So ive been wanting to lower my g35 for some time now, but this whole camber/toe issue has put me off. I dont want to have to spent tons of cash on adjustable camber rods etc. So im talking to the shop that i just got my rims from, and he tells me his alignment 'guy' has done many 350z's without any prob. My guess is that he is selling a spring that is a very minimal drop, but that is not the case. He mostly sell kgmm? , something like that, and the drop is about 1.2, so similar to eibachs. So i call the alignment shop and ask how they are getting the car back to factory spec. He told me he spends one hour on each wheel grinding out two lower bolt holes(dont ask me which ones) to oblong the hole and then pounds in a tapered metal shim. He told me its very effective and safe. I need input on this before i give him 70 per hour, per wheel on this ' possible' camber fix.

 

Well, not all cars will need camber adjustment, mine was just within specs after the Eibacj install, all others settings were able to be adjusted to within specs.

It sounds like what he is doing should work as he seems to be pushing out the bottom of the wheel to get the camber back, I just have problems with people messingl ike that with the car. You might just have to go into it witht he notion that you might have to spend more on camber arms and if you don't then you lucked out.

 

Take a look at the camber rods from LSDUnique. They're very nice pieces and solve any camber problems very cleanly.

I think LSDUnique now goes by Kinetix Racing; probably listed in the Sponsors section.

jimC...

 

The camber rods fix the back, but if the front falls out of camber it is not adjustable. I live with it, until affordable front adjustable arms come out... I think mine are off by .02 degrees or so...

 

We now have front arms, and give package discounts, even if you have already purchased our rear arms.

They are very affordable and give you all the adjustment necessary

 

I realize that there are products to correct the camber problem. My question is, does what ive proposed seem like a possible "inexpensive" and "safe" alternative. According to the shop that has done this mod to many z's it is. Im just looking for unbiased opinons. Thanks

 

I have done the rear of my car with new bushings so I know what it looks like under the car and what holes your alignment guy wants to mess with.

There are four points of adjustment, two per wheel, each adjustment affecting BOTH camber and toe. Your alignment guy would need to drill out all four existing bushings and wedge peices of metal in each hole that are the PERCISE size to bring the camber AND toe into spec.

This sounds like BS. I seriously doubt that exact shavings of metal can be placed in holes that will most likely be different sizes due to using a power drill.

The bushings are prepressed into the upper and lower links. Once these are drilled nrmal alignment can not ever be done again without replacing the bushings.

The guy may say this is safe but I can gaurentee you that no other allignment shop would touch your car in that condition. I live in the Minneapolis area and it is difficult enough to find an alignment shop willing to align a lowered car as it is.

Don't do it. Replace the bushings for around $320.00. New polyurethane bushings will also resolve the poor rebound issues we have on our cars.

The only way to fix the front camber is by replacing the front upper arms. To my knowlage only two companies currently make a solution for this. Kinetix Racing will ad camber adjustment and K-MAC wich will ad camber AND caster adjustment.

I would not allow anyone to drill into your front suspension if you value your steering and life.

The bottom line is spend the money on camber kits or spend it on tires or don't lower the car.

Jeff

 

Thats what i needed to hear. I was really not wanting to have someone dremel away at my suspension. I guess my next question(post) is what is the best spring .75-1.0 inch drop to go with.

 

The rear springs sit on 1" thick rubber boots. The Eibachs drop the car around 1.2". Each car is slightly different from what I hear but I believe you could bring the allignment into spec with up to a 1" drop SO, what I would do that would be very easy and cheap is to go with the springs of your choice and build up the thickness of the rubber boots to prevent a drop of more than an 1".

In the Eibachs case this would mean .25" - .5". You can get large rubber washers that are .25" thick from places like Home Depot etc.

This would be perfectly safe since the stock rubber boots at the top and bottom of the springs are only held in place by the compression of the spring.

I needed to fabricate something similar for my JIC suspension and it works great without problems.

Essentially you can buy the springs you like best and lower the car as much as you want with this method. I assume you will be retaining the stock shocks which will wear better with less of a drop.

Jeff

 

well i chatted with a couple other shops today. One said using a thinner grade 8 bolt would yeild more camber adjustment. Another said like the other one, to oblong the hole and then use washers on either end and once tightend down and in spec, instead of using a metal shim, weld the wahers to the crossmember? I think thats what he said to weld it to.

 

I wouldn't recommend drilling the hole oblong. In order to obtain more adjustment the hole must be oblonged to the outer edge of the ecentric bushings. The ecentric bushings are all designed with a keyway and a special bolt with a key. By enlarging the holes you will effectivilly loose the ability of the bolt to prevent the ecentric bushing from rotating around the bolt. Same goes for using a smaller bolt.

It sounds like the shops you are talking to don't have a clue how the alignment works on our cars.

It would not matter how tight you tighten the bolt. The force of 3100 pounds going over bumps, pot holes etc. would certainly cause the bushing to rotate thus throwing your camber and more importantly your tow out of wack.

Out of wack camber you could live with but imagine traveling 70+ mph and running over a bump strong enough to throw your toe out of wack causing the rear end to track wrong and put the car into a spin or worse. That is why the keyway exists to prevent the bushing from rotating on the bolt so the bolt tightness is less of a factor.

Jeff

 

Your probably right that these shops dont know what they are talking about. Do you think the adjustable camber arms alone will do the trick or do i need adjustable traction arms as well. Keep in mind i dont want to go lower than 1 inch.

 

you wont need the traction arms if you are only going down 1"

the camber arms alone will be fine

 

lsdunique - quick question:
Is anyone racing on your camber solutions? I'm tempted but I'd like some references from people who put their cars through serious track action.

Suspension failure while fully loaded in the esses at Watkins Glen is no fun.

Jason

 

We will be doing the step by step install of our adustable control arms on Tuesday.... YEA!!! More toys for my car!!!

 

Gotta agree with Jason.......I'll be abusing mine at very scary loads.

Jeff......are your arms ready to ship? Cost? Did your race team use them at Daytona?

 

Sorry, but I don't have the names of the guys but I am positive at least 3 of my customers use them regularly tracking, not drag racing. They have been very happy with them and we have had zero complaints in terms of flex or strength.

 

who makes this arm?

 

Our race shop.... www.performancenissanracing.com

 

Iam not seeing them on the site???? Are they available and how much?

Jeff