What are the best camber plates?

[=======Live Fast!]

Just curious what people are running. My brother is about to invest in a set and wanted to know what the masses thought as there are several companies manufacturing them at a wide range of prices.

[e30_325es]

vorschlag

[SkiFree]

I'm sorry but nobody makes "the best" camber plates. I know more than a few people who couldn't wait to get rid of the vorshlags (certainly know a few who swear by them as well).

There are several good plates out there as you mentioned, none of them are going to be BAD if you stick with the recognizable names (GC, Vorshlag, IE, etc.). It's pretty hard for a decent manufacturer to screw up camber plates.

FIRST we could use a bit more info on your end.

what kind of car is it (street performance, low-and-stupid, dedicated track car)?
what is your brother expecting out of them (Fix camber? Be super stiff)?

[hooken m]

i use IE street/race. im pretty please with them.

[bmwguy325is]

I paid a race shop to build my coilovers and they chose the vorshlag plates.
I have liked them.

[MR 325]

People need to realize that race plates on the street are a bad idea. Tons of added noise and premature wear is immanent.

I run the GC Touring plates and they are excellent!

[e30trooper]

how can i tell if my IE plates are race or street?


currently pushed to the engineside. PO said IE race..

[e30trooper]

after looking at pix. they do look like the race's off IE page



this is street plates


and spec e30

[VinniE30]

What make the street plates better for the street?
And what makes the race plates better for race?

[bmwm42]

Gc hybrid plates

[SkiFree]

What make the street plates better for the street?
And what makes the race plates better for race?

I REALLY don't want to make this an info-mercial so I'll abbreviate this.

Basics on the IE plates
Street: Simple, uses stock rubber upper strut mount. But adds to suspension stack-height, and doesn't offer as much adjustment. Frankly I'd just run fixed plates instead of these.
Street/Track: Replaces stock USM with a replaceable spherical bearing encased in urethane (for dampening road vibrations). can use stock diameter 5" springs or 2.5" c/o springs.
Race: Replaces stock USM with a replaceable spherical bearing (NO dampening for road use). Vibration is transmitted directly through the bearing. Should be considered a wear item like all other heim-joints, bushings, etc. accepts 2.5" c/o springs only.

Again, it's hard to go wrong if you simply call someone like GC or IE and tell them what you're looking for. I personally agree with Matt though, race plates tend to not be ideal for street driving.

[giantkeeper]

I run the GC Touring plates and they are excellent!

Same here and I agree

[Ludey849]

anyone know what camber plates work with fk coilovers?

[nrubenstein]

By a wide, wide, wide margin, the GC Touring plates are the best for normal street use. I haven't seen anything that gets even in the same ballpark. The only knock is that they are not as adjustable and are a bit taller than a proper race plate. If you want to touch your oil pan to the ground, these aren't the best choice.

Normal street plates use a stock strut bearing and are best described as utter crap - they are taller than the stock top hats and just terrible.

"Race" plates use spherical bearings. This means noise, vibration, harshness and rapid wear. There are many varieties of race plates and they generally have their own virtues. GC, Vorshlag and TC Kline have the best designs, IMHO. GC wins on absolute adjustability (and IIRC on stack height). Vorshlag has an elegant design. TC Kline makes a nice plate.

[MR 325]

The only knock is that they are not as adjustable and are a bit taller than a proper race plate. If you want to touch your oil pan to the ground, these aren't the best choice.

They are 12mm less stack height than a stock strut mount though.