So I put new struts and strut mounts on the front of the car this following weekend. Now I need to get an alignment. Well the shop I'm dealing with is telling me that I may need to put on a camber kit. Well I put on OE struts and I did NO lowering...
Are they full of it?
There full of it. Did your car come from GM with a camber kit on it? NO. There trying to screw you. If your running OEM struts and OEM springs it's just a straight wheel alighnment. IMO find another shop.
That's what I was thinking.
Thank you for the quick response.
I didnt need a camber kit when i got my cavy aligned after i installed my airride.
same here i never even heard of a camber kit for our cars my alignment went alright when they did it. its no different from have stock suspenion.
Yah these guys are full of it like I thought. I've made an appointment with a garage outside the city. At least at this garage I actually have some trust in them.
Some places just piss me off. Why can't people just be honest and not milk you for money.
One last question,
I just changed my front struts on my car. The car drives perfectly striaght, it's just that the steering wheel is off center. How likely am I to burn out the tires with these results?
As long as it's not pulling either way or anything then it shouldnt effect your tire wear I dont think. The wheel being off should be corrected during the alignment.
well did they show you how bad your car was out, that would require a camber kit?
Usually a J that requires a camber kit is either slammed, or something is bent. If you REALLY do need a Camber kit.......find what the real cause is.
Anytime they tell you that, ask for a print out, to see how out of whack your camber is. There is not a whole lot of adjustment in the factory setup, but I rarely see a camber kit
needed for the cav's
should be fine. kind of odd though. the alignment will take care of that issue though.
Mike J wrote:One last question,
I just changed my front struts on my car. The car drives perfectly striaght, it's just that the steering wheel is off center. How likely am I to burn out the tires with these results?
it's bad for the rack to have the wheel off center. but like said above, that should be fixed in an alignment.
87 Firebird
All stock...........lol.
They never actually looked at the car. I was calling around for appointments and they said cavalier's usually need a camber kit installed when doing alignments..
That made no sense to me.... Before changing the struts I never had any inside or outside wear or any pulling. I'm still exactly in the same boat after the strusts were changed. It's just the the steering wheel is off to the left.
yeah.....that shop is full of it.
camber kits should never be sold on a vehicle that isnt there.
Any time I would sell them on ANY car is after I had it on the rack, and tried to adjust the camber with whatever means the factory gave you. If it was still out a good bit once all the factory adjustment had been used, then a camber correction kit can be considered.
our cars do not require them period. our cars do not create that much camber even when lowered to require them.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:58 AM
I just had an alignment and they said my camber was out, I put new control arm bushings (prothane) in/ new ball joints/ new tie rods/ new wheel bearings/ new rotors and pads/one new axle because boot was torn (passide) I have been driving it without alignment for about one year the car never pulled always drove a straight line, but the steering wheel was off to the left. (paid $168.00) I don't understand the # below.
Front
Primary Angles
Caster left 4.2 inital final 4.3
right 4.7 inital final 4.5
Camber left -0.5 inital final -0.1
right 0.7 inital final -0.2
Toe left -0.30 inital final 0.05
right -0.70 inital final -0.05
Total -1.00 inital final 0.00
I have a camber kit on my car....but that's because I use the adjustments at the track to help me out. 95% of street cavs won't ever need one.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
Hypsy (TRU TurboSport Cav) wrote:I have a camber kit on my car....but that's because I use the adjustments at the track to help me out. 95% of street cavs won't ever need one.
Wow, you need a camber kit for drag racing a car that is not lowered past 2 inches. Can you even see the amount of camber that changes when you "adjust" it at the track.
And I agree most J's will never need a camber kit.
Sappa wrote:As long as it's not pulling either way or anything then it shouldnt effect your tire wear I dont think. The wheel being off should be corrected during the alignment.
Incorrect. The toe could still be off considerably.
(Tom) S/C Fire wrote:Hypsy (TRU TurboSport Cav) wrote:I have a camber kit on my car....but that's because I use the adjustments at the track to help me out. 95% of street cavs won't ever need one.
Wow, you need a camber kit for drag racing a car that is not lowered past 2 inches. Can you even see the amount of camber that changes when you "adjust" it at the track.
And I agree most J's will never need a camber kit.
WOW Mr. Sarcasm! Actually yes it did make a difference when I set the tires to ride slightly negative as opposed to having 0 degrees of camber in them. It just makes a bigger footprint under acceleration when the front comes up and that's all I care about, not whether I can SEE it. Who really gives a @!#$ if you can see the change visually, it's the results that count.
Would Mr. Sarcasm like me to try and find the alignment readout that I have as well?
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
black99gt wrote:I just had an alignment and they said my camber was out, I put new control arm bushings (prothane) in/ new ball joints/ new tie rods/ new wheel bearings/ new rotors and pads/one new axle because boot was torn (passide) I have been driving it without alignment for about one year the car never pulled always drove a straight line, but the steering wheel was off to the left. (paid $168.00) I don't understand the # below.
Front
Primary Angles
Caster left 4.2 inital final 4.3
right 4.7 inital final 4.5
Camber left -0.5 inital final -0.1
right 0.7 inital final -0.2
Toe left -0.30 inital final 0.05
right -0.70 inital final -0.05
Total -1.00 inital final 0.00
You paid $168 for an alignment? You got screwed.
Here is a link for alignment angles so I don't have to re-type it all
.
also, I hate to say it but it looks like there was some head yanking in there as well. since our cars dont have adjustable caster....I could see a 0.1 difference if it was riding between numbers.....but not 0.2.
also, 0.7 to -.02 is a lot of adjustment to get out of the stock setup unless your struts are slotted.
and yes, thats a pricey fuggin alignment.
There is no built in adjustment, per say, but I have been able to get a change of .4 degrees with some effort.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
(Tom) S/C Fire wrote:Sappa wrote:As long as it's not pulling either way or anything then it shouldnt effect your tire wear I dont think. The wheel being off should be corrected during the alignment.
Incorrect. The toe could still be off considerably.
This is true. Just because the car doesn't pull to one side or the other doesn't mean things aren't bad. If the toe is more or less equally way off on both sides, the car could track straight but trash the tires in a very short amount of time.
So, I'm chiming in on a slightly old thread here.
The car does not NEED a camber kit, but they make things so much nicer to adjust when you do have to adjust the camber.
I've been on the other end doing the alignments. A camber kit is basically just a bolt with an eccentric on it that rotates inside the strut.
No, they are not necessary. Are they nice? Yes. Did they want your money? Yes. At the shop I work at, we usually just suck it up and do it without.
Also, were your struts slotted that you put on there? The holes that the knuckle bolts go through, were they ovaled out, atleast the bottom one anyway? That's another thing that does need to be done so you can get a camber adjustment out of these cars.
Anyways, they weren't completely fooling around with you but they definitely aren't needed.
1983 Camaro Z28
I didn't need an alignment even after installing all new struts and springs. I got it checked, but everything was well within spec except my camber, -2.6 and -2.7
Mine cost $60 at a 24 hour garage. I think you were just bent over the the alignment machine...
ZZZZZZZ
