ComicArtist Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Checking out camber plates on eBay...... these are listed as T3/Techno Toy Tuning BUT I don't see the TTT logo anywhere on them.... just some cheesy little T3 stamp. They appear to be bolt in, but I was under the impression that the hole on top of the strut tower was too small to allow any camber adjustment, which is why we use weld-in plates. Anybody got any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurePontiacKid Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 T3 is technotoytuning........ are you talking about these ones? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-510-280zx-CAMBER-PLATES-/380348906693?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item588e8fbcc5 those are for a 280ZX and won't fit an S30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) Talk to John Coffey at BetaMotorsports. He is on the forum and sells DP camber plates. They are basically copies of the EMI camber plate (which seems to be unavailable), which I have and am thrilled with! You gotta have a coilover system with the small diameter springs to use them, but if you have that, they are truly bolt in and gave me 3 degrees of negative camber, and I still have one bolt hole to go if I wanted even more. Took about an hour to set up both sides, then off to the alignment shop to get toe readjusted, then off to the track. You will need to tell John what kind of strut insert you are using so that the center bearing can be sized properly, and if you don't have a compatable insert, you may need to buy a Tokico or Koni insert. There is plenty of room inside the strut tower for these camber plates-3 degrees only requires the top bearing to be pushed in about 3/4 of an inch and the top plate is much smaller than the stock strut mount. I go to John for all my suspension guidance. All his products are great, and he will refer you to reliable people for the things he doesn't supply. Any part he designs is first rate. I'll have him set up my R200 LSD later this year. Good luck! With DP camber plates available, I really don't see why anyone goes to the trouble to cut up their strut towers-it seems like overkill to me. Edited August 17, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicArtist Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thanks! That's exactly what I was wanting to hear. The coilover conversion I'm about to do is using 2.5" springs, so I'm going to need a pillowball mount and a smaller tophat, so those should do the trick. Any idea how much they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Here are photos of my EMIs installed; you can see how the stut rod is moved inward. I've tried to take pics of my coilovers looking up into the fender, but the lighting in my garage is no good for a decent photo. I'll go shoot pics of my DPs (putting them in the rear) so you can see how spring seat looks then I'll edit the post to add them. I think about $300 for a pair, but email John at BetaMotorsports.com to order; if you have to get new strut inserts the project can get pricy. If you decide to get new stut inserts, consider Konis just to have the best and be done with it. I've had quick and slow deliveries from John, so you might want to get them ordered pronto if you decide to go this way-he doesn't keep much in stock and sometimes you may have a production delay while he gets a manufacturer tooled up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 (edited) Here's the rest of my pics. Shown are the DP camber plates and also an upper 2.5" spring seat that I had machined that allowed use of the stock upper insulator and steering bearing. That spring seat worked great with my coilovers, but I ultimately had to have increased camber to stop front end from pushing. The silver color of my custom spring seat makes it look larger than the DP spring seat, but it is just an optical illusion-both seats are the same size for 2.5" springs. Edited August 18, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 (edited) Better pictures in the daylight from under car looking up. As you can see, the spring comes off the top seat at full droop. I plan to make some droop straps before LS2 swap is done. What the heck is a pillow ball? Edited August 19, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 kmac has one for the s30 too. http://www.k-mac.com.au/pages/newprods/datsun/datsun.htm has anyone installed these yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutantZ Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I don't know anyone with that kmac unit, but I did see one before it was going to be installed on a car. In terms of materials and construction quality it doesn't compare to the units that betamotorsports sells. The kmacs may work fine, but for my money I'd rather save longer and get something proven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaaJeHaa Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I also have DP bolt in's on my car. Works great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I just recently installed a set of K-Macs on the front of a customer car. They are built to a price point but they do work. Camber adjustment is a bit cumbersome and you do have to enlarge the center hole in the strut tower if you don't want to drop the strut to adjust camber. Caster adjustment is fairly easy. The set the customer supplied me was missing two parts. I called K-Mac in Australia and I had the replacement parts in two days, no charge, from Australia. Can't beat that for customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 What the heck is a pillow ball? Pillow ball is a monoball. Pillow ball seems to be the popular terminology with the JDM crowd. Spherical bearing, heims joint, uni-ball, and rose joint are other names for the same thing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I have a set of DP plates, you do have to enlarge the hole in the strut tower if you run any type of adjustable damping strut. Initially I ran the Tokico blues and had no problems fitting them without cutting the tower, recently I switched to Koni yellows and had to cut the holes in all 4 strut towers to clear the top of the strut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) True, you can't reach the adjustment screw thru the center hole anymore. But, you only need to enlarge the hole if you truly adjust your strut dampening on a routine basis. Check around and see if you are really apt to change it a lot, or if you can set it before bolting up to the top of the strut tower. Even so, it isn't that big of a deal to unbolt the strut for a minute in order to change the dampening rate, then bolt it back up. I set my illuminas to 3 in the front and 4 in the back, bolted it together without widening the center hole. If your dampeners have a big adjustment knob, you might need to open the center hole, but with illuminas it is not necessary. You might want fancier camber plates if you plan to make frequent adustments, but don't forget that every camber adjustment must be followed by a toe adjustment. Edited August 22, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 True, you can't reach the adjustment screw thru the center hole anymore. But, you only need to enlarge the hole if you truly adjust your strut dampening on a routine basis. Check around and see if you are really apt to change it a lot, or if you can set it before bolting up to the top of the strut tower. Even so, it isn't that big of a deal to unbolt the strut for a minute in order to change the dampening rate, then bolt it back up. I set my illuminas to 3 in the front and 4 in the back, bolted it together without widening the center hole. If your dampeners have a big adjustment knob, you might need to open the center hole, but with illuminas it is not necessary. Konis require the hole to be enlarged to clear the top of the strut, it extends further above the camber plate than the Tokicos and has a blade type adjuster rather than a screw. You could run Konis centered in the hole but then why use camber plates? As for unbolting the strut to make adjustments, at the track that would be a pain in the ass and you do make adjustments more often at the track than on the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 (edited) Just some pics to give substance to the discussion. I concur with all the comments made-these two plate designs do have their limits/problems, but the low cost and ease of installation were super for me. The second pic (I replaced the orginal allen head bolts with regular hex bolts) is of an EMI plate on my front suspension w/ Tokicos; it is on the max negative camber bolt holes. First pic (Allen head bolts) is of a DP plate on my rear suspension w/ Tokicos; it is on the second to highest negative camber bolt hole. Edited August 23, 2011 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I concur with all the comments made-these two plate designs do have their limits/problems, but the low cost and ease of installation were super for me. Please don't think I'm saying these aren't a good design, far from it, but to imply they bolt in for every combination is not correct, thats why I posted in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 The Koni mounting thread shaft is longer (taller) then the Tokicos. It does project up into the center hole on the strut tower. For those situations where the rules do no allow center hole modification I will make a spacer that fits below the shoulder bushing and moves the Koni shock down about 10mm. That helps but does not solve getting to the glade adjuster on top the the Koni shock using the Koni adjustment knob. For that problem I've made a adjustment tool out of a small slotted socket and a brake cable from a motorcycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRAYZ Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Ok am I reading correctly that the EMI's are no longer available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Yes. Erik is busy being being crew chief on a World Challenge GT team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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