20 replies to this topic

[Raptor]

When I took my front suspension apart, I noticed there are no camber shims on each side of the front hub carriers.  

 

The only thing present is the abs bracket.  Looking at the online parts catalogue, it seems to suggest there should be some camber shims (1 & 3mm ) on the hub carriers.

 

does anyone else run without any of these shims on the front?

 

 

Edited by Raptor, 21 March 2017 - 06:30 PM.

[chris_uk]

Depends on how much camber you want at the front, im currently doing 2 suspension refresh's and neither have any shims in the front, only the ABS bracket.

 

 

[Raptor]

My car has previously been geo'd for fast road so is it safe to assume they removed the shims to get more camber?

[smiley]

oem is around 0 degree camber, and using shims.

With all missing and abs bracket only, it's about 1.2 degree camber.

 

 

 

 

Edited by smiley, 21 March 2017 - 07:22 PM.

[Raptor]

Thanks - so running with no camber shims = the maximum amount of negative camber we can get?

[TFD]

Yes, shimwise.

[Raptor]

got it - thanks.  Conversely, on the rear there were quite a few camber shims on each side!

[smiley]

Yes, remove all those and i believe you end up at around 2.5 degree.

[Mushter]

I'm also doing a rebuild on my front suspension. I had no camber shims on the offside just the abs connector bracket but have three 1mm shims and the abs bracket on the nearside. The handling was fine before I stripped it all. I needed to replace the ball joints as all the boots were either perished or split so replaced the wishbone bushes at the same time. I'm assuming I need to use the same number of shims when I rebuild ? Cheers, Jon.

[Nev]

 I'm assuming I need to use the same number of shims when I rebuild ? Cheers, Jon.

 

Nope, after installing new bushes + ball joints things might well be sitting in a different place, so you should really remeasure the camber on each side and fit shims to suit. After all, the old setting may wel have been incorrect anyway.

 

It's easy to do providing you can find a genuinely flat surface and can understand simple GCSE trig (or buy + use a purpose made camber gauge).

Edited by Nev, 22 March 2017 - 04:13 PM.

[Mushter]

Thanks Nev. Castor shims are all over the place as well !!! I can feel a geo session coming on. If visually the camber doesn't look obviously wrong would you suggest I don't reinstall any camber shims initially so I have a base setting to work off ? Cheers, Jon.

[Raptor]

I would definitely recommend a geo session after doing this work - it was part of my refresh plan anyway but I didn't want to unnecessarily keep removing the hcb's

[Nev]

Thanks Nev. Castor shims are all over the place as well !!! I can feel a geo session coming on. If visually the camber doesn't look obviously wrong would you suggest I don't reinstall any camber shims initially so I have a base setting to work off ? Cheers, Jon  

 

You can't really "look" to see if the settings dont suit you or the car, you need precise measurements. Even then a setup that suits one person won't necessarily suit another. There is a lot of placebo effect too, owners spend £xxx on a geo and then claim it's miraculous, when in fact if you let someone else set it all up again they might find it better again.

 

As a general rule, setting the car up as OEM (without so called "race"/"extreme" settings is great for road use. All IMO.

 

 

Edited by Nev, 22 March 2017 - 07:45 PM.

[Mushter]

Nev, your opinion and experience are much appreciated by someone new to the go-cart VX220 experience. I'll put it all back together as it was when I disassembled it, get the toe set, then see where the "feeling" takes me. I want to sort the rear out with a rebuild before I get a full geo done. This only started as a quick brake rebuild and look at me now!!! Cheers, Jon.

[chris_uk]

Take a spirit level, plumb it from 6 oclock on your alloy and measure the distance to the rim at 12 o'clock, you can then work out your camber from that. Me and steve_m_uk did it and we was 0.05 degrees off one side and 0.1 degrees off the other..so as a rough guide, you can do it that way

[Mushter]

Thanks Chris. Don't you think it's a little strange that both sides have different shims. I would have thought the chassis would have been manufactured dimensionally accurate in the factory and not needed any shims at all. I appreciate that the cars are getting older now and kerbs and potholes have taken their toll on the chassis mounting points making shim adjustment essential but everything looked pretty original on my car including the shims, oh, and the rust. I doubt whether I'm a good enough driver to detect half a degree of camber or castor though.😊 Cheers, Jon.

[smiley]

They just grabbed whatever they could get their hands on putting the car together.

On my left rear i pulled out 1 thick shim (3 or 4mm). On the right a bunch of 0.5 and 1mm ones.

[chris_uk]

i wouldnt worry, 

 

my os had abs and 3mm of shims, the ns had nothing at all.  when i sit in it it worked out bang on 1.5 degrees front camber. 

[Mushter]

Bugger🙁. Needn't have bothered ordering a set then. Maybe they will come in handy later. Cheers, Jon.

[slindborg]

Cumulative production tollerences...

 

Uprights wont all be the same thickness, wishbone mounts wont all be the same, wishbones wont all be the same, tubs WILL have differences to them. Even silly things like clam weight changes will have a mild effect once the car is laiden.

 

hence shims.

Also how much tollerence was in the actual line setup, from errors in the kit to simply what could be got away with for the OEM spec.