Could someone please try to educate me on the Pro's and Con's of changing front camber plates to something like the Ireland Eng. 1.25 fixed plate for a primarily driven street car with a few track days thrown in. I have just taken delivery of a GP and feel the car is just au sum. But having an engineering background I'm always looking to make things a little better. I am also contemplating this change to get the benefit of added support to prevent the dreded mushrooming of the towers. I think it is a better idea to have the extra support coming from the bottom rather than from the top as in a strut brace.
From those of you who know and would care to share I would like to hear how this effects handling,tire wear, and what you would reccommend for alignment specifications front and rear. Thanks in advance for your help, Steve

 

I don't know your geographic location, but here in So. Calif. Scott @ Central Coast Coopers is a great source of info on the Ireland fixed camber plates. From my conversation with him and what I've read here on NAM, you get enhanced "turn-in" (car will rotate better i.e. less understeer), and at least with the Ireland plates, which have a pliable mounting surface, even a bit better front susp. ride quality. As long as you don't dial in too much negative camber, tire wear increase is supposed to be minimal. As with any suspension change, one thing affects another, so make sure that if you go this route, it is compatible with any other things you've done or plan. Good luck

 

Camber plates are good...

If you get the fixed plates, there's isn't much in the way of alignments specs to tell you about, as they're not adjustable - you'll get whatever camber you get. You will want to get an alignment done to set the front toe to what makes you happy, as it will change when you install the plates (or change adjustable plate). I run zero toe.

I put Helix camber plates on my car and am running -2.0° camber up front. My track / autocross tires lasted through 13 track days and 6 autocrosses, and there's still measureable tread left. Much better than without the camber plates. The wear is spread more evenly across the width of the tire, which overall lets you get more days out of the tires on the track.

With the Helix plates, I noticed not much of a turn-in difference, but better mid-turn grip, and improved "feel" for what is going on with the front wheels thanks to the stiffer, more direct mount at the top of the strut.

The turn-in definitely did not get worse, I just don't think it made a noticable difference for turn-in. Mid-turn is where I notice more grip up front.

The cons... they're noiser. You may hear some groans when turning the steering wheel at parking lot speeds. If you get plates with big, solid metal mounts, there will be a noiser, more harsh ride as you are replacing a pliable rubber mount with a more solid mount. And depending upon the plate, you may raise you ride height in the front a little. The Helix plates rasied the front of my car around 1/4". Barely noticable, and worth it in my book. But if you value "looks" more than handling, it might be a deal-breaker.

 

Short summary of most NAM plate info:
1-plates are good
2-RDR/Helix plates are VERY good
3-IE makes a very good alternative to the RDR/Helix setup without adjustability
4-Your front end will be higher
5-Your car will be louder/ride more harshly
6-see nuber one.

Hope that helps.. See sig for my bias...

 

running 1/8th toe out will give you better turn in.
i'm running the equiv of helix camber plates with -2deg front and -1.8 rear with pss9 coil overs. needles to say the car handles insane. tire wear is not bad either.

 

Unlike most of the adjustable camber plates, the Ireland fixed plates mount the upper strut bearing in urethane, which does not increase noise & harshness (in my subjective opinion after six months use). This is a big improvement over the others for a daily driver. Urethane is a good thing, which is why we switch suspension bushings to the Powerflex variety.

Regarding height change, I couldn't measure the difference with the Ireland fixed plates, and I tried.

Camber plates make the front end "stick" better (reduces understeer) in the corners, because they allow you to exercise the full width of the outside front tire in a corner instead of just the outer edge of that tire.

 

^^^
Thanks for the info. I didn't know IE used poly bushings. Should def' ride less harsh than the RDR's then.

 

H-Sport has come out with a new version which are much better than their first offering. Give them a look as well.

 

Hope you'll let us know what you picked and how it came out. Thinking about some of the same mods.

 

The Ireland Fixed plates definately smoothed out the road some upon installation.
Unless you really plan on tracking your car there is no need for the adjustable camber plates, even then - what a pain to make those adjustments beyond what the Fixed plates already supply.

Jack up the car, move the plates, track the car, jack up the car make adjustments again, track the car, jack up the car, adjust back to street settings, drive home.

Or just track the car with the fixed plates and the built in -1.75 camber, good stuff.

Make it easy on yourself, you'll wonder why you spent the extra $100 to $150 for the adjustable after you own them.

Paul