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camber plates or no?

Posted: March 22nd, 2005, 11:46 pm
by DJGypsy
after extensive use of the search function, i have a few quick questions. i have decided to lower my MX (i have the RS, DOHC I-4), using H&R springs and tokico struts. it is stated that this will lower the car ~1.5". i know i need to have a 4 wheel alignment done after this, that's obvious to me. however, does the rest of the suspension have the adjustability to acomodate the 1.5" drop and not cause excessive wear on the tires? or do i need the camber plates that i see on corksport.com and gain the extra adjustability so that my tires will wear more normally?

thanks!

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 12:08 am
by DavidOS
no you will be fine.

i just did mine with a lower drop zx2s and eibachs and no probs with camber.

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 12:16 am
by DJGypsy
woohoo! thanks for the reply...anyone else have some input?

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 7:51 am
by TsiMiata
Camber plates are really for getting more camber than stock not less or the same. They also get rid of the rubber upper mount for the strut. That is to remove some compliance in the suspension and improve handling. If you were just looking to adjust the camber back to stock specs there are camber kits out there like this-

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/Susp ... x=103&y=15

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 7:59 am
by Nd4SpdSe
Whats the difference between cambet bolts and camber plates?

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 8:56 am
by nope-mx3
camber bolts replace 1 (or 2) bolts on the bottom of the strut.
Camberplates replaces the entire upper strut mount

nope-mx3

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 9:40 am
by Nd4SpdSe
any benefit to either?

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 10:07 am
by jschrauwen
Mike, the resultant change after my GR2's and B&G's to 1.5ish left me with some serious negative camber. The shop advised me that there was not enough adjustment available with stock set-up to correct back to factory specs. Because of the amount of drop I'm right in that gray area for deciding which camber adjusting bolts or should I say how many I use. To be on the safe side I purchased 2 for each corner. This will remove the excess negative camber that was introduced when the car was lowered. I'd like to get back to factory specs so that I don't end up smokin' my tires in one season with excess wear on the inside. Haven't been installed yet, but soon. Camber adjusting plates are much better, IMO, but much more expensive and I believe are geared more toward the avid enthusiast who will always be adjusting their camber for certain applications (drifting, racing etc). I won't be doing that so it seamed like a waste of money for my purposes.

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 10:26 am
by Nd4SpdSe
nothing happens to the rear tires when lowering?

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 6:25 pm
by jaydog5678
jschrauwen wrote:Mike, the resultant change after my GR2's and B&G's to 1.5ish left me with some serious negative camber.
What was the camber after the drop? Factory specs will go as far as - 1.6 degrees. 1.5 inches usaully won't effect camber that much. Something bent?

Camber plates are better used with coilovers because you are limited to how much + or - camber when using stock diameter springs. Bolts are the way to go, and easier to align with.
Nd4SpdSe wrote:nothing happens to the rear tires when lowering?
The camber will go negative and the toe will be out just like the front.

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 6:40 pm
by mazdubber
jschrauwen wrote:Mike, the resultant change after my GR2's and B&G's to 1.5ish left me with some serious negative camber. The shop advised me that there was not enough adjustment available with stock set-up to correct back to factory specs. Because of the amount of drop I'm right in that gray area for deciding which camber adjusting bolts or should I say how many I use. To be on the safe side I purchased 2 for each corner. This will remove the excess negative camber that was introduced when the car was lowered. I'd like to get back to factory specs so that I don't end up smokin' my tires in one season with excess wear on the inside. Haven't been installed yet, but soon. Camber adjusting plates are much better, IMO, but much more expensive and I believe are geared more toward the avid enthusiast who will always be adjusting their camber for certain applications (drifting, racing etc). I won't be doing that so it seamed like a waste of money for my purposes.
You only use 1 adjustable bolt per corner. That will be plenty.

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 8:47 pm
by jschrauwen
Maz, I've been told that before but as far as the auto alignment specialists were concerned, because I'm right on the edge of the maximum amount correctable by a single bolt, and how much neg camber is created by "X" amount of drop, it was prudent to have a second bolt for each corner - just in case I needed that little bit extra correction. Hopefully I won't need it and I'll be able to help someone else out when the time comes. We'll see in about 2 to 3 weeks.

Posted: March 23rd, 2005, 10:23 pm
by mazdubber
Thats strange man. My car is lowered almost 2 inches with eibachs and ZX2's and it's not too bad camber wise. I bolt was more than enough. You might have something bent down there. Just worth a check.

Posted: March 24th, 2005, 7:10 pm
by jschrauwen
mazdubber wrote:Thats strange man. My car is lowered almost 2 inches with eibachs and ZX2's and it's not too bad camber wise. I bolt was more than enough. You might have something bent down there. Just worth a check.
Don't know. :shrug: Hope not. Alignment shop will confirm.