Camber Adjustment

[IGoDayGlo]

Is there a camber adjustment on the wheels of the GT? If not, how do you account for the increased camber when using dropped springs?

[bobs turbo pt]

what is camber ??

[MichaelDay]

Jim Kerr, an automotive technology teacher explained it this way:

"Camber is the tilt of the wheel in or out. Positive camber readings show the top of the wheel is tilted out, while negative readings show the top of the wheel is tilted in. Theoretically, you want the wheel to be at 0 degrees or straight up and down, and most vehicles are close to this, but suspension design or handling demands may require negative caster settings.

Negative camber is usually used on performance cars. During hard cornering, the body rolls to the outside of the turn. If camber settings were 0 degrees, or vertical, the wheel and tire would roll as well, tilting the top out. The tire tread would lift on the inside of the tire, giving less traction and less cornering force. Negative camber settings will move the tire towards the vertical as the body rolls, keeping all the tread on the ground.

Most passenger cars will have camber settings of 0 degrees to about ¾ positive camber. This keeps the tire vertical during most driving, and the slight positive camber causes the load of the car to be supported better by the wheel bearings. High performance cars often have camber settings of 0 degrees to minus 1½ degrees. The settings are determined by suspension design and the amount of body roll. MacPherson strut suspensions tilt the tire out as the body rolls on corners, so a higher negative camber setting is used than unequal A arms, which tend to tilt the tire in as the body rolls. Many vehicles on the road today have non-adjustable camber from the factory. Most front wheel drive cars have the angle set at the factory and the body must be modified or aftermarket parts installed to change the camber. If no parts are bent, then the body is probably sitting at an angle or too low because of sagging springs. Many times, replacing the springs will bring camber angles right back to factory specifications."

Hope that helps Bob.

As far as the original question, Stephen R responded as follows in a previous thread:
"PT's (and many FWD strut cars) don't have factory adjustability for camber. Camber is the tilting in (negative camber) or outward (positive) of the top of the tire. With dropped suspensions, negative camber is the result. BTW, Fords are the biggest offenders of camber Check out the Escorts to see what I mean here.

ANYWAY... there's a bolt called a cam-bolt or crash-bolt that allows camber adjustment to the factory setup: http://www.ingallseng.com/cars/chrysler.html

Did I need it on my Eibach drop? Probably not, but I figured since they had the strut assembly already apart, why not spend an extra $30 and put these two bolts in. Plus, I'm running 40-series tires so if there's some bad wear going on, I have the ability to fix it.

Part # is 3542 and is the same one as 2001+ Civics so you should be able to pick them up in the checkout line at Kmart..."


2003 Almond GT

Edited by - MichaelDay on 02/07/2003 23:58:18

Edited by - MichaelDay on 02/08/2003 00:12:18

Edited by - MichaelDay on 02/08/2003 00:13:30

[2sb]

The two bolts on the bottom of the strut set camber. If lowering pushes it too far off, places like Moss sell offset camber bolts to bring it in. Negative camber wears out the inside tread of your tires. If you corner too fast (bob), you wear out the outside edge so negative camber may make your tire wear more evenly.

Edited by - 2sb on 02/08/2003 00:17:51

[IGoDayGlo]

Thanks for the help. That was the answer I was looking for. It looks like I can lower my GT properly for only $300-$400!

[bobs turbo pt]

ok know what it no thanks