ok... what I would like to do (correct me if I'm wrong) is max out my camber using the coilover's camber plates to allow the 'struts' to lean more inward, then using the factory adjustment for camber to bring it back to my desired setting. This would allow be to change the suspension geometry and it would allow me keep using the 5zigens without rubbing...
So you don't want max camber, but just to prevent rubbing I am assuming... This could work, but you run the risk of destroying your strut. When a load is put onto the wheels you will put a sheering force at the top of the strut. Meaning, the wheel is not moving parallel to the strut, which is ideal. It will move upwards, but at a large angle compared to the strut. I would not recommend this as you could be replacing your coilovers after your next pothole. It also seems like you will be getting a new alignment frequently.
I would have to look closely at the angle of the strut in relation to the suspension travel.i.e. as the spring compresses are you going to be placing sideways loads on the strut rod. I know that there are some loads anyway. The best way is to put the susp. through its range of motion(easiest is without the spring installed).Maybe you could average it out.Put them both near the middle.
The theory I'm coming from, is EVERY single race car that I've built/worked on, has either had struts the are angled ( )/ \( ), or had the single seater top mount system...
Example...: Hold both arms straight out and move them up and down. The articulation doesn't move up or down, it moves in a circular motion around the roll center of the vehicle. i.e. I don't think that it would put any added stress on the strut itself, I would think that it would marginally reduce it... I guess it would also depend on the length of the lower control arm also
Youre struts shouldn't rub youre tires, what you should do is set youre struts at zero and even out the camber with the bolts, then set the plates to the desired camber setting.
They don't rub the struts, the edge of the fender, if you slant the strut in, it will bring the wheel inward a tad, and then the camber bolt will set the camber back to its original state. I could be completely wrong and WAY off here... :dunno
ok, nevermind, I guess I'm way off on this. I was thinking that no only would you gain more room by doing so, but by altering the angle the strut in relation to the lower control arm as much as possible, it would make your camber curve more aggressive
Only when I got to the mountains... I know I'll have to raise it quite a bit when I do a corner balance
If its rubbing on the outside the only thing you can do is put more camber in it or roll the fenders. No matter how you get the camber the outside of you're tire is going to end up in the same place. Matt Oh and lower is not better, the more you lower the car the further out of the optimum range of the camber curb you get.
Oh I know, its just jacked up in the rear real bad since that the only place it was rubbing, so when I do corner weights, I'll have to raise the front quite a bit. (It'll be just tad lower than stock
Agree with the susp. moves in an arc. My point was trying to center the strut within that arc. II.e. not loading it excessively in a certain direction.I think I understan what you are saying Greg.It makres sense to me what you are trying to do just not sure how it all works out in the real world. You need to swipe a susp. setup from work and adapt it to your car...
:squint: I wasn't thinking about doing it to fit the wheels... I was looking for a more aggressive camber curve, but the extra room would just be a bonus
Is there anywhere someone has talked about doing a similar thing to their coilovers? Surely some suspension wizard has thought about this before.
HA, I found ther perfect thread! http://www.iwsti.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56813 Damn, I thought I was going to be original on this one