Eibach + Alignment +/- Camber

Hi all alero owners,

I'm from France, and due to your forum I decided to buy Eibach springs for my 2.4 Alero mod 2002.
The difference is enormous. cornering is much better.

BUT, my alignment seems to be around +4°, and camber can't be changed.
does anyone knows the value of alignment (in Europe we are used to say it is between +2 and -2°, depending on the make, model and the way they check it, with or without loading the car)
Concerning camber, same question : does anyone knows the value especially with eibach springs ? And is there a way to modify it ?

Does anyone experienced with Eibach springs and alignment and camber ?

Thanks all

[sound_xtreme]

toe and camber was perfect on mine when i had eibachs. should EASILY be able to get it back to spec with just eibachs

Ya, I had my car aligned last year right after i installed Intrax. The Camber front and rear was in spec. I see no problem with Eibach

Or, if it makes ya feel better you can always go through Summit or equivelent and get some fast-cam bolts. If you use 2 per wheel they claim u get +/-3deg adjustment. I actually have a set on my front airstruts and they help.

Originally posted by Oldsmopimp@Jun 30 2005, 03:23 AM
Or, if it makes ya feel better you can always go through Summit or equivelent and get some fast-cam bolts.

Quoted post

what does this bolts look like .. and maybe... where 2 get them?

Your opinion is very interesting for me, especially sound_extreme one, because you got eibach.

If I ask so, that's because after the eibach were on my car, we checked the alignment, and it was + 4° in the horizontal plan.
When i drive the car, i don't feel any problem, neither under the rain or in very sharp curves. The brakes are more efficient, especially in curves.
In the parking lot, when the wheels are at the maximum, there is alway the same sound on the soil.

BUT, as the drop is nearly 4 cm , the geometry is obviously different, and I wonder if it would be interesting to buy some parts to adjust the camber, in order to check the alignment in the vertical (camber) and horizontal (you call it toe ?).

So, in your case, with eibach, you didn't changed the camber or the toe ? everything was perfect. Because, if there's something to do, I do prefer to make once.

Gwenael

I used springtech springs on mine which have a little bit more drop than the Eibach's. When I installed mine, I pulled out on the spindle assembly a bit to get as much positive camber as I could. I think I'm running about 1.1 degree negative in the rear, and about a half a degree negative on the front.
I think I may still have my spec sheet at the shop, if so I'll double check.
You can get the camber to change a little. Loosen the two bolts on the bottom of the strut and pull out a bit on the top of the tire, while you pull outward, have a buddy tighten the bolts. I recommend you do this on a lift, and or if you know an alignment guy maybe he could do that for you. Then set the toe.

Positive 4 degrees? To me the front tires would sit like this \ /.
Usually after lowering it would be negative like this / \.
Hope this helps,

You can get a camber kit at www.summitracing.com Im almost positive thats where I got mine.

Its just an accentric bolt that replaces the stock ones. (where the spindle mounts to the strut). When you rotate the bolt, the offset lobe pushes the spindle either out or in, which alters camber +/-(within a range of +/-3degress). When you acheive the proper reading you tighten them up and your done. I belive it was like 45bux or so for 2 sets, which is 4 bolts.

[sound_xtreme]

Originally posted by Oldsmopimp@Jun 30 2005, 10:43 PM
You can get a camber kit at www.summitracing.com Im almost positive thats where I got mine.

Its just an accentric bolt that replaces the stock ones. (where the spindle mounts to the strut). When you rotate the bolt, the offset lobe pushes the spindle either out or in, which alters camber +/-(within a range of +/-3degress). When you acheive the proper reading you tighten them up and your done. I belive it was like 45bux or so for 2 sets, which is 4 bolts.

Quoted post

stop recommending this to people with drop springs. first of all, they suck big fat nuts. second of all if they DO have negative camber it is going to be a fraction, so lets say they have -.5% camber. I know they are "adjustable" but if you ask anyone who have used them long term they will let you know that the bolt WILL rotate. So you could end up with +2.5% or maybe -3.5%. reeeaaal nice.

Yes chevalero, after alignment everything was to spec when I had my Eibach springs. Now that I have coilovers however, I have a drop of about 3-4 inches. My camber up front is approximately -.75% and the rears are well lets just say negative by quite a bit(I'll guess -2%). Since our cars are front wheel drive the rear camber is irrelevant in my opinion, unless you plan on racing of some sort. I havent noticed any abnormal wear on the rear tires after 20,000 miles or so. Front tires have VERY even wear, although they do wear fast, but that is most likely because I drove the car very hard.

Just make sure your toe(horizontal) alignment is to spec and leave it be. You can have the camber checked, but there should be no need to adjust it, it may be off by -.20% or so, probably less. Nothing to worry about.

THANKS a lot M sound_extreme.
I will soon go to my dealer and make him perform the oil checking plus alignment (toe), as camber is ment for racing I guess.

I was affraid with toe and camber modifications after eibach springs. But now everything is nice

I will tell you the result of toe checking.

Now my alero is able to corner a little bit faster than a french or german car !

Have a good day.

If you'd like, here is a very good technical article on the major aspects of suspension alignments:

Alignment article

The caster setting on these cars is not adjustable, and it will generally be about +4 degrees. Camber is recommended to be zero to slightly negative. More negative camber makes for better handling (to a point) at the expense of tire wear. Also, negative camber causes the car to feel "nervous"; you may experience some moderate wandering or tramlining, and you may notice a slight degredation in high-speed directional stability.
Generally you want a bit more negative camber in front than in the rear.

For maximum tire life, you would run zero (0) toe. I personally run a bit of toe-out on the front, for sharper steering response (this unfortunately causes slightly more tire wear); and a smidge of toe-in out back (for better passive rear stability). Under no circumstances do you want the rear wheels toed-out; it makes cornering very tricky and the car will want to rotate on you.

Very interesting and a very good link in your reply, I recommend it, I learned a lot.
in conclusion, toe = 0 as far as possible, but a little bit better with toe out front and toe in back.
Considering camber, it should be positive or = 0, negative is for racing...and to adjust camber, some new parts are necessary.

thanks a lot everybody. Those things become clearer now.

Have a good day.

[dbailey]

Originally posted by RoninKouga+Jun 30 2005, 05:16 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RoninKouga @ Jun 30 2005, 05:16 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Oldsmopimp@Jun 30 2005, 03:23 AM
Or, if it makes ya feel better you can always go through Summit or equivelent and get some fast-cam bolts.

Quoted post

what does this bolts look like .. and maybe... where 2 get them?

Quoted post

[/b][/quote]


Go to www.ebay.com and on the search line type alero camber. Hit enter and you'll see the kits. Good luck!

mfuller's post said almost all that needed to be said.

If you have more negative camber in the rear than the front, your car will have a tendency to understeer. If you don't plan on road racing or autocrossing, you don't need any at all. If you have negative camber and any kind of toe-in or -out, your tires will not last long at all, but as long as you set your toe to 0, it should be OK. With this setup, however, you are giving up some straight-line stability and your initial turn-in will be slightly quicker, so just be aware.