I'm gonna pimp slap the next person who asks if they need a camber kit.
For the love of god, stop asking. I thought 3 times a day was enough, apparently not. I suppose its better to educate yourselves before rather than later, but if you use the search function like you're supposed to, and you do your research before you spend upwards of $800 on a drop done right, then you should figure out in 5 minutes or less that YES YOU NEED A CAMBER KIT. For mild drops (less than 1.25") you probably don't, but you may opt for one just to be safe. I have a friend dropped on Pro-kits, no camber kits, and he's got nearly spec alignment numbers. Any lower, you probably want one if you value your tires. While toe kills tires more than camber does, you can only adjust toe so much (especially in the rear). Toe and Camber settings effect eachother, so you need to have the adjustability to get your toe to 0. In the front, your camber can be as much as -2.25 before your steering rods run out of travel, but -2.25 will probably do something to your tires.
Rear kits are a threaded adjustable length upper control arm. It bolts in with 3 bolts, 2 on the body, one on the back of the drum and you can adjust its length to control the angle of the wheel. This part is critical as the rear is far more prone to camber changes than the front (nature of a multi-link double wishbone). You need it. There's numerous kits available. SPC and Ingalls probably make the most inexpensive and widely used ones, they're $110-140 depending on the store... you can spend plenty more if you want, I've seen them go as high as $400 for JDM brand super adjustable (5 degree) arms, but they're unnecessary for basic adjustment. A normal range (+2/-3 degree) kit will take care of any reasonable drop.
Front kits... well 2 options. Camber or Crash Bolts that are smaller than the stock crash bolts give you additional range of motion by freeing space up in the knuckle hole to set the knuckle more upright. They're $20-30 bucks, but they have plenty of flaws. If you drive hard, they have a tendency to move and not hold their setting. As a result, frequent alignments (every few months) are a necessity. If you're looking at any sort of racing, I don't recommend them unless the rules specify that this is the only way you can change your camber. Honestly, if you can get your camber back to about -1.5 degrees or less without the use of camber bolts and still get 0 toe, I wouldn't even bother with the bolts.
Camber Plates are the better alternative. They replace the upper mount of the strut with a sliding bearing surface and the entire suspension angle changes from the top. This allows the use of stock crash bolts which hold their setting much better, it also provides a better reaction from the corner because the wheel is aligned with the suspension like its supposed to be (scrub radius unchanged). Plates run from about $200 to $400, there's a few available.
I don't think I missed anything.... if you have a question about anything that has been posted here or still do not understand, then post it IN THIS THREAD.
Front camber will go more negative but only slightly. Rear camber will get more negative than the front. Also, your toe will come in. Go look at the geometry and just picture what happens to the steering arm when the camber get more negative.
When making more negative camber, the toe will go in, when making more positive camber, the toe will go out. But it can be changed by using the tie rod.
I can't seem to find a link to alignments. There was a nice outside information someone posted once. It was one of you suspension gurus that posted it.
haha, after this was asked like 95-100 times at least, people still want more clarification. Just get a damn camber kit, figure out how to install it, its simple, dont ask how to install it, find the DIY on here if you must. Than go get an alignment, and your good to go. get an alignment every 6mo-1yr. I leave my camber set at -1 on the rears, it doesnt eat them up noticeably at all like -3 does. -1 is a good setting for a little extra grip on the road.
Heres a visual for people who dont know what camber is still. When you lower your car, your tires do this. Same thing when your shocks travel down.
// \\ << Negative camber (when you lower your car)
\\ // << Positive camber
l l l l << wow, they look good after a camber kit was installed and adjusted
You want to straighten them back up, like this l l l l. Got it good, lol
Last edited by 2K1Civic17"Gabe : 04-07-2005 at 07:43 PM.
where is a good place to purchase camber kits? one more question. say i get new suspension.. would i still want to get a camber kit? as of now. i know i need one cause not having a kit on. its eating the crap outta my tires. my rear tires are like this // \\.... it sucks.
HA! is there a kit that works better than another or will they all give you the same performance (camber kits) WTF? only one search every 30 seconds? I'm looking through the forums right now for a DIY on camber kits so I'm bearing my face for the slap, but anyways I'd like to know at least how long it'd take to put them on or a diagram or something of how they look on the car?
I know you are new schroomster, but there are so many ways to find information. It takes about 1 hour if none of the bolts are frozen. If you are installing suspension, then install it all at once. Wait for the springs to settle (about a week or so) and get an alignment.
If you search the members rides rides you can find pictures
Hotchkis is probably the best designed but will cost you. SPC is the preferred one, followed by ingalls. They all do the same thing, but you have to worry about them "freezing up."
I know you are new schroomster, but there are so many ways to find information. It takes about 1 hour if none of the bolts are frozen. If you are installing suspension, then install it all at once. Wait for the springs to settle (about a week or so) and get an alignment.
If you search the members rides rides you can find pictures
Hotchkis is probably the best designed but will cost you. SPC is the preferred one, followed by ingalls. They all do the same thing, but you have to worry about them "freezing up."
Thats the hotchkis difference. The barrel is 7075 T6 Aluminum... so you DO NOT have to worry about the barrel rustwelding itself to the ends of the arm, they know it, so they can charge you for it. The hotchkis arms are FAR less likely to jam on you than the others.
