Rear camber & trailing arms.

[Eric]

If you want to reduce camber/toe when car is heavily lowered, then you can raise the subframe by a max of 12mm, and add sliding camber/toe correction devices.

Lee, how do you raise the subframe?

[Massive Lee]

Massive Lee,

How much adjustment are you getting from the AKG bushings? ~.5 to 1deg camber?

Not much, but still enough.

[Massive Lee]

RwDrift. KIt is not the flex of the bushings that adds camber, it is the lowering of the suspension. Which is a great design in corner. The more the car leans on the side, the more camber. Which results in a tire with optimum contact patch. Anolther item that is added is extra toe in, which helps the car from spinning. But no so great in straight lines. Usually, camber/toe correction devices in the rear are NOT used to add, but to substract.

I did some alignment this morning and aimed at zero toe, and as less camber as possible. But let's remember the major flaw of those eccentric bushings: correcting toe or camber will affect camber and toe. Those are just compromises. If you want to reduce camber/toe when car is heavily lowered, then you can raise the subframe by a max of 12mm, and add sliding camber/toe correction devices.

Have you read Gustave's interesting article on BMWs suspension?

[Erick]

Well, I am not looking for something to add more camber. I am looking for something that won't change the camber so much under load. I'm assuming something solid will lower the deviation of camber??

[rcko]

Massive Lee,

How much adjustment are you getting from the AKG bushings? ~.5 to 1deg camber?

[Massive Lee]

Contact Treehouse racing, they offer ecentric rear trailing arm bushings. If you install these, it requires no welding, and you will be able to adjust the rear alignment!

I just spend a lot of time installing some urethane eccentric bushings. The ones from AKG. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't waste my time on eccentric bushings (whatever the brand - AKG are good products, I don't blame them at all)) and would go with the usual steel adjusters. Steel or urethane, the price is about the same (well, cheaper with steel adjusters). The time required to install the urethane bushings is higher than simply dropping the subframe to weld the adjusters and put things back on. The steel adjusters will offer way more adjustement, in a more efficent and practical way.

To install the urethane bushings, it is required to remove the trailing arms (and disconnect everything to achieve this). Popping the old rubber bushings is easy with a torch) but reassembling the trailing arms on the subframe is a time-consuming PITA operation. I consider myself an expert mechanic and, per exemple, I can easily reinstall a transmission in 15 minutes, from the ground, with a simple jack. While trying to realign the trailing arms on the mounts took me hours. What a waste of time.

[PiercedE30]

Jonsku: Got any better pictures of it?

[Jonsku]

Here is Gustave's tech article on the camber/toe gain associated with the rear trailing arm design.

I built same kind of camber / toe adjustment to my rear axle and it works very well. Only problem are outer nuts, not much space to tighten them because Powerflex-bushes are bigger on the top than originals :(

http://users.tkk.fi/~jhaukile/takapalkki.html

[PeaveyBassist]

Do It!!

Seconded

Will

[PiercedE30]

Do It!!

[Erick]

You got em? Or somebody else did? ;)

Will

I meant I got them in my car, but if the whole world has to know, Will got them for me.... imma write I <3 Will really big on my windshield... kinda like the Fig Newtons from Ricky Bobby. Happy? :p

[PeaveyBassist]

Good review. I'll look into them. I got the AKG offset CABs and I like them so far.

You got em? Or somebody else did? ;)

Will

[rcko]

That site is a sweet find... The estimates in the camber gain curves are pretty close to what I measured off my car.

[PiercedE30]

There's a TON of more cool info that he has on his site. I think at one point I read over most of what he has on there. It is definitely a cool read if you are up to.

[Erick]

^ Dude sweet find! Thanks!