nissun1 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I have been trying to diagnose why my camber is not equal after doing a coilover swap on my s30. I did the weld in camber plate kit from Zccjdm in conjunction with the coilover tube(sleeve) setup. After installing the plates i checked for equal degrees of change on the tops of both towers. They were both within 0.4 to 0.3 of a degree difference between the two. After installing the entire setup i noticed at full droop on the drivers side i was able to get 3 to 4 degrees of neg camber change. However the passenger side at full droop only had about 0.4 degrees of camber change. So I contacted a friend of mine and told him of my problem. He suggested that maybe it can be something bent such as the spindle or even the tube itself. I got wrenching on it today and inspected both spindles. They seemed to be both equal in shape although the side where i was having camber problems showed slight signs of pitting on the outer bearing journal(nothing major). The tubes even seemed to be welded on straight so now im confused as to what could be the problem. And no i don't have the eccentric bolts that bolt up to the lca's. The only real worry i have now is if their was frame damage that i cant fix. i can tell the car was in an accident but it doesnt seem like their is anything major that happened. I even measured up the engine bay to check if it was square and turns out it still is within reason. If you have any ideas please share so i can fix this problem asap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 The crossmember is not centered in the car?It should be measuered with the car on flat ground.you can get a digital angle gauge and mount to a 2x2 that is cut to fit on your wheel rims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tibbs.james Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I am having EXACTLY the same issue I too suspect the cross member, what is the procedure for centering up a cross member while everything is still fitted to it ? My thoughts were to loosen the cross member bolts and gently lift the engine using a hoist ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'd say get the car into a good alignment shop. Doesn't look like your car is driveable, but when it is, try and get it as close as possible, and drive to whatever good one you know, first thing. I plan to take my car to Dependable Tire & Brake in San Rafael when I get it up and running, heard great things from a few guys I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Are you talking about total camber change from full compression to full droop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissun1 Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) At full droop im able to get about 0 to -3.0/3.5 degrees camber on the drivers side. On the passenger side full droop i am only able to get about +3 to -0.3 /0.4 degrees camber. Today i went under the car and inspected the lower control arms to see if i can notice any bends in them. So far no bends at all. My next plan of action would be to remove both lca's and compare. If all else checks ok i would suspect frame damage. I will take pictures and post them up tomorrow. (note: the car has no engine or tranny in it yet) I 'd figure at least both sides would be somewhat close even if there was not much weight. Any ideas? Edited June 22, 2012 by nissun1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissun1 Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I am having EXACTLY the same issue I too suspect the cross member, what is the procedure for centering up a cross member while everything is still fitted to it ? My thoughts were to loosen the cross member bolts and gently lift the engine using a hoist ? I also loosened the cross member today and tried to see if there was any room for adjustment. I readjusted and same readings were there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissun1 Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 The crossmember is not centered in the car?It should be measuered with the car on flat ground.you can get a digital angle gauge and mount to a 2x2 that is cut to fit on your wheel rims. I did that already. That's how i got my initial readings for both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 My guess is that there's something wrong with your camber plate install or the camber plates themselves. But, more importantly, what are the camber numbers when the car is on the ground and at static ride height? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 74 260Z Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'm curious about one thing: How did you verify your car was "perfectly" level after it was off the ground? (And how did you adjust this? Placing shims under your jackstands??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 ^ outstanding point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissun1 Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I got two jackstands and placed them under the box frame of the engine bay. I then layed a flat wooden platform across the jackstands and measured to see if it was level(used a digital level). Aftem seeing it was level i lowered the car slowly on to the platform. Remeasured the platform and then remeasured the box frame to see if they match. They matched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 74 260Z Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'm having a hard time visualizing your set up with jackstands, box frames and wooden platforms but in one sense, it doesn't matter: All of your data is based 100% that the car is level. IF your car was 2 degrees off from horizontal when you took your measurements, you would be saying that everything was dead-on balls accurate... In my opinion, just because it is "digital" doesn't guarantee it is accurate. If I were you, I would verify that this digital level is truly able to differentiate say, 0.5 degrees at very small angles. But that's just me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) Most cars aren't totally square from the factory. Take all your measurements on a level concrete pad, like inside somebody's garage. Measure at your desire ride height, not on the stands. It probably doesn't really matter if one side has 3 degrees of camber and the other has 3.2. That will still really help your autocross. If you notice, johnc's alignment recommendations have ranges. One range is for street, the other for race. I've run the race specs on the street: you will be hooked up, but you will also really eat tires. Get each side (about) the same, but don't kill yourself worrying about being totally perfect; it won't matter that much. The alignment spec that matters most is toe-in becaust that effects how both tires interact with each other. Set ride height first; all other specs depend on that. Once you have it mocked up pretty close, take it to an alignment shop for final check. I've been close to perfect, and other times I've been off by a mile. Edited June 23, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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