Camber problem?

[Veetec]

Okay, here is the situation:
I´ve dropped my 5th gen Lude with an Eibach Prokit and Koni yellows on stock tires/ rims. I dunno how much it´s lowered but there is a gap of two thin fingers left on the front (between wheel wells and tires) and about 1 1/2 thin fingers on the rear. Camber seems to be within specs and tire wear seems to be okay, too.

So here are my problems:
1.) I seem to have more negative camber on the rear.
2.) Sometimes the car feels `nervous´ depending on speed. I mean it´s kind of difficult to keep track sometimes. (Do you know what I mean? I dunno how to explain it. )

My questions are:
1.) Should I get a camber kit or won´t help it with my problems? And if yes, which brand? Ingalls is very expensive but I dunno if Progress (or Progressive?) or others are good brands.
2.) If I would correct most of my negative camber (I want to keep some negative camber because we´ve got a lot of corners over here!) with a kit would my tires scrap on the wheel wells or even hit on them?

I really need some fast help with that because I´m going to order a Neuspeed strut bar from the US in the next days and then I could order it all together.
Thanx in advance!

[Veetec]

Okay, here´s the new situation:
I´ve found my alignement printout again. Camber and toe seems to be okay on the front axle (front left camber/ toe: -0°49´/ 0°01´// front right camber/ toe: -0°30´/ 0°00). It´s a bit different on the rear axle. Camber seems to be okay there, too (rear left camber: -1°20´// rear right camber: -1°39´). But the toe is a bit out of spec (rear left toe: -0°02´// rear right toe: 0°23´).
So what is your opinion about that? Is it fine like it is now or should I change anything? Maybe the "washer trick" on the rear and then a new alignement?! Please give me some input about this because I don´t have got ANY idea.
Thanx in advance!

[flylwsi]

lowered vehicles in general tend to track along with the grooves in the road...

it's worse with directional tires...

your tracking isn't that bad though... the road naturally has grooves in it from where cars are running at, you just notice it more, b/c your suspension is more sensitive...

your numbers look fine...

the rear camber is usually worse, im not sure why... my 3gen lude is like that ...

[rybred]

my camber on the rear gets out of line way more than the front too!, and heard the only way to correct it fully is with a camber kit, even with the alignment, it will never fully correct it!

[ihshaikh]

hi all,

interesting thread. so whats the conclusion?

I am thinking of Eibach springs and leaving everything else stock. will the car have alignment issues? as camber kits etc, will be an expensive job for me.

basically, I am looking for equal or better ride quality and handling, and obviously a lowered look.

regards

[flylwsi]

the design of teh suspension on our cars lends itself to negative camber regardless of the drop.
the short upper/long lower control arm setup means that when you drop your car, no matter how much, you will have negative camber. the struts don't affect camber, they affect ride quality. if you have new, shorter, stiffer struts to deal with the firmer springs, you'll get a better ride

the amount of camber depends on the car... most of the time you will not have too much of a problem with 1-1.5 negative... as that's what i have... it'll just wear your tires a bit quicker on the inside...

at the same time, it helps you attack corners way better than stock. it's a double edged sword.

[b16a3sol]

i would say that its because of the toe that you are feeling more tracking than normal. each of the back tires are trying to go perfectly straight, but since the toe is off, only one can do it at any given time. this is why you feel it pulling back and forth. this makes your tires get eaten up real quick, much more so than the camber which just makes one part of the tire bear more weight than the other. i would say that if nothing else, you correct your toe to save your tires, and help with some of your tracking problem at the same time.

[jc836]

Try to get the Toew-in to spec and as close from side to side a spossible. When a car is lowered the Caster can also be affected-mainly if you put kits on. On a 5th gen it is adjustable to a degree. Again the big trick is to get both side matched as close as possible.
Washers- are NOT a solution for 5th gen Preludes. You really are not going to do anything with the Camber with the "washer trick". If you want the rear tighter, then you will need to get kits from either Specialty or Ingalls. You are very close to spec at both ends of the car now, but getting the settings closer to how the car was built will make the handling more like before the drop.