GC camber plate adjustment problem

[I6V8]

Suspension experts,

Is anyone familiar with these GC camber plates and can share some advice on how to solve the problem I'm running into?

My new to me '89 325is sits on a Nasieg 5 lug conversion with GC coilovers and these camber plates. The front wheels currently sit at -2.5 degrees camber (coil spindle = all the way up) and I'd like to get that dialed back to about -1 for street driving. Problem: the adjustment bolts can't be slid outwards any further than where they currently sit (3rd picture).

The camber plates themselves do have more room for adjustment. In the 2nd pic you can see a center notch that's a bit further out from the current spot and wear marks which has me wonder if they were installed on a different model car before because on mine the adjustment hex bolts can't slide under the strut tower, they stick out too high. So even if I unbolted the coil, the only way the bolts would clear the strut tower is with a spacer. I have a hard time believing this is how these are supposed to work in the first place so here are my question:

Could these plates be meant for a different car? (i.e. E36?) Am I wrong in my assumption and they do need a spacer and adjustment with the strut assembly dropped? Is there a different set of plates I should be using that solves this problem?

Thanks!

[E30SPDFRK]

Most camber plates are designed to add negative camber, GC makes theirs with the bearing plate offset so you still have access to the bolts even with a lot of camber. The "race" plates also come with a "you may need to modify your car to get the full range of adjustment" disclaimer.

I haven't tried it, but it looks like you should be able to rotate the bearing plate 180° to reduce camber and still have access to the bolts.

[I6V8]

Perfect, I'll try that and report back.

[I6V8]

Actually, looking at the picture again, it seems that the center notch is probably as far as you can adjust it overall so flipped 180 degrees it'll probably max out at 0 degrees and only allow for positive camber to be added.

I'll give this a try but just in case, can you recommend a different set of plates without an offset bearing plate that that will allow me to get to -1 degree? Thx

[Northern]

A few options:

These are the newer style GC E30 plate that have recessed slots so you can run a button head SHCS in them, which will slide under the strut tower a little more. AFAIK, GC ships them that way (should make sense looking at the current listing on their site) Not sure why yours don't have them. You're really going to get an additional 1/4" max from them by doing this, so maybe not enough.

An option you already thought of is to flip them, but you already realized that limits the amount of camber you can add in. Maybe not a problem for your application.

I have the old style GC Race plate that doesn't have the recessed slots, and has standard SHCS like yours have. Years ago, the local BMW speed shop did the alignment on my car and removed the two interfering bolts and I've basically street driven my car without them ever since without issue. Sounds sketchy but it's worked for me.

Last option, basically to cut the strut tower, but not my cup of tea.

[E30SPDFRK]

Actually, looking at the picture again, it seems that the center notch is probably as far as you can adjust it overall so flipped 180 degrees it'll probably max out at 0 degrees and only allow for positive camber to be added.

I'll give this a try but just in case, can you recommend a different set of plates without an offset bearing plate that that will allow me to get to -1 degree? Thx

0° on the plate means 0° difference from stock, not necessarily what you have at the wheel. A lowered car will gain camber over stock, which is why you have -2.5° now even though the plates are nearly centered.

[I6V8]

Ok, so here's how I ended up resolving this: I pulled the assembly out, rotated the bearing plate. In this position, it can't slide enough either also limiting castor adjustment so I literally "cut the corners" and reinstalled the plates.

With the adjustment bolts all the way towards the center, I should be right at -1 degrees and still have castor adjustability.

Yes, buttonhead bolts allow for adjustment in the original plate orientation but you would need to lower the strut every time to fine tune camber. That's an expensive alignment. For my application, -1 degrees is plenty, although now, I have the problem that my RC090s extend past the fenders. Running a Nasieg 5 lug conversion up front, hence the wider track. They're already rolled so I'll see if a shop can pull them.

Thanks!

[CMG]

I can not tell from pics but sometimes camber plates have multiple threaded holes on under plate that bolts thread into and can be adjusted between holes.

[I6V8]

I can not tell from pics but sometimes camber plates have multiple threaded holes on under plate that bolts thread into and can be adjusted between holes.

I've seen some only use 2 of the 4 bolt to fasten the plates but that doesn't seem like a great idea. E30 Speed Freak made a solid point about lowering adding camber but the offset on these plates just doesn't seem right for the E30. The -2.5 degrees camber was with the coils adjusted all the way up. Another problem: GC sent me 8 buttonhead screws that fit the width of the slot channel perfectly but overlapped each other so I would have been back to just 2 bolts per plate.

Anyway, I can see others not wanting to cut & rotate their camber plate inserts but for me this has worked just fine so far. Overall this has increased the adjustability in a range that works for a good street setup.

The problem with the RC090s at the top sticking out past the fender by about 1" was solved with RC040 drums = higher offset, narrower rim. Perfect fit.