Rear Wheel Alignment

[Tim Polzin]

I have a 72 with 195/60/15's on EMPI alloys. I have been attempting to set the camber and toe in/out of the rear wheels. I've added shims to both sides to decrease the negative camber. I now have a total of about 1/2 inch and 3/8 inch of shims on the left and right sides respectively. This brings in the camber to about -1 degree. Is this a lot of shim?

Secondly, on the right side, I'm able to get about neutral toe in/out before running out of fender, on the left side I still have a little toe out and about 1 mm clearence between the tire and fender.

Is it likely my control arms are fatigued or warped? (By the way, the suspension consoles are rust free and solid)

[Wayne 962]

Hi Tim,

According to the factory manuals, intermediate shims are available in 2.3 and 4mm thick. A 1 mm shim results in appoximate 10' change of camber.

With respect to your wheels, they are not stock, so I believe that the offset is not properly set up for a 914. If you had the stock wheels on there, then the camber adjustments might make a bit more sense. I know that the EMPIs have a slightly different offset (designed I believe for VW bugs).

Hope this helps,

Wayne

[Tim Polzin]

I took off the left control arm yesterday and compared it to another. The old one has a definite twist when compared to the new(er) one I had. Putting the new one on seems to have cured the need for added shims and solves most of my toe-in/fender clearance problems.

[Wayne 962]

Excellent! An easy fix!!!

-Wayne