front camber questions

[beazo]

Hi all, I'm about to undertake a coilover install on my aspire, and combined with the wheels i have, I would like to have around 1.5 degrees of camber on the front. And I've been looking through a heap of older posts that cover this by notching the upper bolt hole in the hub mount of the strut. But I have struggled to find anything that covers the probable toe issues that come with the position of the tie rod ends of the steering rack.
I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this for me? Or if there is a good thread that i have missed and is worth reading, would someone be able to send me in the right direction?
Thanks.

[Advancedynamix]

1.5 degrees of negative camber will work fine. Set your toe to about 2mm total toe in (using toe plates.)

I'm running -4 degrees on all 4 wheels on my WA Festiva and it handles great.

[beazo]

1.5 degrees of negative camber will work fine. Set your toe to about 2mm total toe in (using toe plates.)

I'm running -4 degrees on all 4 wheels on my WA Festiva and it handles great.

Is that total camber for both sides? Or 4 degrees per wheel?
Would love to see what that looks like.

Also, I'm having a rear tracking issue, i have done the washer/camber mod and whilst the toe in is even on both sides, if i hit a bit of a bump on one side, it will try to send the car the opposite way of that wheel. Had any experience with this? I could work it out and get it closer to 0 toe, but not sure how all this will affect the handling.

Thanks for the advice on front camber too

[Advancedynamix]

Is that total camber for both sides? Or 4 degrees per wheel?
Would love to see what that looks like.

Also, I'm having a rear tracking issue, i have done the washer/camber mod and whilst the toe in is even on both sides, if i hit a bit of a bump on one side, it will try to send the car the opposite way of that wheel. Had any experience with this? I could work it out and get it closer to 0 toe, but not sure how all this will affect the handling.

Thanks for the advice on front camber too

Hmmm. I have noticed this before, but it happens when the car is toed out normally. That leads me to believe that possibly your toed in on 1 side and a little out on the other. You can check that by stringing the car. Google search "string alignment". Or you could have it checked at a shop. Your beam may be bent.

That is -4 degrees per wheel. I'm testing this setup out. I haven't driven it that much or had it on a skid pad or track to push the car. Street driving it seems fine, but will wear tires quickly if the toe isn't set at 0.

Here is a picture of -4 degrees of camber on a Festiva.

[ryanprins13]

Is that total camber for both sides? Or 4 degrees per wheel?
Would love to see what that looks like.

Also, I'm having a rear tracking issue, i have done the washer/camber mod and whilst the toe in is even on both sides, if i hit a bit of a bump on one side, it will try to send the car the opposite way of that wheel. Had any experience with this? I could work it out and get it closer to 0 toe, but not sure how all this will affect the handling.

Thanks for the advice on front camber too

Just a possibility- i had the same thing on my car for 2 years or so. At the end the back end would swing over just hitting rumble strips. The bounce test told me my rear struts were not bad but i replaced them anyway. They were blown and that fixed it completely. How new are your rear struts? I have seen brand new ones be bad right out of the box if this started right after replacing them. The adjusted toe may have made the problem more noticeable, but a good strut should keep the tire on the ground for most bumps and not let the other tire push the car around.

[beazo]

Hmmm. I have noticed this before, but it happens when the car is toed out normally. That leads me to believe that possibly your toed in on 1 side and a little out on the other. You can check that by stringing the car. Google search "string alignment". Or you could have it checked at a shop. Your beam may be bent.

That is -4 degrees per wheel. I'm testing this setup out. I haven't driven it that much or had it on a skid pad or track to push the car. Street driving it seems fine, but will wear tires quickly if the toe isn't set at 0.

Here is a picture of -4 degrees of camber on a Festiva.

4 degrees looks awesome!
Yeah, I'll be doing an alignment very soon. The string technique works really well. Hopefully i don't have a bent beam, don't really have the money to replace that after getting these wheels, hahaha. Car life i guess. It's still drivable in its current state, just not freeway driving at the moment.
And Ryan, my shocks are starting to get a bit spongey, probably time to get them replaced.

Are there any direct replacements for the aspire that are better than stock? Or will i have to modify some vw shocks?

[Advancedynamix]

The Aspire shocks are still available, but nearly the same price as the VW shocks I use and nowhere near the performance. A set of KYB shocks for a MK1 chassis golf/Scirocco/Jetta is a cheap upgrade.