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      03-04-2012, 11:35 PM   #1
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Recommended camber for a daily driver.

I'm going to get an alignment soon, and couldn't find any relevant threads (pretty surprising...sorry if I missed something obvious).

What camber do you run? I have camber plates and have been running -2.5 or so when I was commuting up and down a windy road, but now that I've moved and it's mostly straighter driving, I need to choose another value to save the tires.
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      03-05-2012, 03:54 AM   #2
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If it doesn't cause any clearance issues why not go with original specs?
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      03-05-2012, 08:33 AM   #3
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I have 2.5 and I haven't noticed any crazy uneven wear... I'd think 2.5 is perfect for daily that seems some spirited driving here and there.
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      03-05-2012, 12:25 PM   #4
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^^^ this. Toe is the bigger factor when it comes to tire wear
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      03-05-2012, 08:06 PM   #5
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Ok, very cool. Yeah, to the first post: I have heard many say that the E85/E86 pretty much universally benefits from adding a pretty substantial amount of negative camber. However, I really wasn't sure what makes sense for a mostly road-going car. I will stick with -2.5 for the impending alignment. Thanks!
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      03-11-2012, 07:26 PM   #6
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Is it the same camber settings in the front as in the rear? I'm curious myself as I'll also need an alignment soon.
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      03-11-2012, 09:15 PM   #7
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-2.5 is a bit aggresive for the rear
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      03-11-2012, 10:21 PM   #8
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went through some of my old notes looking for specs on this, but couldn't find the ///M ones.

for comparison though, here are stock sport non-///m E86 alignment specs

Front Camber = range of -0.5 deg to -1.4 deg
Front Toe = +0.05 deg to +0.18 deg (toe in)

Rear Camber = -2.6 deg to -3.1 deg
Rear Toe = +0.17 deg to +0.37 deg (toe in)


on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.

i can't imagine that the ///m alignment is too far off from the above specs. i also agree that most premature tire wear is caused by ill-adjusted toe.
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      03-12-2012, 02:20 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
went through some of my old notes looking for specs on this, but couldn't find the ///M ones.

for comparison though, here are stock sport non-///m E86 alignment specs

Front Camber = range of -0.5 deg to -1.4 deg
Front Toe = +0.05 deg to +0.18 deg (toe in)

Rear Camber = -2.6 deg to -3.1 deg
Rear Toe = +0.17 deg to +0.37 deg (toe in)


on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.

i can't imagine that the ///m alignment is too far off from the above specs. i also agree that most premature tire wear is caused by ill-adjusted toe.
Perfect! Thanks!
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      03-12-2012, 03:43 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
...on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.
Almost identical set up on my 3.0Si sport with eibachs. I went -1.3 front and -2.5 rear camber. The change in the handling was noticeably inproved and the car feels so much more planted in the corners over the oe sport setup.
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      03-12-2012, 03:49 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Incompatible View Post
Almost identical set up on my 3.0Si sport with eibachs. I went -1.3 front and -2.5 rear camber. The change in the handling was noticeably inproved and the car feels so much more planted in the corners over the oe sport setup.
planted indeed... eibach's FTW!
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      03-12-2012, 10:56 PM   #12
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Anyone know what the stock camber is for the 3.0si sport suspension? Trying to figure out how much more camber I can add to the wheels and if that means I should go with 18mm spacers or 20mm spacers in the rear and 12mm spacers or 15mm spacers in the front.
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      03-13-2012, 10:24 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aries326 View Post
Anyone know what the stock camber is for the 3.0si sport suspension? Trying to figure out how much more camber I can add to the wheels and if that means I should go with 18mm spacers or 20mm spacers in the rear and 12mm spacers or 15mm spacers in the front.
yep. see post #8 above.
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      03-13-2012, 12:10 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
went through some of my old notes looking for specs on this, but couldn't find the ///M ones.

for comparison though, here are stock sport non-///m E86 alignment specs

Front Camber = range of -0.5 deg to -1.4 deg
Front Toe = +0.05 deg to +0.18 deg (toe in)

Rear Camber = -2.6 deg to -3.1 deg
Rear Toe = +0.17 deg to +0.37 deg (toe in)


on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.

i can't imagine that the ///m alignment is too far off from the above specs. i also agree that most premature tire wear is caused by ill-adjusted toe.
Front specs are pretty close to what an ///M would run, except it's -.7 not -.5.

