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Getting lowered car in spec? (camber)

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Old 02-17-16, 01:20 PM
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Brandyn98
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Question Getting lowered car in spec? (camber)

Hey guys, long time viewer of the forums but a first time poster so here we go:
Ive got a 99 gs400 and I am really tempted to get some tein flex z coilovers. I see the front upper mounts that come with the flex's seem to have camber adjustment, so thats great. The thing is, I am not sure what to do with the rear. I have heard of people just getting a new camber bolt and being able to get everything in spec. I know camber isn't as bad as toe, but I don't see many people saying you need adjustable toe when lowering because factory suspension should be enough adjustment. I wanted to lower the car to about a 1-2 finger gap (i have factory chrome 17's) because the car sits pretty damn high. So thats about a 2in drop if that helps at all. If you guys know what kind of bolt I could get that would be great, I don't want to spend a ton on new control arms if I don't need to.
Old 02-17-16, 01:42 PM
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Aristo722
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Honestly if you're on the factory wheels, which are a 16" I believe, and only dropping a few inches, you should be able to get back in spec with the factory control arms and toe links.
Old 02-17-16, 01:48 PM
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Mr Jokster
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Originally Posted by Aristo722
Honestly if you're on the factory wheels, which are a 16" I believe, and only dropping a few inches, you should be able to get back in spec with the factory control arms and toe links.
The 400's and 430's have 17's
Old 02-17-16, 01:51 PM
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Mr Jokster
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OP: They make adjustable upper rear control arms as well:





And camber bolts kits are all over ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pair-Lef...FUhgBZ&vxp=mtr
Old 02-17-16, 04:47 PM
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Beaugs4
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There is no such thing as front upper camber mounts for our cars.. our cars have double wishbone suspension up front.. so you need adjustable control arms to adjust camber..

Im currently slammed and with stock adjustments I was able to get 3 degrees camber all around..with 1-2 finger gap you should be able to get 2 or 2.5 degrees camber which is close to oem spec.
Old 02-17-16, 04:58 PM
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Brandyn98
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Originally Posted by Mr Jokster
And camber bolts kits are all over ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pair-Lef...FUhgBZ&vxp=mtr
Sweet. I just wasn't sure if i would only need the bolt or if id have to get the upper control arms as well.

Originally Posted by Beaugs4
There is no such thing as front upper camber mounts for our cars.. our cars have double wishbone suspension up front.. so you need adjustable control arms to adjust camber..
.
Now look at this picture:


The tein flex's upper mount (tophat, whichever you choose to call them) has camber adjustment. But you're saying that those are kinda pointless to have because our cars wont be able to take advantage of it?
Old 02-17-16, 06:35 PM
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Mr Jokster
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Originally Posted by Brandyn98
Sweet. I just wasn't sure if i would only need the bolt or if id have to get the upper control arms as well.
Depends how much correction you need.
Old 02-17-16, 08:26 PM
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BayAreaLex
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I have a 1 finger gap on Megan Coilovers... I had the alignment maxed out with the stock suspension components and absolutely destroyed a set of tires in less than 5000 miles.

I needed SPC adjustable upper control arms in the front and camber kit in the rear. Now everything is in spec and the tires are wearing perfectly.
Old 02-17-16, 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Brandyn98
Sweet. I just wasn't sure if i would only need the bolt or if id have to get the upper control arms as well.



Now look at this picture:


The tein flex's upper mount (tophat, whichever you choose to call them) has camber adjustment. But you're saying that those are kinda pointless to have because our cars wont be able to take advantage of it?
thats just a generic picture for a different car... probably for a civic or something

they will look like this...
http://www.inspire-usa.com/assets/im...eet%20Flex.jpg
Old 02-18-16, 08:47 AM
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Mr Jokster
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Originally Posted by BayAreaLex
I have a 1 finger gap on Megan Coilovers... I had the alignment maxed out with the stock suspension components and absolutely destroyed a set of tires in less than 5000 miles.

I needed SPC adjustable upper control arms in the front and camber kit in the rear. Now everything is in spec and the tires are wearing perfectly.
Are you sure it wasnt toe that destroyed your tires? I'm on bags with 22's, with 22's the camber is MUCH worse since theres more travel. With NO gap (actually I drive with 3" tucked) and nasty camber, I still get 20k+ miles on my tires. However, I did have to buy adjustable toe arms to correct the nasty toe issue. Camber is still there and not causing much problem.
Old 02-18-16, 09:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Brandyn98

The tein flex's upper mount (tophat, whichever you choose to call them) has camber adjustment. But you're saying that those are kinda pointless to have because our cars wont be able to take advantage of it?
Those only work on strut applications. We have double wishbone suspensions.
Old 02-18-16, 05:31 PM
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tiguy99
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Gonna need this thread really soon!
Subscribing
Old 02-18-16, 05:48 PM
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firelizard
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I had no issues correcting the alignment after lowering the car on Tanabe DF210s. That's 1.8" in the front and 1.5" in the rear. A couple fingers of gap if you are running 235/45-17 factory sizes. With 215-60-16 winter tires, I have no tire gap.
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Old 03-08-16, 12:37 PM
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98GS400GUY
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I have the Eibach Pro Kit 1'' front 1'' rear drop w/KYB Excel-G's on 18'' 235/40/18 and I'm experiencing front inner tire wear especially on one side. They aligned it as close as they could but the front camber is still out of spec. Not really seeing any inner wear when I run my 16'' stock wheels & tires 225/55/16 or my 16'' snow tires 215/60/16. So I guess I need to order the SPC front upper control arms w/adjustable ball joints? Although I've heard people with a similar set up saying you don't need a camber kit with a 1'' drop and that the car should be able to be aligned with the factory adjustments? Also are the SPC arms good quality?

Last edited by 98GS400GUY; 03-08-16 at 12:57 PM.
Old 03-09-16, 12:06 PM
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98GS400GUY
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Any thoughts?


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