Pedders Top Hats - Add camber without sacrificing wheel clearance

[Anthonyc777]

Currently rocking a shock and spring combo (Oem shocks/TRD springs) and was looking for a way to add camber without hitting the shock perch with wide wheels (~17x9 +40). Traditional camber bolts would push the wheel closer to the strut, however top hats let you add camber without sacrificing any inner wheel clearance. (because you are moving the shock and upright at the same time)

After looking at the many choices around the $300-$650 range, I stumbled upon the Pedders top hats on this forum (for around $140 shipped instead for the pair). Similar in design to the whiteline com c (which many here notoriously claimed to have noise issues, causing the part to be delisted for our platform) I decided to give the Pedders a shot.




Install was fairly straightforward/easy if you have the right tools. I used the " A simpler spring/strut install DIY -- no compressor needed" DIY from this forum, and with a pass through socket and allen socket, removing the top nut is super easy.

One thing I will say is make sure you lift both sides and remove the shock bolt from both sides simultaneously, I forgot this and tried doing one side at at time, but the opposite side still bolted up didnt give me enough clearance to pull the shock in and out easy. Once I did the other side the sway bar tension lessened and it was much easier.



Impressions: The camber/caster gain is super noticeable right way. Instantly the car could dive in more confidently, and the front had way more grip through corners. As far as any noise or other issues, so far so good after a few short test drives (*knock on wood*). One thing I was surprised was the suspension up front actually felt more compliant, where as before sharp bumps were very jarring, now it seems like the shocks are able to absorb the bumps easier (maybe a bi-product of the mounts being stiffer lets the shocks do their job more). This could be a placebo but it seemed smoother to me.

Overall for the price I would definitely recommend the product. Its a very OEM + modification, giving you camber/caster while retaining the OEM look and feel. Also I read these can be paired with the lower bolts to add even more camber to a shock/spring combo set up. Another upgrade over OEM design is using a sealed bearing, which theoretically should do a better job keeping dirt/grime out.

[Capt Spaulding]

Thanks. I may well spring (NPI) for these when I replace the struts.

[BlueWhelan]

You also get more caster too.

[Racecomp Engineering]

I'm testing these right now on my car...so far so good. When holding them in your hands, you can see how the design is improved over the old Whiteline Com C top mounts. There is a little angle on the bearing which I think is helpful. We don't carry these yet but might soon.

- Andrew

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I'm testing these right now on my car...so far so good. When holding them in your hands, you can see how the design is improved over the old Whiteline Com C top mounts. There is a little angle on the bearing which I think is helpful. We don't carry these yet but might soon.

- Andrew

When you say "might," is it because the votes are still out on some aspect? I've been casually thinking about something like this for a few years. Never knew about the Whiteline offering. Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

Are you testing with a schedule in mind, or is it more wait-and-see? I'm pretty stoked.

[whataboutbob]

COM-Cs definitely made bad noises, annoying.



Hopefully Pedders' design does not have the same issue. The pricepoint/feature combo on this is pretty good for someone not wanting to buy at the top end and needing total adjustment capability, more caster/camber definitely will improve handing.

[RToyo86]

I've been considering these when I go to B6s. It'll either he these or the STI group N mounts.

[solidONE]

Any idea how much caster it gains?



I put it some front lower control arm bushings from whiteline and ran into a minor (but annoying) fitment issue due to the way the anti-lift/caster bushing is mounted. Since the axis of the front bushing has been raised, the entire LCA sits a bit higher than factory bushing. This causes the bolt end of the endlink to be that much closer to the LCA. Then you might(by you, I mean me) get contact and noises..



Turn in feels more eager with all else equal vs stock. And I suppose an easy solution would just to replace the endlinks with shorter ones. But if these pedders offer similar gain in caster angle without the fitmet issue with factory end links, it might be a better option for those looking for a "OEM++" mod without the adjustability or the extra noises.

[Anthonyc777]

Originally Posted by solidONE

Any idea how much caster it gains?

Unfortunately I do not have any before/after alignment data, a little bit of searching shows these cars might have around low to mid 5 degrees stock, and around 6 degrees with these top mounts. My assumption would be they are good for around .5-.75 degrees of caster, but that is purely speculative, hopefully some of the other gurus in here have better data. As far as camber one user stated on here that pedders quoted around a .75 camber gain, putting these around 1.5 degrees with stock bolts, and around 2.0 degrees with camber bolts in addition to these (again just speculation from what ive read on here)

Originally Posted by solidONE

I put it some front lower control arm bushings from whiteline and ran into a minor (but annoying) fitment issue due to the way the anti-lift/caster bushing is mounted. Since the axis of the front bushing has been raised, the entire LCA sits a bit higher than factory bushing. This causes the bolt end of the endlink to be that much closer to the LCA. Then you might(by you, I mean me) get contact and noises..


Turn in feels more eager with all else equal vs stock. And I suppose an easy solution would just to replace the endlinks with shorter ones. But if these pedders offer similar gain in caster angle without the fitmet issue with factory end links, it might be a better option for those looking for a "OEM++" mod without the adjustability or the extra noises.

It would seem these have around a similar caster gain to those, without the end link downside. I didnt notice if these moved the endlink closer to any components, but no obvious or noticeable rubbing of those components has been reported by myself or the others with these top hats. Next time I have a wheel off I can take a better look and see about any changes. There is also the possibility that the strut upper location being moved further towards the back/inner of the chassis puts more tension or stress on the factory end links, but again no issues there have been reported or noticed as of now.

I would be curious if these top hats can be paired with those whitelines to get even more caster (even if you need a shorter end link) but I am not sure how much more caster would be an advantage or disadvantage on this chassis. Maybe RCE can chime in?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Someone posted alignment results in another thread.

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

When you say "might," is it because the votes are still out on some aspect? I've been casually thinking about something like this for a few years. Never knew about the Whiteline offering. Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

Are you testing with a schedule in mind, or is it more wait-and-see? I'm pretty stoked.

I only say "might" because we got a lot going on right now lol. I have to take these mounts off soon and put OEMs back on for another project...and then I'll put them back on for some more testing. They've also been backordered for a bit so it wasn't top of our list.

- Andrew

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I only say "might" because we got a lot going on right now lol. I have to take these mounts off soon and put OEMs back on for another project...and then I'll put them back on for some more testing. They've also been backordered for a bit so it wasn't top of our list.

- Andrew

Send them to me. I'll keep testing them for you.

[BlueWhelan]

Pedders top hats give about half a degree of caster and about .75 degrees of camber (YMMV)

First pic is of stock hats, with Subaru OEM cam bolts.

Second pic is with Pedders hats, and one set of Whiteline cam bolts (lower).





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[jflogerzi]

been rocking these on OEM 17 struts with RCE Yellows and camber bolts. I got -2.3 front and between-2.1 and -2.2 rear with LCAs, and these. So far no complaints. Its a gateway mod to full coils and full camber adjustment with the top hats.

[solidONE]

Beautiful.