German Engineering Suspension GB

[tinkerputzer]

Hey guys here's a little update on my experience with the ie race camber plates. FYI, I'm running bilstein sports. Aside from having to machine the spherical bearing bushing to make it work with my struts they had been working great. But after a couple weeks i started getting popping noises coming from both sides while turning the wheels when not moving. The noise sounded a lot like springs binding. Turns out the spring hats were binding on the top of the strut shaft while turning causing the springs to load up then pop.

When i originally installed the plates i put 2 of the provided washers under the plate and 1 on top (under IE's recommendation). This didn't give enough clearance between the strut shaft and the spring hats causing the binding. Now i have 3 washers under the plate and 0 on top and no more popping or binding noises.

Please note I believe the assembly diagram IE provides with the plates say to put 1 on top and 1 under, but that would make my situation even worse.

These are my experiences with the ie race plates and i hope this post can save other members running them some head scratching.

[PNWDan]

Hey guys here's a little update on my experience with the ie race camber plates. FYI, I'm running bilstein sports. Aside from having to machine the spherical bearing bushing to make it work with my struts they had been working great. But after a couple weeks i started getting popping noises coming from both sides while turning the wheels when not moving. The noise sounded a lot like springs binding. Turns out the spring hats were binding on the top of the strut shaft while turning causing the springs to load up then pop.

When i originally installed the plates i put 2 of the provided washers under the plate and 1 on top (under IE's recommendation). This didn't give enough clearance between the strut shaft and the spring hats causing the binding. Now i have 3 washers under the plate and 0 on top and no more popping or binding noises.

Please note I believe the assembly diagram IE provides with the plates say to put 1 on top and 1 under, but that would make my situation even worse.

These are my experiences with the ie race plates and i hope this post can save other members running them some head scratching.

The top of the spring hat is recessed for a roller bearing that gets sandwiched between two flat washers. That rides on the bottom of the top plate. If you space it out too far, all the load will be on the spherical bearing and not on the plates.

[tinkerputzer]

The washers i'm refering to have nothing to do with roller bearings in the spring perch. They are there to provide more separation between the strut shaft and the spring perch.

[PNWDan]

The washers i'm refering to have nothing to do with roller bearings in the spring perch. They are there to provide more separation between the strut shaft and the spring perch.

I guess im not getting it. The struts threaded shaft goes through the large hole in the hat. The lower larger diameter part of the shaft locates in the bevel in the bottom of the hat. The threaded shaft then goes through the spherical bearing pulling the top hat up to the bottom of the plate sandwiching the bearing in the middle. Spacing the shaft out further would then leave the top hat with the ability to "fall" a bit under full droop and possibly shifting the bearing out of the recess

[tinkerputzer]

Sounds like you are imagining it with the car on jacks and the strut extended. If that is the case then yes the spring perch will move away from the lower part of the plate. Don't be too concerned about that the spring perch and roller bearing will settle into place when the car is lowered off the jacks.

[PNWDan]

Nah that's pretty much how it is. If you space the shaft down with extra spacers then the only thing holding the top hat to the plate is spring pressure. If you corner hard or hit a bump and that side droops you'll loose that pressure because these aren't a system that keeps constant preload on the spring. You'll also be putting 100% of the pressure from the strut insert on the spherical bearing and not on the plate like its designed to be.

[tinkerputzer]

The spring perch isn't suppose to take any load from the strut. When i first bought and installed the plates i had the same idea as you, but all that gave me was binding spring perches and popping springs. I had to add the spacers to eliminate that problem.

Here is a similar thread where gc plates were installed improperly with similar results.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=111676

[PNWDan]

The spring perch isn't suppose to take any load from the strut. When i first bought and installed the plates i had the same idea as you, but all that gave me was binding spring perches and popping springs. I had to add the spacers to eliminate that problem.

Here is a similar thread where gc plates were installed improperly with similar results.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=111676

If installed correctly, the spring hats will rotate with the strut shaft and bearing as a unit. That is why they have a bearing on top to reduce friction between them and the camber plate. I dont think they should rotate independant of each other therefore not bind. Over tightening the top nut will however cause the bearing to bind.

I guess I will see in a few weeks. Seems to rotate fine and not bind. The only thing I did more than others was to use a marine grade grease in the flat roller bearing to stop corrosion etc.

[noE30]

Nigel, did you end up getting some dust boots in?

[einstein57]

yes

[thebutcher37]

Haz any extra spanners?

[einstein57]

Cheapos

[thebutcher37]

Cheapos

As long as they work....
I will have to pick up a pair, I seemed to look everywhere and cannot find mine.

[m3guru]

I just got to opening up my camber plates. Should each plate assembly have 4 hex adjustment bolts? Only one side of mine had these. I couldn't find info on the IE site.

[tinkerputzer]

Couple pages back.