Camber/Toe adjustment help!

[mikemounlio]

I am about to start installing my mk1/mk2 coilover suspension. What is the best way to adjust the camber to the magic neg3.5 i keep seeing? How about toe? Whats the best way to get it at 0°?

[mikemounlio]

O i c. Thats why the top mount hole needs to be extended into the body.

So for a street steup whats the perfect numbers?

[jdobbs86]

for camber you can use an eccentric bolt or slot the top hole in the strut

...toe is gonna come from your tie rod

[mikemounlio]

From my jeep days I got toe down. I have never messed with camber tho. I will soon tho. All my parts should be in and ready to go by next weekend!

[bhazard]

You'll never get 3.5 degrees with camber bolts. Not sure exactly how charlie does it up front but my guess is slot the crap out of the top hole. In the rear you have to shim the spindle or make a plate.

[blake4591]

Yeah the best you'll ever get with camber bolts is 2.5 and that's only if your lucky. I think part of what Charlie does is move the bottom hole out a little maybe a 1/8" or even a 1/4" and then slots the top hole. He cuts out all of that part of the original strut and then welds in thicker steel disk to help spread out the load. This also allows him to move the holes around a little.

Good news though is that I think you would be perfectly happy with 1.5 to 2 degrees if your looking for more of a street only setup. Most alignment and tire shops will tell you to go somewhere else if you tell them you want to run more than 2 degrees of camber.

[Advancedynamix]

3.5 degrees is possible with the VW coilovers. The top hole needs to be slotted .2" towards the strut body. The VW coilovers have much more room for adjustment than the Mazda, Kia or Festiva struts.
I didn't move the lower hole out, just up to match the Festiva knuckle.

[Advancedynamix]

Then I use a digital level to help me set the camber.

I check the camber on level ground, then use the angle cube to see how much I've adjusted the knuckle.

For the rear you can make camber spacers, or use washers to adjust the camber.

-2.5 degrees seems to work great for a street car. I run -3.5 and I like it, but I do get a little camber wear. -2.5 doesn't seem to wear the tires at all and still works pretty good on the track. Negative camber improves stability.

[blake4591]

I stand corrected. I could never tell if the hole was moved out or not but figured it would be an easy way to pick up extra camber.

I have the same angle cube it comes in very handy for a lot of things. You can also get the free level apps for your phone. I've checked two them against calibrated inclomemters and they are very accurate.

[mikemounlio]

I was wondering how you set the angle. I can use our mag based angle finder from work and set it that way.


When going from stock to -2 or even -2.5 what will i notice in the handling of the car?