Front -3.5 camber needs plates and bolts to avoid End Link rub, correct?
 

On stock suspension to achieve -3.5 front camber, is it required to split the camber between camber plates and camber bolts to avoid End Link rubbing against the inside of the wheel well?


Thanks in advance for confirming this.


Another way to ask, on stock suspension how much negative camber is possible with Camber Plates without rubbing the End Links?

I don't know so imma jump in with some popcorn. :popcorn:
I thought the interference was between the wheel and strut.

Are you being sarcastic, cause I think you're being sarcastic.

But camber plates move the angle of the strut from the top so the wheel's clearance to the strut shouldn't change.

Let me explain where I am coming from. As I understand camber adjustments on these cars are as follows:



With camber bolts it is possible to set close to -3 degrees of camber by using 14mm camber bolts in the lower 14mm strut hole and 14mm crash bolts in the 16mm upper strut holes. This reduces the distance between the tire and the strut / spring which can lead to tire rubs. Tire width and the wheel offset will determine if rubs will happen.


Camber plates set negative camber by moving the top of the struts towards the center of the car which reduces the clearance between the struts/end links and the wheel well.


The question I am asking is how much negative camber can I set with the camber plates before I rub against the wheel well. I believe it is less than -3.5 so camber bolts are also needed.

With slotted coilovers (KW v3's etc), the SPC bolts in the lower holes, and the stock lower bolts in the upper holes I maxed out at -3.8*, but dialed it back to -3.2*. No issues with the end link rubbing anywhere.


That said, depending on the wheel size and offset, you'll probably rub the tire on the spring perch with much less camber. On my stock shocks I maxed out at about -2.3* before clearance got too tight. That was with 225/45/17's on 17x8 +45 wheels.


You want to add as much camber as possible at the knuckle for better geometry anyway, so it's beneficial to split between bolts/slotting and camber plates.

Yeah your question depends on the wheel offset. I never had clearance issues with end links. I have BC BR's and camber bolts and I maxed out at -6. Dialed back to -3.7 and never had any issues. The only rub I got from camber was the tire on the inner fender liner on full lock, and that was before I got the alignment sorted.

Yes.

On stock wheels you need to max camber bolts first, then dial in the rest with the camber plates. Otherwise the strut will hit the wheel well and the end link will rub.

Source: I have this setup. Running -3.5 Front camber

Nope. Been down in there with bolts out looking to slot a second pair of stockers. It feels like, in order to keep it so the top mount from twisting when the suspension is loaded at rest, the limiting factor in slotting is between the wheel and spring perch.


I aim to do this purely with stock fasteners.

Thanks for the reply.

Which Camber Plates are you using? Without coilovers I cannot adjust ride height so looking for camber plates that do not increase ride height. Apparently the Velox / FT-86 keep the same height as OEM, don't know if there are other options out there.

Thanks. Currently running 245 tires on 9 inch, 35mm offset wheels so I have reduced strut clearance.

You have about 2mm less clearance than I had on stock struts, you should still be able to get to about -2* without camber plates.

I have the RCE camber plates.

mine rubs so I just removed it -.- tein flex z slotted top hole, maxed camber plate.

It also can depend on your ride height and driving habits. If you never trail brake or apply brakes very sparingly with the wheel turned or have close to stock ride height you can probably get away with more than -3* of front camber without ever having clearance issues with most of your camber from adjustable top plates.

If the opposite is true (lowered and aggressive trail braking into turns often) you'd probably be well served with most of your negative camber added at the knuckles without causing any tire to strut rubbing and the rest from the upper plates. If you're still making contact on the upper endlink you can try looking into some lower profile aftermarket end links and/or putting an indentation in the section of the frame making contact to avoid binding.

Thanks, I am going to split the camber between the plates and the bolts. The car has lowering springs and I take it to the local autox often.

Max the bolts, that will increase end link and strut clearance to the fenderwell. The only reason not to is if you're concerned about wheel to strut clearance.

I have exactly that issue (Bilstein B6 struts). With the camber plates at the max negative position, the end link contacts the inside of the wheel well. I'm getting about 2.5 degrees from the camber plates and another 1 degree at the upright.
I swapped out the end links for studded rod ends from FK (FKB-CM12M, or FKB-CML12M for left hand thread). The rod ends have to tolerate a high misalignment angle because the upper mount is on the strut and rotates with it--and these just barely work.

I used the Velox plates. They raise the ride height almost 1/2" in the middle position and just under 3/8" at max negative. That forced me to swap the O.E. springs for lowering springs and then put top strut spacers (from Subtle Solutions) in the rear to level things out.

BTW, if you reverse the right and left positions of the Velox plates, you can gain 1.2 degrees of caster in the max position which I found very helpful.

end link interference
 

I should have added that the rod end thread pitch did not match the Whiteline endlink barrels, so I needed to source different end links (turnbuckles).

NP. This interference between the link and the inner wheel well could have been avoided or reduced greatly if aftermarket suspension manufactures moved the upper end link mount on the strut just a quarter inch or so outward from the factory location.

With all the testing and fitting these guys do pre-production I'm surprised nobody has caught on. Instead, they stick to the factory dimensions even though it's obvious what the use and intents of these damper system buyers are. (performance driving, lowering and 'hellaslam' purposes)

So best bet with your current situation is, again, Max adjustment from the knuckles allowed then the rest of the negative adjustment from the tops.