Front Camber

[thejester03]

Ok I bought a 93 coupe about a month ago, and my front camber is way off. Im getting ready to replace the rack, so i dont wanna mess with having it aligned just yet. How can i adjust the camber so i dont go through tires every 2,000 miles? Its a totaly stock suspension by the way and its neg. camber i beleive, tires wearing on the inside. Thanks.

[Chernobyl]

get your toe aligned, and your tires won't get so chewed up.

toe eats tires, not camber. some negative camber on the front of S13s is normal.

has the car been in a front end collision?

[The Hamsterball]

Front camber and caster is not adjustable on stock S13.

[thejester03]

Well, I know the toe is off too, but like i said, Im not gonna mess with that till i get my rack done. Its only wearing the inside of the tire. Went through a pair in about 2,000 miles!!! I know it been wrecked, but other than alignment(and leaky rack), every thing seems fine. There has to be some way to adjust camber, atleast a little. One mechanic said that you can unbolt the top of the strut and move it, but Im not so sure about that.

[krustindumm]

liste to them. adjust your toe.

camber can be adjusted by sliding the strut at the top of the strut tower, or with adjustable/eccentric bolts where the strut meets the spindle.

[thejester03]

Ok, thanks for the help guys, I apreciate it. How do you adjust it by sliding the strut, do you just losen the strut at the top of the strut tower?

[thejester03]

Bump, Need a little more help.

[Chernobyl]

Ok, thanks for the help guys, I apreciate it. How do you adjust it by sliding the strut, do you just losen the strut at the top of the strut tower?


This does generally nothing. It can get you MAYBE 1/4 degree of camber.

Why are you so worried about camber. It's been said hundreds of times, and twice in this thread already... adjust your toe and your tire wear problems will dissapear.

[thejester03]

YOU guys dont seem to get it!!!! We are talkin like 3-4 degrees of camber, i understand about toe, but i'm runnin on like a 3 inch wide patch of tire. Im not gonna waste the money to get it aligned till i get the rack finished. How hard is that to understand people!! All I want is for some one like Krustindumm to explain how to adjust it till i get it profesionaly aligned. Simple as that.

[jmauld]

They've already told you that it can't be adjusted without buying parts. At this point, you would be buying parts to cover up a problem that you have. You need to locate the bent part that is giving you that much camber, and replace it.

[thejester03]

"camber can be adjusted by sliding the strut at the top of the strut tower,"

Ok, so why have two mechanics said this? I understand it may not be adjustabe very much, but a harsh curb check can tweek your camber, so how do mechanics correct this? If you dont know what Im talking about, please dont respond by trying to act like you know. What im asking, is how can you slide the strut at the top of the strut tower?

[jmauld]

It's not going to get rid of your problem, but here goes.

Loosen the three upper strut mount bolts, there will be a small amount of play in the upper strut mount.
Have a friend push the strut in towards the engine, while you retorque the upper strut mount bolts. Lower the car.

Any good mechanic would fix this problem by replacing the bent parts.

[krustindumm]

http://img295.echo.cx/img295/7122/strut7mw.jpg

most cars are adjuatable only at the top through that methode. aftermarket kits often use smaller than OEM bolts at the top spindle bolt so you dont have to modify the strut, but still have flexibility.

[thejester03]

the problem with replacing the bent parts is that i cant tell whats bent. Thanks again for all your help guys.

[jmauld]

If you have excessive negative camber, I'd take a good look at the shocks.

Oh and above I said push the strut "IN" towards the engine. That's what you do if you want more negative camber. Pull the strut out away from the engine to get rid of camber.

[thejester03]

The shocks LOOK fine, and are still in great shape functionaly. Im just baffled.