As per my sig, I'm sitting significantly lowered (see gallery under 'New Shoes' album) on KW v2's (with 'beehive' or conical front springs), H-Sport Comp rear sway, H-Sport rear control arms, and Helix adjustable camber plates. I'm running -1.22 and -1.05 degrees in the rear left and right respectively, while running-0.39 and -0.37 for the front left and right.

And the last part is where my problem lies. The techs were unable to get any more negative camber in the front, despite having the camber plates set at their maximum.

Can anyone think of a (reasonable) solution that would allow me to add negative camber to the front?

(On a side note, I, too, am experiencing the dreaded acceleration shudder, especially noticable and low speeds, felt mainly through my right foot on the accelerator.)

 

pretty simple.....fixed or adjustable camber plates. many threads on this topic. fixed may result in different camber left/right. adjustable are, well, adjustable. rear camber issues addressed by adjustable lower rear control arms. done.

 

But he already has camber plates....

 

Maybe the springs don't allow for enough adjustment in the front end?

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

 

You mean to say that the 'beehive' or conical (or stock-style) of the front springs may be impeding full adjustability? Hmm. But keep in mind the plates are (or appear to be) at their maximum level of negative camber; if this were the case, wouldn't the springs prevent this?

 

Are your front control arm bushings and ball joints ok? You should be able to get loads of camber with a stock diameter spring. I have exactly -2º on both front sides with stock springs and dampers. Lowering the car shouldn't effect front camber potential because of the MacPherson struts we have.

 

Stupid question but is it possible to get the plates in backwards( I mean left and right swapped)? I know the Ireland's look very similar side to side.
Also, stick your hand up in the wheel well and see how much space is between the inner fender and the springs. It will eliminate that variable.
I had an issue with my TSW springs and Ireland camber plates, the springs hit the inner fender at little camber, I know it sounds off but I had to "clock" the springs due to the offset windings of the stock style springs. Now at -2.2 in front with 1/2" clearance from spring to inner fender. Hope this helps, otherwise just my crazy talk again.

 

Gee-whiz, I hope they're not f***ed up! Last year I never had any of these problems. It wasn't until I put the coilovers back on this year when I started to get a vibration when accelerating, as well as this camber problem. You could be on to something...

 

Hmm...I'm not so sure if this is possible (or is it?) As far as the installation was concerned, I did more watching than doing; it was carried out by a qualified BMW/MINI tech. What exactly do you mean by 'clock' the springs?

 

Twist or turn the springs to move them around, ie-where the coils beginand end in the winding.

 

Try different camber plates, or get a set of coilovers that has integrated camber plates? Other than that, raising your car is the only thing that comes to mind after the other suggestions in the thread.

With extreme lowering angles, camber isn't the only issue. You're putting an enormous amount of stress on your axels if you're any more than 1-1.5 inches lower. Especially if you're driving the car daily. That could explain part of the shudder issue...

 

So is it possible that I have the left and right camber plates backwards?

 

Yep

 

Right, where the bottom of the coil ends there is an indentation in the lower spring seat perch so they are always oriented correctly. No worky for me. So I found a way where I twisted the springs so that I gained about an inch of clearance by "clocking" them. I know, I know, the end of the spring is now on a flat part of the perch creating a localized load as opposed to the distributed load the perch was designed for blah blah blah ( I play an engineer during the day, shhhhhh, don't tell, they hate engineers here on NAM) so I'm aware of my doings. I'm not worried, if I crack one of the perches off the strut, I'll get a set of coilovers.
Anyway, just thought that those would be the first two things I'd look at. I think I did read years ago about someone on NAM getting some camber plates in backwards, but I'm not sure who it was or what brand.

P.S. I thought the KW coilovers came with 2.5" straight springs or something. I could be wrong, do they have the bee-hives?

 

I'm fairly certain the helix plates ARE left + right specific. That might be your first place to look. When I had the Helix plates, I got 2.2* and had loads more room to go.

Interestingly, I switched to coilovers with integrated camber plates, and NOW I can't get any more than 2.2* as they're maxed out. Pretty strange. I don't know if the strut towers are really deformed causing this?

 

It's what came in the box...what are the advantages/disadvantages of straight vs. beehives anyway?

 

Really? I can see the difference with the centre track, but would it make a difference with the other two tracks (where the shock assembly is bolten in)?

 

*shrug* Never tried it. If you look at the underneath of the top plate, you'll see the groove the thing slides in differs from side to side. What about the bearing bit that you screw the two bolts to? Are those bolt holes centered on the bearing or are they offset? I can't remember.

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Curious, how would failing control arm bushings and ball joints affect camber?

 

It crossed my mind, but I doubt it would make much difference, if any. At the absolute maximum these plates are giving me about -0.4.

The only viable possibility I see here is if the helix plates are handed; that is, left and right hand positioning makes a difference.

 

It's possible to get the camber plates installed on the wrong side.

Take a close up picture of each plate you have installed from the top and label one passenger side and one driver side.

Your suspension parts can limit your max negative camber but your limit is too little at less than -1. -0.5 is stock so it looks like you have less negative front camber than stock!

Most of us (even with moderate drop up to 1.7") can get at least -2.0 degrees in the front, I was able to get -2.4.

Try calling Eric at Helix13.com to talk about installing the camber plates.

 

Just spoke with Eric (as per Minihune's suggestion)...I think I may have found the solution: Helix plates are, in fact, left and right-handed. Eric said that the tracks/grooves need to be perpendicular to the length of the vehicle; otherwise "they would be at some wonky angle..."

I popped my hood to have a look-see and...lo and behold, they are indeed at a wonky angle.

Hopefully I'll have them swapped tonight, and post an update. In the meantime, a warm thank-you to all those who posted with help.

 

Yes, that makes sense since if you don't have the plate aligned right you can't possibly get the right angle to max out negative camber.

Wonky angle? Neat technical description.

 

Yep.

It turns out they were reversed. Swapped them and immediately got my negative camber back. I had them set to -2.0 and aligned, then called it a day.

I know now that camber plates, at least the Helix ones, are left- and right-handed.

Thanks again everyone.

 

Glad It worked out. Have fun with the camber. Makes a big difference.