my axles before the alignment so I don't have to get a 2nd alignment when I have them installed.

Bummer, but to be continued!!

Looking forward to a post track/autox day review. Xp

Camber Values?
 

Please share your DD camber settings. My commute is about 75 miles round trip and try for 4-5 track days annually. Thinking about -2.5 front and -2.0 rear.

My Koni's are waiting at the customs office for pick-up.
Hoping to install the Koni Sport Yellow's with the TRD springs, Pedders Top-Hats and SPC camber bolts and rear LCA's this coming weekend.
Then off to the alignment shop ASAP.
Planned Lapping at TMP on Sunday the 25th.

Finally had a chance to do an alignment.

First one was trash, took away all my rear camber.

Second one was ok, but a little on the understeery side.

I will be doing a 3rd alignment this Friday but not before 3 runs at Sonoma Raceway which will give me a decent idea of how the car really handles on the track.

https://i.imgur.com/sja48MM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7mOA1Tu.jpg?1

Did the alignment and the track day.

Car handled amazingly. It was my first time at Sonoma so I didn't want to go 10/10 but the car did everything I asked for and more. No more does my tires sidewall roll over, turn in is extremely dynamic and most importantly the ride is still as comfortable as I want it. With these camber settings and my suspension setup, the car does tend to oversteer versus understeering. This is even after after going back to the stock rear sway bar. I am currently looking into parts that'll induce understeer or I may just increase rear camber.

I DO hear some slight popping noises when turning at low speeds, especially when it's really hot out. However it is so minor I don't consider it a problem.

These might end up being re-branded whiteline com-c...but for a daily driven car that goes on the race track I think this a great alternative to solid metal/pillow ball camber plates.

https://i.imgur.com/yjOD01Z.jpg?1

Buy no parts, get instruction, lots of seat time, drive smooth, the oversteer will disappear on it's own ;)
If you really want more stability add more rear toe in, maybe 0.07° to 0.08° per side

I agree that seat time is the best, but every time I would floor it out of the carousel it would stay flat until I got to the outer straight away rumble strip and I could feel the rear getting really light. It would actually angle me a bit to the left which is nice on some corners, but I’d rather go WOT and not worry about the rear bouncing around like that.

What feels sketchy to the novice feels confident to the pro, open up the wheel sooner, let the car do the work.

Hey @norcalpb and @7 skulls, can you provide an update on the pedders hats? How are they holding up? Any additional noise, problems to report?

Can do. It's been roughly 5000km (3000 miles) since the install and everything is just a tight as day one. No weird noises or problems so far. Front tire wear seems fine but I will check this more closely when I change to my winter wheels in a few weeks.
Performance wise, the turn in is still immediate. I haven't been to an autoX since the install due to work commitments but with MPSS (stock size), there is now more front grip than you can safely exploit on the street. As a plus, it's easier to get the back end around. Anyone who has driven my car before/after always comments on the quicker steering. At higher speeds, it is almost too quick now, two hands on wheel, :burnrubber:

Things have been great so far with the top hats. No additional noises, and like above the handling is great. I just love how compliant they are. IMO these are the DD/sport driving go-to. I;d say I've put 7k miles on these so far.

I have really soft STi springs but plan to upgrade to a coilover setup where I can incorporate these top hats and maintain comfort in that area on my way to work.

Uneven wear...
 

Been away for 4 weeks without the car and just got back a few days ago. While changing the oil, I noticed some uneven wear on the inside of my front tires. Looks like almost 2 deg of camber might be too much for daily driving.:sigh: My toe is within spec so that shouldn't be the problem. Everything I have read here says that 2 deg negative camber should be fine for a daily driver. I guess not. Next spring, (the car is not winter driven) I will have the alignment checked again and possibly got back to just the top hats with the stock camber bolts. Anyone else having this trouble?

That's about what my tires look like at the end of their life at -4°

'toe in spec' does not mean it's right, what's the actual toe value?

0.08 and 0.07 degrees with total toe at 0.15. The car is more nervous at speed so I am hoping this is a toe issue but have no idea what toe I should be shooting for.

In or Out?

[QUOTE=strat61caster;3270873]In or Out?[/QUOTE
Value is positive so toe-in.

Could probably chop that in half closer to zero to improve tire wear, I've found the highway stability has more to do with the rear toe than the front, I've been happy with about +0.25° toe in the back and 0° in the front when it comes to highway stability. Right now at 0°F & +0.15°R and there's a bit of tramlining but part of that is the high camber I have in the front at -4°

All toe numbers are total, imho as a conservative change 'closer to zero toe front, more toe in, about 0.25°' would be a good step forward.

I agree with the above. Zero toe front, slight toe-in rear. Toe will kill tires much faster than camber will.

On a lighter note, I got my top hats in on Friday! Now I just need to find some time to install and align...

Appointment booked for tomorrow at the garage. Zero toe front is the goal. Just rotated my tires as well.

Alignment done today.
 

Same garage, same machine, different, more experienced tech. More camber than the last alignment scan. Had him zero front toe and it made an immediate difference to how the car drove: less twitchy at highway speeds, no more of what felt like bumpsteer across road undulations in turns. Turn in is a little slower but front grip remains the same. Not bad for $84.
On the way to the garage, I shared the road with a heavily modded MK3 Supra. 600 whp is no comparison to 200 at the crank.:burnrubber: