I have a 2003 350z, looking into lowering it 1" all around. There is already a good amound of negative camber, does this get worse when I lower the car? What can you use to correct this and how much does it cost?

 

I lowered mine w/ Eibach's & yes I needed camber arms. I used SPC arms in the rear & Cusco upper control arms up front.

 

I am lowered 1.5 inches all away around on Tanabe NF210 springs. And have had no problems with tire wear so far. Only had an alignment when I installed the springs. Had this setup for 1 year with no problems. I have a 2004 base model 350Z.

 

does it look cambered though drifter23?

 

The rear tires have a slight angle to them. I have attached a pic of my car for your viewing pleasure. But, I don't know if the picture will help you out.

 

A bad toe setting will wear out a tire exponentially faster than camber will.

Camber is not that bad for tire wear as long as it is not too far off. Most vehicles have some camber from the factory.

The difference is perhaps a tire that should last 20,000 will only go about 18,000

 

drifter23

can you post a scan of your alignment sheet?

thx

pp

 

I tried posting the scan of my alignment sheet but, couldn't because the file was to big. If, you want it just PM me your email address and I can email it to you.

 

thanks drifter, PM'd

pp

 

how much correction you may or may not need will have as much to do with your wheel and tire combo as it does your drop

Every car is different...they are literally like fingerprints. 2 cars with the same drop can have vastly different before/after alignment settings. To further complicate things, 2 cars with the same drop (same springs) running different wheels and tires can also have dramatically different alignment settings. As you move towards wheels that sit further outwards (wide wheels with lower offsets) and the wider tires that these wheels command, any amount you are "out of spec" alignment wise becomes even more exaggerated.

The short answer - you may or may not need to get aftermarket parts to bring the car into spec. The only way to know for sure is install your springs, drive on them for a few days to allow the stock rubber mounts to resettle, then have your alignment checked. From there, you can decide for yourself if you need to buy these parts or not.

Slightly more camber than factory specs is a GOOD thing. A car that runs, let's say 1 degree before a drop and 1.7 degrees afterwards is not going to suddenly start eating tires. As mentioned, toe is the tire killer, not camber. Front toe is adjustable from the factory. Rear toe sort of is, as there is a bolt that has a minute amount of movement to it. For some, the movement this bolt gives you is enough, for others it's nowhere close, and they usually get the SPC kit (most affordable option) to bring it back into spec

Hope that helps

 

for those that are interested

drifter23's alignment sheet is all within spec except -1.6 front camber. Most importantly they were able to get the toe in spec. The camber is much better than I was expecting with a 1.5inch drop.

drifter - what wheels/tires are were you running on the alignment rack? The alignment sheet says base 17" wheels. If you are running these - the high offset, narrow tires may explain why your alignment numbers are good compared to others.

thx

pp

 

I am running the stock 17 inch wheels with Nitto NT-555. The tire sizes that I am running are Fronts 245/45-17 and Rears 255/45-17.

 

if you do a search for our screen name and alignment, my specs are posted somewhere too. Keep in mind my car is VERY low, and I've got full adjustment on everything front and rear.

drifter's numbers seem spot on to me - 1.6 front camber is right in the sweet spot of where these cars like to be. I run a touch more on my own car, but it's only due to personal preference

 

Z1 Performance,
I'm running into the same issue because I recently installed my suspension with only a 0.5 inch drop all around, I have the SPC camber kit/toe bolts and cusco A-Arms ready to go but waiting around for a few days so everything settles in. Just curious if factory components would be enough to correct my mild drop, would I really need to install these parts or just sell em to someone with a crazier drop?

 

abui01 - the short answer, is that it depends. If you are on stock wheels and tires, I would bet you'll come close to getting back to stock toe easily. Camber is not factory adjustable so that will end up where it ends up.

The other thing to consider too is that not all springs drop their advertised amount - some are more, some are less. The resultant changes to your alignment also are dependant upon what your alignment specs were before the drop.