Rear specs, however, are way off for an ///M! There's a bit difference between the 3.0 and the ///M settings rear.

Rear specs for the ///M are -1.6 to -2.1 with a total toe-in of .47 - .57.

I'd run towards the low end of the negative camber settings rear, and max out the front camber within the stock settings or just beyond (e.g. -1.5 to -1.8) with minimal toe-in within the stock range.

A full discussion of the stock alignment for the ///M can be found here. See post #4 by Jmillet in particular.
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      03-13-2012, 12:29 PM   #15
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well found, finnegan!
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      03-13-2012, 05:49 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Incompatible
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
...on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.
Almost identical set up on my 3.0Si sport with eibachs. I went -1.3 front and -2.5 rear camber. The change in the handling was noticeably inproved and the car feels so much more planted in the corners over the oe sport setup.
Btw, got pics of your car so I can check out the stance?
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      03-13-2012, 05:49 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Incompatible
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
...on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.
Almost identical set up on my 3.0Si sport with eibachs. I went -1.3 front and -2.5 rear camber. The change in the handling was noticeably inproved and the car feels so much more planted in the corners over the oe sport setup.
Btw, got pics of your car so I can check out the stance?
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      03-13-2012, 05:57 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aries326
Quote:
Originally Posted by Incompatible
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
...on my 3.0si with eibachs i was at -1.5 in front and -3.1 in rear (both camber). toe for both was set at mean for both front and rear. no adverse tire wear to report.
Almost identical set up on my 3.0Si sport with eibachs. I went -1.3 front and -2.5 rear camber. The change in the handling was noticeably inproved and the car feels so much more planted in the corners over the oe sport setup.
Btw, got pics of your car so I can check out the stance?
check out my pics page under "v3.0si - now with 313's". lots of pics there.
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      03-13-2012, 06:00 PM   #19
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^ yeah ... what he/I said.

stupid phone.
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      03-13-2012, 06:07 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by v3.2mc View Post
yep. see post #8 above.
I guess what I was trying to get at was not the range, but the exact setting it comes in from the factory. I'm trying to figure out without actually having my alignment measured out if I still have more room for camber. Maybe it is set right in the middle of the range???
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      03-13-2012, 08:02 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aries326 View Post
I guess what I was trying to get at was not the range, but the exact setting it comes in from the factory. I'm trying to figure out without actually having my alignment measured out if I still have more room for camber. Maybe it is set right in the middle of the range???
I think the rule on this one is that there is no "exact setting" as it comes from the factory. I really don't think they are all that precise. If you took several brand new cars with 0 miles in for an alignment I'd expect the results to come back more or less in the specified range. Some would probably even be outside the range.

The range is hypothetical anyway. On my car, the max of the stock range on the front is -1.4. Most folks can't get the alignment to much past -1.0 without camber plates or the Turner washer kit (or with the car lowered). Bottom line there's no way to know how much you have to work with until you have it aligned.

My advice? First, get it aligned, ask them to max out the negative camber up front and keep it even side to side, and then consider what you want to do from there. Second, consider what the stock offsets are, and what your current offsets are (if not stock wheels) before selecting spacers. Changing from the stock offsets can have a very real adverse impact on handling due to how it changes the scrub radius. The Hack does a great job of explaining scrub radius in this thread, and why it matters (my summary of the discussion is in post 19 FWIW).
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      03-16-2012, 11:08 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
I think the rule on this one is that there is no "exact setting" as it comes from the factory. I really don't think they are all that precise. If you took several brand new cars with 0 miles in for an alignment I'd expect the results to come back more or less in the specified range. Some would probably even be outside the range.

The range is hypothetical anyway. On my car, the max of the stock range on the front is -1.4. Most folks can't get the alignment to much past -1.0 without camber plates or the Turner washer kit (or with the car lowered). Bottom line there's no way to know how much you have to work with until you have it aligned.

My advice? First, get it aligned, ask them to max out the negative camber up front and keep it even side to side, and then consider what you want to do from there. Second, consider what the stock offsets are, and what your current offsets are (if not stock wheels) before selecting spacers. Changing from the stock offsets can have a very real adverse impact on handling due to how it changes the scrub radius. The Hack does a great job of explaining scrub radius in this thread, and why it matters (my summary of the discussion is in post 19 FWIW).
Gotcha! Thanks for the advice. I read up on that thread regarding scrub radius. I gotta tell ya, after reading about scrub radius, makes me not want to put on spacers and get tires that are bigger than stock.
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