Marky82

I have a 2007 V6 Mustang convertible and I recently replaced the shocks and struts with Koni SRT.T's (orange version) and installed the GT500 strut mounts. I took my car for an alignment this weekend and it says the camber for my right front tire is -1.8 degrees which is out of spec. They said the camber can't be adjusted on these Mustangs without adding special bolts or brackets.

Since the camber isn't adjustable is something wrong with my car or could it have been a little off from the factory? I also have 255's up front and 275's in the rear so I'm not sure if they could have an effect on the numbers.

It seems like the easiest solution is to throw on some caster/camber bolts and bring it back (I have unlimited alignments at Firestone) but I wanted to make sure the negative camber isn't indicative of a larger problem.

Here's the print out of my alignment:




Thanks,
Mark

Marky82

TTT

Anyone know if the cars can come from the factory with a little negative camber or is it only caused by some type of damage to the suspension?

Norm Peterson

The factory preferred camber setting is -0.75°, and it comes with an allowable tolerance of ±0.75°. Basically, anything from 0° to -1.5° would be "in the green", which I think is shown in small text on your printout. There is one other thing, and that's that the difference between right side and left side camber should not exceed 0.75°, and your settings are just barely outside that as well.

Why the two are so different is not apparent, though it is at least possible for dimensional differences in the new strut vs the OE strut to be a factor. In order to diagnose any suspension damage, such as a bent knuckle (the spindle is part of this thing), you'd have needed to have a printout of the alignment settings before replacing the struts.

Ford has their own procedure for correcting camber that's out of spec, using their own full-diameter bolts, and as you note there is a variety of camber and caster-camber plates as well. Either of those is an acceptable way to bring things back in spec. I won't endorse cheaping out with aftermarket camber bolts (aka crash bolts).


It's rare, but cars do occasionally escape final assembly and the dealer's PDI with camber(s) that is/are out of spec.


Norm

Eric62

The slop in the bolt holes on the each side's struts should be enough to bring the car into spec and similar side-to-side. If the alignment tech was any good, he would have already done this. Add the crash bolts and have the alignment set to the middle of spec, -0.75 degrees.

And yes, many, many cars come with negative camber from the factory, on purpose.