Okay so I'm seriously at a loss for visualizing these things when they are installed on the car. I have seen the pictures on BMRs website and such, but I just can't visualize where they go when you install them and how that allows for camber adjustment. Can somebody please help me out. Maybe a picture or a drawing? Normally, I can visualize these types of things pretty well, but not with these...

Thanks,

 

Hi ponyman,

Sorry no drawing. The common camber bolt is installed in the upper hole of the S197 strut's lower mounting ears. The camber bolt has an offsetcam that is ground just small enough to fit through the stock upper hole. The rest of the shank portions on either side ofthe cam areseverly reduced in diameter which allow theoffset cam to work againt thesmall bent tab that is positioned in the strut mount opening on the indexed washer that sits under the head of the camber bolt. I know this sounds wacky but the short of it is that the cam portion of the bolt is pushing against the inside ofthe mounting hub's hole to force the hub to move in or out to adjust the camber withthe lower strut mounting bolt as the fulcrum. The washer with thebent tab is what is usedby the camber bolttocenter the reduced bolt shank in the strut opening duringadjustment before the nut is torqued down and gives the camber bolt something to push against due to the reduces shank diameter of the bolt.

Don't worry they work pretty well on the street and only ocassionaly will slip lossing adjustment. The most camber adjustment I've seen claimed is +/- 2 degrees but I doubt it as the Eibach camber bolt for the S197GT claims that you can get up to +/- 1.7 degrees but the most I've ever gotten was +/- 1.5 degrees. You also have to realize that the even the best camber bolts made from the best materials have a much reduced shank and this meansthe clamping forcehas to besignificantly reduced due to the limitedtorque the smaller shank portion of the camber bolt can take.

HTH!

 

F1Fan,

Thanks for the info. I'm curious what the effect of this last statement is? Is it related to the occasional sliping of the adjustment, or does it lend to lostening and by proxy more noise out of the strut? Can you please exlpain a little bit.

Thanks

 

Hi ponyman,

It's not a big deal really but the camber bolts are only able to take 100Nm torque as opposed to the standard bolt 200Nm. This means the camberbolts can allowthe strut camber alignment and the things affected by camber such as toe (and to a much lesser degree bumpsteer)to slip out of adjustment if given enough load like hitting a curb or corner berm. But it iseasy to fixyour camber but not so easy in the middle of a lapping session.

HTH!

 

So for my daily street use and trip down the 1320 then it is fine...

but if I start doing hot laps then it *could* be an issue...but i would probably be doing the beginner ed stuff anyway....


thanks again dude.

 

To continue my inquiry....is reusing the stock upper strut mounts a bad idea? I have 27,000 miles on the car...I didn't know if they were reusable or not?

 

Another stupid question...this makes three in a row...

If I forgo (temporarily) getting HD upper strut mounts (like the ones from Steeda) and instead go with camber bolts to keep cost down how does that affect me later if I want to get the HD upper strut mounts?

I was reading through my shop manual and it says that using camber bolts is an acceptible procedure for alignment (which is good because they don't give another way in the manual). But the procedure reads "Using a suitable grinding tool, enlarge the strut-to-wheel spindle lower mounting holes as indicatd by the etchings in the strut lower mount. Do not enlarge the holes any moer than indicated by the etchings on the stut mount." This leads me to asking doe the Tokico struts have said etchings like the factory ones? Also, once I enlarge the holes what happens when I want to put upper strut mounts in and go back to standard bolts in the bottom? Now the hole will be bigger, is this bad?

Thanks again.

 

Hi ponyman,

Yes, for most folks a good set of camber bolts is the way to go and for the most part work well. To use a camber bolt you DO NOT enlarge the strut mounting holes! This is the purpose of a camber bolt! You only need to grind out the mounting tabs if you use the stock strut mounting bolts, do not grind out the holes unless you have to and I see no reason to need to do so unless the car has been severly damaged and not properly repaired on a chassis jig or you don't have mail service where you live. The D-Spec mounts do not have the outline stamped in them that a stock strut has. Just use one of the Steeda billet camber plates as a marking template to see where yoiu need toopen up the mount.

The stock strut bearing mounts are questionable and many have had problems with them when used with stiffer springs and firmer dampers. Personally I would do it right the first time and install a set of Steeda HD adjustable strut mounts.The Steeda HD mountscost twice as much money as a pair of GT500 strut mounts but you will NEVER have to replace them again and even if your needs change or you manage to damage one you can buy service parts for them from Steeda.

If you forgo replacement of the strut mounts and simply use a good camber bolt you should be able to getthe camber adjustment you need out of them if you use a spring that lowers ride height an inch. The lower you go the better the static camber is up to about 1.5" or so. Some cars with Steeda or other 1" drop in height cannot get enoughstatic negative camber to make thetires bite as well. This is why Steeda sells their deluxe billet camber plate system.

HTH!