What causes negative front camber???

[jlevie]

With new control arms on the car 3 deg of camber can only be the result of damage to the frame or some weird upper strut mounts.

[ForcedFirebird]

Easy when you have a 15t press and the right jigs. I looked around and the labor plus the joints were more than the price of a new control arm.

If you want some good cores I have a stack here with your name on it :-)

Ball joints are less than $100 for all four, most shops will charge you about $20 to press them in - my 12t press handles them like butter. You can't even get a pair of Chinese arms for $120-ish.

Are they OEM arms, or aftermarket? I have a few cores, put prefer OEM over aftermarket castings.

[BROKINBIMMER]

Factory specs call for negative 1 degree camber.

[ForcedFirebird]

Factory specs call for negative 1 degree camber.

As per my previous post: Camber (degrees)-.069+/-.050 Front

[BROKINBIMMER]

With new control arms on the car 3 deg of camber can only be the result of damage to the frame or some weird upper strut mounts.

Nope, no frame damage. Already had everything measured out and inspected at a reputable collision shop. They also said no signs of any type of collision repair.

Also, I don't think if it were damaged that both sides would be the same.

[DRTSRFR]

Have you checked to make sure the strut tubes aren't bent at the knuckles? (unlikely both are bent, but I'm brainstorming here)

If everything were to spec' you wouldn't have 3 degrees of camber at stock ride height.

Have you measured the distance between the strut towers?

Assuming all of the pin points under the chassis are straight and true, it has to be the struts or the upper tower/mount.

EDIT: I see you already checked the tubes.

[BROKINBIMMER]

Have you checked to make sure the strut tubes aren't bent at the knuckles? (unlikely both are bent, but I'm brainstorming here)

If everything were to spec' you wouldn't have 3 degrees of camber at stock ride height.

Have you measured the distance between the strut towers?

Assuming all of the pin points under the chassis are straight and true, it has to be the struts or the upper tower/mount.

EDIT: I see you already checked the tubes.

I originally thought the struts were bent from the lowered suspension that was on the car when I purchased it. So I replaced the struts, it didn't change anything...

Does anybody have a measurement from strut to strut under the hood?

[CHIF8008]

strut towers sagged in a bit? I forget the stock distance between them but you should check that out if nothing else is bent.
honestly your front does not look bad at all.
edit* just saw you posted that

[CHIF8008]

1002.2mm +/-2mm (39.5") center to center of the strut bearings

[DRTSRFR]

I've got 39 1/8 on my Cab.
I also have a Mason strut bar, so it should be reasonably close to factory width.

[Todd Black 88]

strut towers sagged in a bit? I forget the stock distance between them but you should check that out if nothing else is bent.
honestly your front does not look bad at all.
edit* just saw you posted that

This.
I bet you will measure around 38.5"
There are alot, and I mean alot, of e30s around that do not measure out at the factory spec of 39.5".
It's the reason IE made two front strut bars and why the standard strut bars do not fit alot of cars. My m3 measures 38.5" center to center, and I had to modify my bar to fit.

[e30trooper]

in b4 the fuk

[e30trooper]

my camber is broke a we bit

[BROKINBIMMER]

Will measure in the morning, thanks for those of you who provided informative posts!!!

[ForcedFirebird]

This.
I bet you will measure around 38.5"
There are alot, and I mean alot, of e30s around that do not measure out at the factory spec of 39.5".
It's the reason IE made two front strut bars and why the standard strut bars do not fit alot of cars. My m3 measures 38.5" center to center, and I had to modify my bar to fit.

I have taken a bar off one car that it slid right on and put it on another car, same year, same build month and it didn't slip on. Didn't have to modify the bar, just took the nuts off the strut mount, let the threads drop through the tower, put bar on and jacked the strut back up. You have to remember the bars are not perfect and the strut mounting studs lean in at an angle.