Camber Bolt Help Please!

[ft86Fan]

I really want to get some camber in the front and get an alignment. I might eventually get lowering springs and/or Whiteline com C camber/caster mount but I want to first start with the cheapest route and did some research on camber bolts but still have some questions.

It seems like what we want to do to gain some camber up front is by replacing the upper struct bolt with one of these options:

A) OEM bolts. Either Subaru part # 901000394 or Toyota/Scion part # SU003-02818
B) Subaru concentric bolt part # 20540AA090 used on the Imprezas
C) Whiteline- Camber Adj Bolt Kit 14mm P/N: kca414
D) H&R Camber adjustment bolts

So here are the questions:
1) For option A, I know they are essentially the lower struct bolts. Is there a difference between 901000394 and SU003-02818 or they are the same bolt?

2) For Option A, these are just smaller diameter bolts so does that mean there are no fine tune adjustments that can be made? They are not even "camber bolts" right?

3) For Option A, any concerns with them slipping?

4) For Option B, have anybody tried these concentric bolts and are they adjustable?

5) For Option C, are these the best ones to get? Keep in mind that I don’t need to comply with any rules, just looking for the best solution. I believe they allow fine tune adjustability and won't slip. Is price the only drawback?

6) For Option D, I don't even know where to get them. Are these it? http://www.hrsprings.com/products/triple-c.

Thanks.

[EvoFanatic]

I would personally go with the Whiteline Kit. I have a lot of their suspension parts on my X and I can tell you from my eight ears of experience with my Evo's that Whiteline makes top grade - high quality products and you will not get a dud. The extra moneys is the difference in quality in this case and you will not be disappointed.

[jamal]

The bolts you should use depends on where you are going to put them.

The front struts mount to the upright with two bolts. The lower stock bolt is 14mm. The Upper bolt has a slightly larger shank- 16mm probably. The OEM crash bolt is just a standard 14mm bolt that goes into the larger hole give you play to add or remove camber. This is a perfectly good solution and is pretty much what I did in slotting the lower holes in my struts to get more camber. Since it is the same size and thread pitch (just a slightly smaller shank), you will get the same clamping load and little change of slippage. Bolted connections are held together by friction and not shear force on the fastener.

The Whiteline, HR, Ingalls, SPC etc bolts are smaller than 14mm and are designed to go into the lower 14mm hole. The way they adjust is with a 14mm cam that fits perfectly into the upright. To take up the space between the shank of the bolt and the hole in the strut is a washer with a small tab. These aftermarket bolts have to be used in the lower 14mm hole. If you tried to put them in the top you would have a gap between the cam and the upright and the bolt/tab and the strut. With a smaller bolt this is a bad thing because you have less clamping load and a gap between everything so they are much more likely to slip. If you do want to use these, put them in the lower hole and set them to max negative camber because this way the load is aligned with the cam and tab so there is no force trying to rotate the bolt and they won't slip. I have them on the rear struts of my car installed this way and they have been trouble free for years.

[ft86Fan]

Thanks for the detail explanation.

Originally Posted by jamal

The lower stock bolt is 14mm. The Upper bolt has a slightly larger shank- 16mm probably. The OEM crash bolt is just a standard 14mm bolt that goes into the larger hole give you play to add or remove camber. This is a perfectly good solution and is pretty much what I did in slotting the lower holes in my struts to get more camber. Since it is the same size and thread pitch (just a slightly smaller shank), you will get the same clamping load and little change of slippage. Bolted connections are held together by friction and not shear force on the fastener.

Seems like the OEM 14mm bolt is the recommended method. I'm just concerned that it might slip since its a smaller bolt in a bigger hole. I guess I also need to get washers and nuts to fit this 14mm bolt. Does it matter which one to get, 901000394 or SU003-02818?

Originally Posted by jamal

The Whiteline, HR, Ingalls, SPC etc bolts are smaller than 14mm and are designed to go into the lower 14mm hole. The way they adjust is with a 14mm cam that fits perfectly into the upright. To take up the space between the shank of the bolt and the hole in the strut is a washer with a small tab. These aftermarket bolts have to be used in the lower 14mm hole. If you tried to put them in the top you would have a gap between the cam and the upright and the bolt/tab and the strut. With a smaller bolt this is a bad thing because you have less clamping load and a gap between everything so they are much more likely to slip. If you do want to use these, put them in the lower hole and set them to max negative camber because this way the load is aligned with the cam and tab so there is no force trying to rotate the bolt and they won't slip.

In the Whiteline install doc they said replace the top bolt with their camber bolt kit http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/ins...uides/Z201.pdf?

[jamal]

Well, they are both M14x1.5. The upper bolt just has an enlarged shank where it goes into the strut and upright, and they did that specifically to make it possible to put a standard bolt in there to get camber adjustment without using the cammed system like every other Subaru ever (which I don't get). The torque spec, size of the flanges, thread pitch, etc are the same between the two and so they will provide the exact same clamping load.

Like I said, the Whiteline aftermarket bolt will not fit properly in the upper hole. Those are generic instructions for strut cars that use a regular bolt without a cam or enlarged shank or anything like that. On these cars, if you use the whiteline bolts, they have to go in the lower hole.

[schtebie]

Originally Posted by jamal

Well, they are both M14x1.5. The upper bolt just has an enlarged shank where it goes into the strut and upright, and they did that specifically to make it possible to put a standard bolt in there to get camber adjustment without using the cammed system like every other Subaru ever (which I don't get). The torque spec, size of the flanges, thread pitch, etc are the same between the two and so they will provide the exact same clamping load.

Like I said, the Whiteline aftermarket bolt will not fit properly in the upper hole. Those are generic instructions for strut cars that use a regular bolt without a cam or enlarged shank or anything like that. On these cars, if you use the whiteline bolts, they have to go in the lower hole.

When you're referring to upper and lower positions, are you referring to where the "strut mounting points" are in the photo?

[Miniata]

I wouldn't worry about the Subaru crash/camber bolts slipping. It is doubtful they will if torqued properly, possibly if you're running wide R-comp tires and autocrossing or tracking the car, but that is the only case (if even then) that I could see it happening. I went with the Subaru bolts, and I've used similar crash/camber bolts on various cars in the past with good success (never had them slip, even with R-comps)

[Nitro22]

Hotchkis is working on a camber plate currently. With plates and the optional OE bolts, you should be able to obtain a good amount of negative camber.

The cool thing about the Hotchkis Camber plates is that they build in more positive caster as well.

Good Luck!

[jamal]

No one needs to "work on" a camber plate for this car. Anything for the 02-07 WRX/STi fits just fine. Whiteline has great offset top mounts that add camber and caster, RCE/GTWorx makes plates that add caster and give you camber adjustment, Ground Control has tops that do all of the above plus add bump travel...

[ft86Fan]

Just ordered two SU003-02818 at $7.95 each. They said there are only a few of them in the whole country. We can just reuse the nut from the upper bolt for this right?

[track_warrior]

Vorshlag has camber plates out for the car btw. I got them installed yesterday.

Here are some pics of them installed on my car:

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by pcasso87

Vorshlag has camber plates out for the car btw. I got them installed yesterday.

Wow. They look great. Is the ride a lot stiffer with these?

[track_warrior]

Originally Posted by ft86Fan

Wow. They look great. Is the ride a lot stiffer with these?

Not bad young one not bad i have to say no noise or anything bad to report . I had the stockers mounted to my kw's and switched to these and i cant complain can barely tell the difference!! Vorshlag makes a great product.

[jdrxb9]

Originally Posted by ft86Fan

We can just reuse the nut from the upper bolt for this right?

Correct - all you need are the bolts.