Ok so I have a 98 Civic H/B dx w/ Eibach Sportline springs(1.8 to 2 inch drop) I bought the Skunk 2 front camber kit but know I'm hesitant to put it on from all the horror stories. I plan on doing some lite road racing on weekends and this is also my daily driver. I recently got an alignment and it seemed to have helped but I'm not sure how much cuz the tires already had camber ware. Anyone have any advice, right now I'm leaning to not putting it on but not sure yet.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HB-II &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok so I have a 98 Civic H/B dx w/ Eibach Sportline springs(1.8 to 2 inch drop) I bought the Skunk 2 front camber kit but know I'm hesitant to put it on from all the horror stories. I plan on doing some lite road racing on weekends and this is also my daily driver. I recently got an alignment and it seemed to have helped but I'm not sure how much cuz the tires already had camber ware. Anyone have any advice, right now I'm leaning to not putting it on but not sure yet.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Road race a daily driver? I don't think I would be willing to street drive a full cage.

Not sure what horror stories you've heard, but tire wear would not be a good reason to install the Skunk2 UCAs, in my opinion. Toe eats tires, not camber. Throw the kit on there if you want more camber, or need to even out a left / right camber difference. Especially with such a mild drop.

 

you wont want to reduce negative camber if youre going to the track.

 

Ok so I just need to adjust the toe for better tire ware, so what would be a reason to install a camber kit? what is the function for a camber kit?

 

nothing.

(actually you want to zero out camber if youre doing drag racing and only care about going in a straight line)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HB-II &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok so I just need to adjust the toe for better tire ware, so what would be a reason to install a camber kit? what is the function for a camber kit?</TD></TR></TABLE>

the reason is to get the amount of camber that you want/need. For some it's zero, for others its -3 degrees. If I ever get a camber kit it will be to get more camber out of my setup.

 

I usually advise against camber kits because they cause interference issues on cars that are lowered quite a bit. The clerance between the shock tower & the UCAs almost disappears with most camber kits & it causes your UCAs to eventually dent there way into the engine bay...

With stock upper arms (on their proper sides), you can lower your car 3" (mabey more) without ever bottoming out the UCA. Ask me how I know...

 

Man thanks for the info and keep it coming

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I usually advise against camber kits because they cause interference issues on cars that are lowered quite a bit. The clerance between the shock tower & the UCAs almost disappears with most camber kits & it causes your UCAs to eventually dent there way into the engine bay...

With stock upper arms (on their proper sides), you can lower your car 3" (mabey more) without ever bottoming out the UCA. Ask me how I know... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Agreed, I was lowered to the point oftucking tire, without any real issues bottoming out until I found a massive pothole. Raised the car back up to a 2 finger gap (maybe 1.5" higher than before), swapped UCAs with SPC units (wanted more camber), and now I bottom out regularly on the street and have hit them often enough (and hard enough) to slide the camber adjusters.

I'd swap back to stock, but that didn't get me nearly enough camber or caster. I'm assuming that its the taller ball joint causing my contact issues. Trading suspension travel for camber, caster, and increased camber curve (virtual taller knuckle) isn't always the best choice I'm starting to learn.

 

you mentioned cars that are lowered quite a bit. What would be considered quite a bit, 2,3,4 inches? I want to start working on the suspension for my car since I been wanting to start road racing, nothing serious buy I do want a good set up. I not one of these hard core all out weekend racers (cuz I can't afford t ) but I do plan on going out maybe once a month to local events.

 

To give you an idea of how lowering effects your camber...

My 94 Civic CX is lowered 2.5". I use no aftermarket suspension componenets other than Koni shocks & Ground-control coil-over sleeves (no camber or caster adjustment). I just had the alignment done, and it shows only -1.5* of negative camber on the front wheels, and only -1* on the rear wheels. Now for as low as the car is, that sure isn't very much camber at all...

As far as how low you can go... I wouldn't suggest EVER going any lower than 3" (try to stay 2.5" and above). For one, it just completely removes any and all suspension travel, and you will be riding on the bump-stops at all times (even w/ GC upper mounts). Second, the added amounts of negative camber at those ride heights will NOT be good for a car that can't handle for **** (no shock stoke = no grip). And third, it kinda looks dumb & rides bad...

Back when I had my car at -3" it rode much crapier, and my exhaust scraped on every little dip & bump. Needless to say, I got sick of it. Appearance wise, .5" higher doesn't really make a difference. But suspension wise, it's all the difference in the world...

PS: Be sure to reset your bushings when you lower the car. Otherwise you will be replacing bushings sooner than you think. Also make sure to get an alignment afterwards to fix the toe settings that get messed up from lowering...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TunerN00b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Toe eats tires, not camber.</TD></TR></TABLE>
What do you need to get to be able to adjust the toe? UCA bushings with more adjustment than stock?

 

you dont need anything. just adjust the tie rods, which are stock.