7 hours of work and no change (Camber Kit Problems)

[dsmnate]

Ok, so I bought the extreme camber kit for Extreme Motorsports and tried to install it last night. I started at 9:30 and after some swear words and a couple of hours of breaking bolts loose got the kit installed. Here is where the problem begins.......

When installed I set the camber kit to what I thought would be the medium adjustment of about +2.0 degrees. The kit goes from +1.75 to +3.25. When I tried to lower the car the upper control arm hit the fender well....hmmmm.....they said it bolts right up and is easier to install than others......Ok so I thought well I only really need to be between -.80 and +.20 so if I set the kit to the lowest amount of change then it should clear and everything will be ok....Well after removing the tires again and all of the pain in the a$$ bolts I set the camber kit to the fartherest back setting that should have been closest to +1.75. Put the tires back on and let the car down and it still didn't clear. Well now it is like 3:30 in the morning and I have to be at work by 8:00 so I said screw it I am going to put the stock setup back on and I got it back together by around 4:00......

My questions are:
Has anyone else installed a camber kit?

Do I have to cut the front fender wells for a camber kit to work?

If I put all the stock setup back the way it was will my toe in/out be really messed up and kill my tires if I don't fix it right away?

Thanks in advance,
-Nate

 

[psyjoniz]

how low is your car? why do you need a front kit? the stock camber should be good to like 2.25" (i BELIEVE). my car is down about 1.2" and its well within spec as far as camber goes.. are you putting one in because your tires are wearing?

 

[dsmnate]

My car is lowered about 3 inches.

I am putting the kit on because I got an alignment and on the printout my front camber was -2.0 on both sides.

The spec for the front camber is between -0.8 and +0.2 so I was far off of the spec, and yes even after the alignment you could see there was more tire wear on the inside of the tires than the outside.

 

[psyjoniz]

hmm - well, yes - if you leave it stock it will screw your tires and if the toe isn't adjusted correctly and is pretty far off it will screw them FAST. what part of the fender well did the arm hit? you might need to cut it - i'm not sure - i'm also not sure what is above that piece of plastic (if the arm can travel past it much and not bend/break anything else). i would take the plastic out and install the kit and see if the arm is going to clear everything else (WHILE driving too) - if it does then cut the plastic (you can put it back in without taking the tires off or anything else) - its not like anyone is going to see it unless they are underneath the car. you might even line the cut edges with a black rubber or something just to look like it was supposed to be that way - its a thought...

hey - at least this time putting the kit in will take less time, right?!

 

[dsmnate]

Originally posted by psyjoniz
what part of the fender well did the arm hit?

It just barely hits the plastic piece and pops past that and then rests on the fender well above it. It is maybe 1/8 of and inch that would need to be cut away. Do you think if I cut it out it would mess with the structural integrity of the car? What about if I use a ballpin hammer and try to dent it back far enough?

hey - at least this time putting the kit in will take less time, right?!

Yeah...by the time I get this on I will be a pro at camber kits. !!! What keeps taking the most time is that the rachet keeps getting caught in the coilspring and being a pain in the A$$ and then the bolts get stuck and won't come out and the blah blah blah.....

 

[dsmnate]

Well it seems that the concensus of everyone that I talked too told me that I will need to use a ballpin hammer and pound back the fenderwell for the clearance I need. That's some pretty shitty engineering if you ask me.

I went to my body shop and he said that as long as I don't need more than a 1/4" clearance I should be fine by doing what I was told...otherwise it would have to be cut and welded professionally. I think I only need like an 1/8" so I am going to try it tonight.

Wish me luck!!!

-Nate

 

[dsmnate]

The kit I bought was the Extreme Camber adjustment kit from www.extrememotorsports.com

It states on their website that the adjustment goes from +1.75 to +3.25 degrees of camber. It also says that it is easier to install than other kits because you do not need a press to remove the factory bushings. I ended up setting it at the lowest setting because it didn't clear the fender wells at that and I didn't want to hammer more than I needed to. I used a combination of a 2 lb. sledge hammer and a ballpin hammer to give myself the clearance that was needed and it took several times to get it right. By doing this it will crack the paint on your shock towers and you will be able to see where it was hammered up in some cases. I hammered from below and watched above to make it look even all around.

I don't know how an Ingalls kit would be or how any other kit would fit. Mine actually was manufactured by Specialty Products and when I called them to ask them about it they told me that the are now making a kit that is an adjustable ball joint. If you have alot of patients this kit will work but it is a pain in the a$$. I would suggest just getting someone to professionally install a camber kit for you rather than trying it yourself. If I had it to do all over again I would pay someone to do it.

For your rear camber, if it is off, I suggest just doing what I did and buying bolts and washers from Home Depot which will push the rear mount away from the body correcting the camber. If you need to do this I can help you with it and tell you exactly what you need to do. Just let me know.

Anyway I finally got it finished and got an alignment at the local Mitsu dealer because nobody else wants to do it for a lowered car, they all say that it won't fit on their alignment rack.

Another warning if you need to correct the camber as much as I did it will seriously mess with the toe once the kit is on. After I had the kit on the front felt really loose and the tires squeeled going around every corner. The dealer said the toe was at -2 degrees....in other words my tires looked like this " / \ ".

Moral of the story is unless you have alot of patients, tools, and basic mechanical abilities just pay someone to do it for you and get an alignment immediatly.

Tools needed:

Ratchet set with:
14mm
17mm (deep socket)
18mm (deep socket)

Steel pipe or something inorder to get leverage to break the bolts for the upper control arm ancors on the shock towers loose

14mm open end wrench (used in conjunction with 14mm socket for bolts under wheel well)

Ballpin hammer
Finally a 2lb hammer (ballpin may be enough but this makes it faster)

Hope this help some people,
Nate

 

[espydur]

wierd...my car is lowered about 2", put an adjustable camber kit on in about half an hour....it's perfect now.

 

[dsmnate]

Which camber kit did you get??
If you got the Ingalls I think it only adjusts up to 1 degree which. The problem with mine was that at its lowest settting it was adding 1.75 degrees which just pushed the upper control arm out too far.

 

[espydur]

i've got a specialty products adjustable camber kit

 

[dsmnate]

How much adjustment did the kit that you got have?

Mine went from +1.75 to +3.25 if you have the same one that would be kinda weird that it would work great for you but not be able to clear my fenders. Maybe there is a difference in the years of the cars?

 

[espydur]

mines got the same adjustment range...no probs whatsoever.