QuickChange Camber Plates?

[dfhtrhjn]

I was wondering if anyone had experience with aftermarket camber plates for the front suspension?

I was looking at these QuickChange Camber Plates from our host to give me more flexibility with my pretty low front end.

1974 Porsche 911 S Coupe/Targa - Suspension Upgrades & Performance - Page 4

Has anyone tried these?

[Discseven]

That's a good question "DF." Year after year I watch my tires wear on the inside with the comment... "Can't adjust the camber any more." I'm wondering if with these there would be more adjustment. Or, is it simpler to grind something to allow for more adjustment.

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by Discseven

That's a good question "DF." Year after year I watch my tires wear on the inside with the comment... "Can't adjust the camber any more." I'm wondering if with these there would be more adjustment. Or, is it simpler to grind something to allow for more adjustment.

If you are wearing out tires on inside you need les camber not more.

[JeremyD]

I have these - they gave me about a full degree and 1/2 of camber adjustment - Good for a track car - not sure you need them for a street car.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by Dueller

If you are wearing out tires on inside you need les camber not more.

Less negative camber.

Sherwood

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

Less negative camber.

Sherwood

One more post here "DF" and I'll stop side-tracking your thread.

Photo below is not my tire but it's a good wear example of my tires --- both front and back. Then a diagram of pos and neg camber for clarity. Indeed it is less negative camber I'm looking for as Sherwood states.

[dfhtrhjn]

Awesome, so I think this will work. The front is pretty low, and strut tower's top (where the camber adjustment is) is touching the body by the fender. With a little more a room, I could drive with stock alignment.

These plates claim to be easily adjusted, which would let me reapply the negative camber when needed.

[Driven97]

FWIW, toe has a lot more effect on tire wear than camber. When the tires are pointed towards (or in the case of toe-out, away) from each other, they fight each other and drag slightly laterally across the surface of the road. That adds up.

Running reasonable camber (say, less than 3° - not a hard number) and minimal/zero toe won't give you funky tire wear.

Some camber is good for handling as it counteracts the body lean, keeping the outside tire more square to the surface of the road.

Also of note - I bought the cheap eBay camber plates. The spherical bearings disintegrated within a few months. I bought better off the shelf bearings to pop in there and since they've been great, but save yourself the headache and go with the better brand from the start.

[dfhtrhjn]

Yea, so I'm not really getting any funny tire wear. I got everything to stock when I put it on the alignment rack except -0.7 on front camber, which isn't bad. I was hoping the camber plate would give me room to go totally stock.

I looked at the spherical bearing one you're talking about as well, but thanks to your review it's off the list of options

If I don't hear any bad reviews on this QuickChange plate, I'll probably order it.

[911pcars]

FWIW, the opening in the chassis for the factory camber plate can be enlarged slightly with a grinder to provide more camber range.

Sherwood

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by Driven97

FWIW, toe has a lot more effect on tire wear than camber.

100% agree, don't assume it's a chamber issue. That much inner tire wear can easily be a toe issue. If the car drifts around a lot, like it's constantly darting left/right I'd look at the toe settings.

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

FWIW, the opening in the chassis for the factory camber plate can be enlarged slightly with a grinder to provide more camber range.

Sherwood

- Removing some of the under coating in that area where the plate is may also help achieve chamber.

- If you lowered the ride height at the front you might never be able to achieve 0deg chamber because as you lower the height the bottom of the tire kicks outward and thus increases chamber. Some cars you can lower the ride height and still achieve 0deg chamber but I've seen other cars where you can't.

[Chuck.H]

I have the style where you bolt down the plate and then there is a slot for easy camber adjustment. One issue I have is when you are trying to achieve zero camber then the shock will be all the way towards the fender, and this puts the large nut so close that you can't get a socket on it. So you're forced to use the open end of a wrench, and it's hard to get it torqued very tight. I've had it move when I've hit very large potholes.

And with my car, I can't get to zero camber unless I raise the height a little from where it is...

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 380k miles

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by dfhtrhjn

Awesome, so I think this will work. The front is pretty low, and strut tower's top (where the camber adjustment is) is touching the body by the fender. With a little more a room, I could drive with stock alignment.

These plates claim to be easily adjusted, which would let me reapply the negative camber when needed.

Sounds good Steve. How-bout some photos of plates in position.

Originally Posted by 911pcars

FWIW, the opening in the chassis for the factory camber plate can be enlarged slightly with a grinder to provide more camber range.

Sherwood

Thanks for grinding note Sherwood. Once ground, are there any suggestions on treating the metal to prevent rust in that area?

I'm with you guys on toe. My alignment is done by a reputable place with the lastest equipment (and they do 911s all the time)... so I have no reason to believe they can't get my toe right. Tracking = excellent. My car has been lowered so this is likely the problem in my case as Sal points out.

[dfhtrhjn]

I should have started by posting a picture. I drove my other 911 in today so I'll have to take the picture when I get home. I'm glad I'm not the only person to have run into this problem.

On a different note from Chuck; I had no camber problems till I brought the fine adjustment screw all the way down. I also don't want to raise it to fix the camber because with the front splitter, rear tail, and current stance, it holds the road better than it ever has.

[LJ851]

^ Did you reset your toe after you lowered the front end?

[dfhtrhjn]

Yep! I did the wheel alignment after the suspension changes. Everything is set to stock alignment numbers except the front camber now that it's lower than before.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by dfhtrhjn

I should have started by posting a picture. I drove my other 911 in today so I'll have to take the picture when I get home. I'm glad I'm not the only person to have run into this problem.

On a different note from Chuck; I had no camber problems till I brought the fine adjustment screw all the way down. I also don't want to raise it to fix the camber because with the front splitter, rear tail, and current stance, it holds the road better than it ever has.

As long as you know the source of the tire wear. FWIW, you're right. It's excessive neg camber, not toe wear. Each has a distinctive wear pattern. Others can look up examples.

Sherwood

[kjchristopher]

Originally Posted by Discseven

I'm with you guys on toe. My alignment is done by a reputable place with the lastest equipment (and they do 911s all the time)... so I have no reason to believe they can't get my toe right. Tracking = excellent. My car has been lowered so this is likely the problem in my case as Sal points out.

Getting toe "right" doesn't necessarily mean "zero toe". I've put so many thousand miles on obscene camber numbers it isn't funny. However, on my 911 I do run toe front and rear intentionally, and live with the tire wear.

[moneymanager]

FWIW, 0.7° negative is kind of nice from a handling point of view and you may not even notice the tire wear, or you may be willing to tolerate what there is to derive the benefits.
I'd ask Elephant, who I think makes the product, if it can be used in the way you want. You may install it and find you can't get the +0.7° (from where you are now) that you want. There aren't very many Porsche people seeking positive camber which is what this product will need to allow to help you!