SO ive been doing alot of research since i lowered my z and i know i need to buy a camber kit for the rear to get it back closer to spec because right now the negative camber in the rear is just too much and with that in mine i have two questions.

1) does anyone know of a good place for alignment in las vegas, i moved out here about 2 years ago and have yet to fine a shop im impressed with and since i can do most of the work myself it hasnt been a problem but i cant align it myself and id rather not go to firestone or someplace that i feel dont do the best job they can. not for a performance car anyways.

2) I drive the car pretty aggressively so i was wondering what your guys opinion is on where i should have the camber set at, i figure if im gonna spend the money for something completely adjustable why put it back to stock specs? i mean unless thats the best but i find that hard to believe that its set up for aggressive driving from the factory.

Thanks for any input!


2008 350z
245/40R18 fronts
275/35R18 Rears
eibach performance springs lowered 1 inch.

 

I guess you need to keep doing research, if you did you would know to check with your local Z group , and you would also know that your rear tires are shorter than your front. hint 275/40 in the rear. You may have also run into one of us vegas guys at the track

 

I looked for a vegas group in the forums and didnt see one, glad to know one actually exist, when do you guys meet next? and the rear tires are 275/35? not sure what youre talking about.

 

research front tire height of stock fronts , research front tire height of your chosen tires , research tire height of stock rear tires , research tire height of chosen rear tires. What is wrong? http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html this link helps, then read the top 100 questions and also check out 350zendotorg

 

I already have tires on the z, its already been lowered, i just need to get the camber kit and get it realigned, do you know of a good place here in town for alignment?

 

Stay within factory ranges but let your alignment guy know you want to be on the aggressive end.

As for the tire sizes, if you have the electrical nannies on the car it could cause problems if the diameters are off by more than a certain amount. Also, the speedo can be thrown off if the sizing is off by too much. For the sizes you've shown on a base car I think you'll be fine (never tried it though, I'm using 275-40-18s in the rear).

 

It does have traction control but i turn it off everytime i start the car so thats not important and according to one of those tire size websites when my speedo says 60 im doing 59.7mph which is close enough in my opinion. thanks for the input. biggest issue im having is where to take it to get it aligned here in vegas, id rather not go to sears or something like that i dont trust they understand performance. im from SoCal and know a few places id take it there but that doesnt do me any good here.

 

from what i understand (and i just started looking at this myself so im no expert) in the rear the camber can be anywhere from negative 1.1-2.1 and be in the oem range. i have been looking around and it seems that people that track their car are going around negative 2-2.5 so that they are either at the end of the oem range or just outside of it by -.5

what they are talking about with the tires is just that usually you want your rear tire to be either the same diameter or larger by no more that 3% of the front tire. your setup is about .5% larger in the front which will make your vdc will have a fit. from what i have read even if you turn your vdc off it is still not all the way of or something, not quite sure what they mean by that, maybe someone else can chime in on that. best bet would to probably stay in that range just in case.

hope this helps.

 

thanks for the input, i dont know how we got started on the tire topic all i needed was the camber question, im on my second set of tires for the car and theyve been this size for over a year without any issues besides the bad wear but thats just because its running way too much negative camber and i havent fixed it. and if the vdc doesnt go all the way off i wouldnt know, mine lets me spin the tires without flashing that stupid light or cutting off the throttle at all so i dont have any complains, just a pain to turn it off everytime i get in the car specially if i forget!

 

Correct. Racers may run 1 to 3 degrees of negative camber for handling advantage. In a turn negative camber will put more rubber on the road on the outside tires. The setting will also wear tires but the objective is to win races not save tires.

That said you will have to figure a compromise suitable for your needs.

 

You will most likely have to find a performance or racing shop. Once our cars are lowered
and a kit or an added lip getting them on a lift is a pita. Call around to see if they have an in ground setup. Only bad thing is places like this cost like double what the mainstream places do. My local porsche race shop charges $300 f and b.

 

I havent taken the car to a track yet but its on my list of things to do, either way the car still gets driven hard on a daily basis. (theyre just so fun to drive!) i know its gonna be different for everyone i was just kinda looking for a consensus of what everyone else has been or is running to kinda get an idea of a starting point. i know negative is good but right now its so negative its eatting tires and hurting my cornering IMO, the more tire i can get on the ground the happier ill be! it seems like from what im reading everyones running stock specs so i guess ill start there and see how it does!

 

We have a few good shops, custom specs and no extra cost. Between the autocross , drift , Z, and trackday community we have good connections.

 

40 in the front..35 in the rear? Whaa??

 

^^theres nothing wrong with that especially since hes running 245/275. Maybe a diferent story if it were 245/245 or 245/255

 

So correction, im running 235/40R18's up front and 275/35R18's in the rear, i know my tire size has really bothered some of you so figured id clear it up for everyone!

I ordered a set of megan racing camber arms last night so when they get here ill tell you all what i think of them!

 

You will still need toe bolts with those arms.

 

Can anyone confirm that? because everyone seems to have their own opinion and ive read atleast 10-20 different ways of how it has to be handled, figured id get these arms in and see if i can get it aligned and if not buy the bolts next. i drive a work truck all week so if the cars down a few days it wont really effect me much i just want it right.

 

The camber arm effects both camber and toe, the toe bolt effects both toe and camber. One of the two is useless, both are needed to get the job done.

BTW i charge $40 to do the toe bolts if you don't have the needed tools to grind out the subframe.

 

Ive got everything i need to slot it, thanks though!