Howdy all,

Well to make a long story short.. I am now back on my stock springs but using the new H-sport camber plates - very nice design - set to -1.5 deg and adjustable rear control arms (rear camber -1.5 deg).. This was all dialed in at an alignment shop..

What I am finding is that the driver side spring is rubbing against the reinforcement ribs up near the top of the shock mount..

What I am questioning is
.. is this normal with -1.5 camber & a stock shock & spring??
...And if so what have others done to get some clearance?

I have read in other places that some have achieved -2 deg camber in the front with stock springs. But I am seeing & hearing rubbing at only -1.5 deg.. So I am wondering if I have something "not right".. For example, is there a top & bottom to the stock springs (is one end fatter than the other?)

I am thinkng about hammering the ribs down a bit for the needed clearance (probably only need 1/8")..

Thanks for the advise..

 

I had the same issue - at -1.5 degrees camber.

That's exactly what you need to do. Take a BFH plus a brass or wooden drift (or a body hammer) and flatten those ribs down - so that you have at least a finger's space between the ribs and springs. You should be able to see where the undercoating on the ribs has worn away. Then take some touch-up or spray paint and cover any exposed metal.

I also suggest that you liberally coat the bolts that hold the camber plates blocks together with anit-seize paste. Otherwise you may be out of luck when you attemp to take 'em apart, in the future. Ask me how I know.

 

Same here. I can get -1.7 camber on the driver's side (US) because of spring clearance with the shock tower. I have a 2003 S.

I'd love to find smaller diameter springs for the front that would allow more negative camber up front. I don't want to risk damaging the shock tower, since I track my car almost every month. Otherwise I'll have to bite the financial bullet and go with coilovers.

Alan

 

Like AntiqueCarNut, I bashed the ribs down flat and got -2 with HSport springs and a little more with M7 coilovers and they were no where near hitting. I did mine last year and no signs of fatigue when I checked them out last week during the CO install. I'd say: go for it!

 

I just performed the same task last Saturday and this method works...but be careful ...when all is finished and the key is in the ignition, set to take a test drive and nothing??? My car wouldn't start...until I realized that two very large fuse boxes sit up against the driver's side strut tower. 7 fuses popped out during the hammering process.

If I were doing this again, I would detach the fuse box to prevent any damage...one day soon my car may just stop because something cracked inside the fuse box.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I need to replace the front pads. I'll take a look then.

And I will definitely detach the fuse box before starting to swing the hammer.

Alan

 

Well just to share my "experiment" results.. I did end up removing the shock assembly and hammering the ribs down a bit. Did not take that much pounding either.. Afterwards, I went for a short test drive and the rubbing sounds is gone!!!!

Thanks for the tips (aniti-sieze on the bots & checking the fuse box)..

Now I feel better about carving the corners...

 

My springs rub only during tight, parking lot turns. I prolly won't hammer the ribs; it really doesn't bother me much now that I know what it is.

mb