After having my car wheel aligned 3 times here are the final numbers that I'm happy with

Front

1.75 Camber
1.00mm Toe Out

Rear

2.50 Camber
1.00mm Toe In

The slight toe out fixed my problem where I felt at normal speeds the steering wheel would "float" as if there was no resistance in the steering wheel.

I have been to many wheel aligners who always state that there equipment is calibrated. Well after all the hassle I went through I went back to Heasmans who normally does my wheel alignments and guess what. My Toe at the rear was 7mm. Well no wonder I was not happy..

Heasmans are old school where their wheel aligner is mechanical and does not depend on sensors to work out the numbers.

 

http://www.heasmans.com.au/index.html

 

Front 1.75 Camber

How did you manage -1.75deg of camber at the front? The 350Z has a non-adjustable camber at the front and it is usually around -0.5deg from the factory. I would love to have around -1.5deg there, but as far as I'm awayre, you need a camber kit for that. So how did you managed that?

 

have you tried Spinning Wheels and Tires in Woolloomooloo?
I think they're pretty good with all their racing experience

 

I think you'll find that's total, not per side.

 

I think you'll find that's total, not per side.

Aaaah, I see. Though, that still makes it -0.9deg per side. ie. double of what I would expect from the factory car without any suspension mods. I'd still like to know how that was done ... or is this just a 'freak' factory allignment (or an odd alignemnt reading)?

 

Well assuming an even split side to side you're looking at 0.875deg per side or about 52 minutes per side and that is within the achieveable range.

 

Well assuming an even split side to side you're looking at 0.875deg per side or about 52 minutes per side and that is within the achieveable range.

I don't follow ... you mention 'achievable range', but I was (and still am) under the impression that there is no adjustment or way to make the front have different camber but what it comes with from factory. Am I understanding this wrong?

 

I haven't looked at it myself to see how it adjusts but I believe you're correct that there's no intended adjustment. However I'm sure there's a little free play and you can also sacrifice toe for camber. I could be wrong there, it may be caster. I'm not an alignment expert but basically there is a very small range of adjustment through tradeoffs.

I'm sure Nathan or Pete could give a slightly more confident and accurate answer.

 

There is no camber or caster adjustment on the front suspension
of the Z.
The biggest problem in getting a big range of camber adjustment in the front is the big height difference between the upper & lower front hub outer pivot points.
You need to move the top A arm in a lot just get only a small amount of neg camber.
There are some beutifully made top A arms being made available on this sight, but they dont offer much in range for track use.
Even for club days to get a good lap time in this car you need at least 3.5 neg camber.

 

Even for club days to get a good lap time in this car you need at least 3.5 neg camber.

Thanks for the info Pete (it is Pete, right?). I would love to have a lot more (than stocl) negative camber at the front. Would you have a suggestion of how to go about it?

What do you think of the available camberkit/s for the 350Z ... I think there is one being made localy. Do you know if they allow for 'sufficient' adjustment on the front wheels?

 

K Mac visited our workshop in late October last year to take some measurements. I lent them a top arm for a day or two as they were trying to rush through a prototype for the Las Vegas SEMA show.
I never did get to see what they produced but I did say they should make it with plenty of adjustment range, caster as well if possible.
If I get time tomorrow I will contact them to see what they came up with

 

The only information I was ever able to get was 3 degrees of adjustment and price of $380. Could never clarify if this was camber, caster or both. At that price I would've bought a set but they didn't return any of my other queries.

When I'm ready I'll look at the Esprit ones (4 deg adjustment both camber and caster) or the ones BJ has made up.

 

Just got off the phone from K-Mac.
The original design has been discarded & Kevin is in the final stages of production of there new top A arm.
It should be on the shelf & ready for shipment next Friday.
It has + or - adjustment of 4 deg by way of two turnbuckles, this also allows for caster adjustment.
It will come with 2 sets of inner bushes supplied, spherical bushes for raceing & urathane for street.
The outer ball joint is a new manufactured unit
Aprox cost A$ 550 to $600 & would consider a Club or Group buy
I can't comment on the quality as I have not seen them.
K- Mac have been around for over 35 Years

 

Thanks for the info Pete. Looks like we could have something here ... not cheap, but at least there's an option now.

 

Could explain why they never got back to me but I don't think a quick note explaining they were redeveloping the product and to check back later was too much to expect.

 

Any idea how much it would cost to fit something like that?

 

Sorry for the late reply. Been working to much. It is -1.75 per side. The reason that I have that much is because the car has been lowered.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Been working to much. It is -1.75 per side. The reason that I have that much is because the car has been lowered.

hmmm, that is an interesting side-effect. How much did you lower it by to get the -1.75deg per side? May be cheaper (and more helpfull) than the camber-kit.

 

About 15mm front and 30mm rear