MY350Z.COM - Nissan 350Z and 370Z Forum Discussion

Here a geat post I got from from g35driver.

Ok, let’s try this again. This whole thing is on a word file, if I need to post this data again, it’ll only be a couple of clicks away for me.

There are 5 camps concerning lowering and alignment.

1. I have to stay within oem camber specs for my sedan or coupe and I might want the most tame settings within those specs.

2. I’m willing to use the more aggressive specs of another G or Z model. A sedan aligned to coupe or even 350Z specs or a coupe aligned to 350Z specs.

3. I’m willing to use option two and a bit beyond, I just can’t see spending all that money on aftermarket camber and toe fixes. Or, I can live with the front being off a bit, since the rear doesn’t cost as much, that’s the end of the car I’d bring within spec.

4. I want a performance alignment.

5. Owners that have a drop that normally does require aftermarket alignment fixes that have never actually had their cars aligned proclaiming that you won’t need a fix or you don‘t need to worry about being within oem specs.

Front camber correction:
Several companies make adjustable front upper control arms that are able to adjust out some degree of negative camber. When the EVO350 and PerformanceNissan arms first hit the market, a few excellent threads on my350z.com cropped up that got directly to the core of both products. Unfortunately, I can’t pull up any thread on that board older then 7/04. But I do remember that based on the discussion’s, IMO the EVO350 arms are the best. However, if your needs are met with the Cusco arms and they don’t turn out to be too much heavier then the oem arms, I could see picking them to control costs.

$849 Stillen front upper control arms
http://www.stillen.com/Sportscars_d...id=43317&page=1

$807 Evo350 front upper control arms
http://www.350evo.com/catalog/produ...ca4cdf5bdbf356d

$799 PerformanceNissan front upper control arms
http://www.performancenissanparts.c...products_id=341

$389 Cusco front upper control arms
http://www.z1auto.com/prodmore.asp?...ing&prodid=1288

$369 Kinetix front upper control arms
http://www.kinetixracing.com/index....D&ProdID=7&HS=1

Front toe correction:
Thankfully we have a oem adjustment system that doesn’t require any kind of aftermarket fix.

Rear camber correction:
If you require more camber correction then you can get with the oem adjustment system, these arms are the way to do it. The product’s do differ in price, weight and if they use rubber, poly or spherical bearings.

$??? EVO350 These arms are equipped with spherical bearings instead of poly or rubber bushings, though their web site does not show them as a separate part, you don’t have to buy them in a kit with other arms.

$??? Hotchkis rear camber arms. Listed on their web site, but no price is shown. They look like they use a copy of the oem soft rubber bushing, what they actually use for bushings in unknown however.
http://www.hotchkistuning.com/cgi-b...catalogno=13413

$175 (estimated price) Top Speed. If this price holds true, these will be the least expensive camber arms out that use spherical bearings instead of poly or rubber bushings. I’m considering getting a set just to have spherical bushings in that location of the suspension even though I don’t really need their added camber correction at this time.
http://350zmotoring.com/forums/show...75&pagenumber=1

$440 Jic rear camber arms. Can come with spherical bearings or hard rubber bushings
http://www.streetsports.com/Photos/...rcamberarms.jpg

$448 Stillen rear camber arms with “hemispherical rod-ends” instead of poly or rubber bushings
http://www.stillen.com/Sportscars_d...id=43116&page=1

$250 SPC rear camber arms. Bushing material unknown, but they come with a pair of toe cam bolts to adjust our toe (the bolts can be purchased separately).

Rear Toe:
Unlike the front toe adjustment system, as you dial out more and more negitive camber, you also move your rear toe settings in the WRONG direction, less and less toe with more and more camber correction. This is why there is a tie in to correcting your rear camber with aftermarket camber arms and the requirement to also get aftermarket toe control fixes.

Rear toe arms/traction arms should not be used as a method to correct or effect rear toe, don’t worry I’ll get to what you should use to adjust rear toe latter. Toe arms or traction arms are actually the radius rod on these cars. These rods do not adjust toe. Due to their mounting point they cannot adjust toe WITHOUT affecting the caster of the rear spindle. The radius rod attaches to the spindle right on the pivot point between the upper and lower ball joints. It does not attach in front of the pivot point like some believe. Lengthening or shortening of this rod only changes the caster of the spindle because the rod is below the rear axle. So, lengthen the rod and the less caster you get.... Shorten it and you get more caster. Sure... some say that they have lengthened it and it adjusted toe. That is only because the caster has changed so much that the pivot point between upper and lower ball joints has been relocated..... due to the traction rod not being mounted perfectly centered between the upper and lower ball joints the entire rear geometry gets changed to the point that toe was affected. This is the WRONG way to adjust your toe. I would call this a static toe adjustment. This may work as long as your rear suspension never moves.

He’s a second opinion on why not to adjust rear toe with toe arms/traction arms, this is a cut and paste with the understanding that this person calls the radius rod a “rear trailing arm”.
“The rear trailing arms should not be adjustable in length as some companies are selling them as such. They are claiming this as a way to change the toe. While it does change toe statically...it is not the proper way to do so. Changing the length of this arm puts even more load on the rear hub....this results in "bump steer" or toes the rear wheel out during compression.” BJ Zacharias EVO350

Side note on the whole above topic of toe arms/traction arms. Two companies offer fixed arms that should be considered because they use spherical bushings in place of the oem suspension’s use of soft rubber bushings. 350EVO (they call them lower trailing arms) and Jic www.intensepower.com/jicmaretrrod.html

Rear Toe should be adjusted in the same spot where the oem factory system adjusts from, the rear lower link (as the service Manuel calls it). To get more toe adjustment out of the oem adjustment system, buy SPC’s toe cam bolts. They work by having a larger offset washer then the oem toe cam bolts.
http://iapdirect.com/item.asp?invid=785