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i recently skidded into a curb because of all the snow and ice (front passnger)..it was nothing big,,not even goin that fast..but it did mess up my alignment..and more importantly the camber...i can actually see the postive camber....is this serious? or can it be repaired? i heard that FWD cars dont have repairable cambers...any advice?

 
Rep Power: 419

I'm in a similiar situation myself. You can buy a camber kit and adjust the camber that way. Although I would try to fix the camber without adjusting the kit. I have an SPC front camber kit myself, and I want to fix my camber without adjusting it. You can adjust the toe by moving the tie rods in and out. Not sure if you have to take them off of the place where they attach to the strut? I'll know soon enough because I will be trying to do a front alignment myself. I'm not sure about the camber or castor, I'll need to study the front suspension to see how to adjust those. I'll try soon enough (like a week or two) and report back the results here...

 
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grey.,..thanks for a speedy reply....

can a camber kit correct such a drastic problem? i thought they could only correct very slight cambers....
i hope nothing is seriously damaged.

 
Rep Power: 419

How much is it off camber? The difference betwean my right and left side up front is about an inch when measured from the outside diameter. So my passenger side is negative 3/4" from vertical and my driver's side is positive 1/4" from vertical. Kinda sucks huh? How much is yours offset? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 416

sounds like the control arm might be bent... if its not that bad, then it probably isnt bent and ya can be adjusted without a camber kit

 
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ok..i got the specs today..and the camber is +2.32 degrees...is that small enough to be corrected with a kit?

 
Rep Power: 419

Well, the SPC front camber kit can change camber up to 1.75 degrees positive or negative. The stock camber setting up front is 0 +- .45, so even with the maximum correction of the SPC camber kit you'de get: +2.32 - 1.75 = 0.57 which is out of spec. The Ingalls front camber kit (part number 81260m there are two of them for the front) can adjust up to 2 degrees, so you could get: + 2.32 - 2.00 = 0.32 which is just in spec. I guess you could do that. Although when you lower the car you'll be out of spec again. That is if you aren't lowered yet. That's why I want to fix mine without a camber kit first, so that I can fix the camber when I lower it.

VNlilMAN: Do you know how to adjust it exactly? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 416

2.32 degrees? ouch, sounds like something is bent. is it the front or rear? if its the rear, check the control arms, i've heard of shops adjusting the camber by actually bending the camber kit(something i dont recommend) to correct the camber. maybe when you hit it, it bent the camber kit and gave you a positive camber. reason why i think something is bent... you cant really adjust the camber without a camber kit... the adjustment would be very minimal and no where close to 2.32 degrees.

as for adjusting it without a camber kit, i have no idea.. i doubt you could adjust it much without one tho, probably .1 degrees the most or something... for the front try doing this.. you know those two bolts right, just loosen both, and there will probably be a little bit of play. just put it to the position, you want and tighten the bolts. as for the rear.. maybe try the metal washer trick.. that is putting metal washers where the control arm bolts up to the cars chassis..

i still dont get why you dont want to adjust it with the camber kit tho.. cant you just adjust the camber kit to the factory position when your car is stock height? n then when your car is lowered, adjust it to the factory setting again when its lowered.

 
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the 2.32 is my front passenger....
say something IS bent...and i fix the camber with a kit....will this be ok? and is it possible with a kit?

 
Rep Power: 416

its the front? damn must have hit it hard.. if something is bent, a camber kit isnt going to fix it. i dunno maybe it isnt bent, a front camber kit is only $20 so i would just try it

 
Rep Power: 419

Well, my passenger's side front is negative. When I lower it, it'll be even more negative. Past what my camber kit is capable of adjusting. That's why. I could do my driver's side that way, but I'de rather have it be perfect without touching the camber kits.

 
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1.how did YOUR camber get messed up grey?
2.also,,,since i have a positive camber....if i lower my car...will the camber get closer to range?

 
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technically..your not a "StraightEdgeCivic" now.. hehehe.. hope you get yur prob solved

 
Rep Power: 419

1. Well, I turned too fast and slammed slightly sideways into a curb. I thought that the street for the turn was wider than it was. Stupid. Anyway, the driver's side front got bent positive and the passenger's side front got bent more than negative.

2. Yes. If you lower it, the camber goes negative. So if you have positive camber, it'll be less positive. hehe...

 
Rep Power: 416

yes it will get closer but not by much. the front camber only changes a little cause of how the mcpherson strut is

 
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haha..well hohpefully i can get things "straight" again....also, thanks for being real helpful on AIM before regarding the camber kits