Well, I took my car in for an alignment today. I put Eibach Pro's on it and wanted to make sure it was not going to burn out my tires with the camber or toe being out. Well, after they get it on the rack they tell my I need special camber bolts to make any adjustment to it. My Camber was -1.2* left and -1.7* right. Caster was 7.2* L and 7.0* right which was ok. My toe was a bit out at -0.19* L and -0.30* R (total toe -0.49*). ( I know most of this meant nothing to me earlier today but I know the motorheads love info and I know more now). Well, they say they can't adjust anything without cam bolts and pull it off the rack and still charge me $40 (for 'checking' the alignment). I was pissed since I asked before they put it on the rack if they could do and alignment on my car which was dropped 1.5" and had 20's on it. "No prob, we have done cars lower than that'. Shouldn't they have know I would have needed camber bolts? There is also a smalldent on my wheel which I didn't see before (car has 450 miles on it, mind you) which I think is from mounting the wheel sensor for the alignment. I point it out to them after I payed and they say, 'wasn't us'. Pisses me off. Thought of puttinga hold on the credit card payment since they said they could do the alignment and then actually couldn't. Thoughts??


(sorry for the rant)

Update Below...

 

where did you take it? some people say you dont need a camber kit and some say you do. its one those things I think it depends on the person. Get the camber bolts and have them realign it.

 

This has been discussed several times on the forum. You definatley do need some means of adjusting camber. Camber bolts are the cheapest and simplest option, but "camber plates" are another option too. I am acutally suprised by what happened. Many alignment shops keep camber bolts on hand.

By the way, there are a few other adjustments you will likely need to make. Whomever did your lowering not only neglected to tell you about the camber, but also these:

1) Rear axle offset. These cars have a panhard bar on the rear suspension. This means that when the car is lowered, the rear axle shifts to one side. In other words, one tire will stick out of the wheelwell further than the other one. You need an adjustable panhard bar to fix this.

2) Pinion angle: Lowering the car changes the pinion angle at the rear diff. To correct it you need either adjustable lower control arms (LCAs) or an adjustable upper control arm (UCA). If you do not do this it will cause vibration, clunking during shifting, and increased drivetrain wear.

3) LCA Angle / Instant Center: Lowering the car changes the angle of the LCA with respect to the ground. This is NOT a signifcant concern on a street-driven car. However, it will hurt your ability to get traction under a launch or hard acceleration. So, if you drag race you need to address this. The fix is LCA relocation brackets.

You will want to have these things checked out. Do a forum search, there is plenty of information available here.

 

hell no - head to the track baby! that thing will handle great!

...just pick up new tires on the way home lol. Camber bolts are cheap and easy to install. they should have known immediately that you may need camber bolts. Their machine should tell them that there are no camber /caster adjustments for the vehicle.

i'm not positive but I don't know if camber bolts will remove all of that negative camber. 1.7 is quite a bit.I went with camber/caster plates which is why I don't know. You definately have to do at least bolts though or your tires will be gone quickly.

 

CrazyAl, thanks for your input. What is the price for a set of camber bolts? I see the plates are starting at about $150 (one of the site sponsors). Do I really need the plates vs. the bolts? What brand and list of components (and brands) would you suggest as 'must have's' and which would you saycould go on the wish list?


Edit: Found Eibach alignment bolts at Summit Racing for $17.95 (Eibach Pt# 5.81260K)

 

camber bolts are like 30 bucks at the most

 

Camber bolts are cheap. I would figure about $15-30 depending on the brand. They work great. In fact, the Ford service manual recommends their use for camber adjustment.

I would say that beyond the camber bolts and an alignment, the only real MUST do is the control arms. Either adjustable LCAs or adjustable UCA will work, but I suggest the adjustable LCAs for several reasons:

1) they are a great handling/traction mod anyway
2)they are easier to install and adjust than the UCA. (The UCA is in a very cramped space which makes accessing it difficult.)
3)adjustable LCAs are stronger than an adjustable UCA.

My suggested brand is BMR, specifically the adjustable street combo type. They have a poly bushing on one end and a rod-end on the other.

The other stuff you can delay until later:
The adjustable panhard bar is needed most of the time, but if you don't see an obvious change in wheel offset then you can delay it until later. Likewise for the LCA relocation brackets. They are nice to have, but they are not strictly needed unless you are drag racing.

 

Any shop that doesnt carry the camber bolts isnt worth ****. Go somewhere else.

 

After hubby lowered my car with 1.5" springs,I took it to the alignment shop about 4-wks later andhad my alignment done. The shop did it without the camber bolts and told me if I wanted to get a set of camber bolts, bring it back and they would realign BUT camber bolts did not keep them from doing an alignment. Thats kind-a BS if you ask me. Camber bolts help get the alignment as perfect as possible but the guy that did my alignment saidthey were not necessary to do the alignment. I cant remember where I found them but I saw some on the internet for $29.95.

 

Update. Went to the shop to bitch again about my dent in the wheel and the scratch I found. They don't want anything to do with it. 'We're finished' is all I got. They gave me my $40 back, wow. I asked why they used a hammer to put the rear bracket on the back wheel, 'It wasn't a hammer, it was a mallot'. So now I guess its time for the police report and the BBB filing. The car had 440 miles on it. Yeah, all that stuff was there. Give me a break!