Eddie 70

Is it possible to home align the rear suspension on a 95 Civic Hatch?

Is there a DIY thread on that? I have aligned my 70 corvette but wanted to do a little research before I just jumped in and got over my head.


Thanks for any help guys.

Hondatherdm

the only thing you can do is chamber and thats if you have chamber kit installed, i always did chamber my self, all i used was 12inch level

Eddie 70

The tire leans in at the top. So, in order to correct this the camber kit needs to be installed?

slowcivic2k

There are two ways to adjust for camber on the rear:

1: An upper camber turnbuckle kit.
2: Shim the upper control arm where it meets the frame.

The vehicle needs to be on an alignment rack to adjust for camber and toe. Any change in rear camber will also affect the rear toe. Both must be set at the same time, Camber then Toe. Ensure after adjustment that the tire will clear the quarter panel, or else you may lose a tire at full jounce.

Place washers behind the two bolts that hold the upper rear control arm to the car, between the body and the control arm flange. Lower the axle and recompensate alignment sensors, and recheck.

Hondatherdm

if you have all stock suspention and it leans= something is bend, find what and replace

98civdx

Fixed, and wrong.

Yes, he cannot adjust camber without a camber kit, or doing the Washer trick. However, he can adjust toe himself.


EXACTLY!!



This is not always the case. My car was completly stock and had a bit of negative camber,everything was stock. Noithing was bent.

If he has a stereo in the car, the weight can cause the suspension to compress, there for it lowers the rear of the car, and cause negative camber.

It does not always mean something is bent.

Eddie 70

Thanks for the hints guys. We have been thinking of ordering a camber kit to get it all corrected. I do like the washer idea though. Just for kicks, how many washer can be added still be safe to drive with the stock bolts? Probably would be a good idea to buy a 1/4" longer bolts just in case.

slowcivic2k

I've safely put about a quarter inch of washers to correct 2 degrees of negative camber to -.75 degrees, which is a good number to be at, tire wear wise, and also for handling. Don't go too much more than that, the bolts are only so long, and more and you will need longer bolts. Roughly .100" of washers between the arm and frame will get you about +.50 camber.

Some people believe in completely square alignment geometry, and I think that is whack. Sure your tires will wear great, but you will sacrifice road feel and cornering performance.

The easiest way to check for bent parts is an alignment check. You can check for vehicle square (some are not square from the factory intentionally), and for wheel inset/setback, provided you get an alignment guy that knows what that is. That way you will know if the suspension was impacted, you just need to find where the force went.

virgineg6

if your worried about tire wear camber is not the problem, toe angle is so if your car is just moderatly lowered a camber kit is just a waste of money, i would suggest just worrying about toe.

98civdx

I used 2 washers on my car, got -1* less of negative camber. I wouldn't go any more then 2 washers without longer bolts.

Toe eats tires NOT camber.
You can still get perfect tire wear with -3* ish of negative camber.