R50/R53 :: Hatch Talk (2002-2006) Cooper (R50) and Cooper S (R53) hatchback discussion.

R50/53 Camber plates

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Old Jan 31, 2020 | 05:26 PM
  #1  
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Camber plates

Let me see some pictures of your camber plates. I took my car to a specialty shop and I’m curious if both side of your camber plates are set the same. Mine are not. I wish I took pics of it when I first picked it up, because I swear they were petty much the same. I called and they told me it’s rare they are exactly the same.

what’s a good phone app to use with my iPhone to check the camber angles because just eyeing it the passenger side appears to have more of an angle.



 
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Old Feb 3, 2020 | 07:04 PM
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Don't know of a phone app, but you can get camber measuring tools for relatively cheap. They range from $20 - $200 on amazon. Cheaper give less accurate answer, but relative measurements between wheels should be good.
 
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Old Feb 3, 2020 | 11:27 PM
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Mine aren't equal. I believe my driver's side strut is farther inward than the passenger side to get -1.5° of camber on both sides.
 
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Old Feb 4, 2020 | 05:44 PM
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Its pretty clear in the head on shot that the camber isn't equal on each side. Its more than likely the setting won't be the same since cars aren't swiss watches and will require different settings to achieve the same negative camber setting. It is possible the setting in the strut tower wasn't totally tightened and a bump knocked it loose or off even though it shouldn't.......
 
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Old Feb 4, 2020 | 11:04 PM
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I sort-of recently installed plates also.
I also bought a "two" digit gauge to replace the single digit (past the point xx.xx) gauge for more accuracy. My fronts are set at -.91° & -.92° right now.

My 05 is also not the same...side to side. Funny, this post actually makes me feel better about my car.
As I said, an 05 with only 20,228 miles on it. The shock towers show no signs of mushrooming, there is no signs that the car has ever been crashed. I did replace the stock lower control arm bushings with urethane shortly after buying the car, as the driver side stock rubber was not in good shape.

Mike
 
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Old Feb 5, 2020 | 06:49 AM
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Mine look and measure equal I use a digital angle gauge. I have to adjust them quite a bit if I run track spec on the street it'll tear up the tires. It's not terribly hard but you have to adjust toe too, I use smart strings or longacre toe plates
 
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Old Feb 6, 2020 | 12:14 PM
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If you just want to get a reference if the two wheels are the same.... You can use a level and some basic measurements. Just make sure your garage floor is level and doesn't slope to drain. This will at least give you an idea if they are close.
Here's a link...
https://p1nation.com/camber-diy.html
 
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Old Feb 6, 2020 | 05:28 PM
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It doesn't matter what they look like the important thing is when you look at the specs on the alignment screen are they correct? If the alignment is right that's the important thing.
 
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Old Feb 6, 2020 | 07:47 PM
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In the VW world, this is caused by subframe shift.

The fronts of the R53 subframe have alignment pins, so it wouldn't be there. It's possible the rear is cocked a bit to one side giving the slight differences when on the ground.
 
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Old Feb 6, 2020 | 08:43 PM
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It was off. I used a large carpenter square and it was off quite a bit. It must have not been tightened enough and the 4 hr drive home of bad California Highway must have moved it.
 
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Old Feb 7, 2020 | 04:45 AM
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Originally Posted by jk6672
It was off. I used a large carpenter square and it was off quite a bit. It must have not been tightened enough and the 4 hr drive home of bad California Highway must have moved it.
Use that same square. Continue the straight edge to the top of each rim (of the wheel) and measure. Compare the two. Make the one not like the one you want, to be the one (measurement) that you want.

Trigonometry can be used here to determine the exact angle of your front camber by taking measurements and punching them into a calculator (based on two measured lengths and a known 90* angle).
 
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