i got my front tires flipped a couple day ago cuz its been about 5500 miles..i just decided it was time..good thing i did...my camber was way off of course..i knew this was gonna happen but i didnt know this fast...there was about a .5 inch diff between the inside and the outside of the tread...anyways...they said i need different ball joints in the front and new shims or cam bolts in the back...all for around $347.89...is this the same as a camber kit ? and if it is would that be cheaper? thanks yall in advance....oh yeah...somebody help me out with my cam gear also!!! thanks guys!!

 

I have heard of using shims or washers in the back. These should be inexpensive though and I do believe 300 is a lot of money for a front camber kit. How far off is the camber now? I just put some G-C on and with almost two inches of drop my rear are straight and my front is -1.5 ,. So I will most likely get a kit after I kill my half dead tires, but as they have only been on for 2,000 miles I have yet to see.

 

you can use metal washers in the back...add it to the control arm bolts. One washer increases the camber by about 0.25 degrees. If you plan on putting 3 or more, you will have to buy a new bolt. Usual price for doing both rear tires is under $10 I believe. For the front, camber kits are usually expensive, which is why people usually fore-go getting them. Also camber kits usually give you problems like being noisy...etc...

 

You mean where the upper control arm bolts to the chassis, right?
Hey do 5g Accords have 2 lower control arms on the trailing arm?
Accords have cool suspensions.

 

yes where it bolts to the chassis...isnt that price a bit steep?? and im not sure about the 2 lower control arms...but i think your correct on that.

 

Have you gotten an aligment done?? Most people but suspensions on their cars and don't care to get one done.. What happens is your TOE will get knocked way out when you lower and, and your tires will scrub going down the road, that is what eats them quick, not negative camber.. Get an alignemnt done, if you have more than -2 degrees of camber, than yes, a camber kit would help you, if not, its not nessisary and get the toe straighted out

 

yes i got the aligment done....but the camber is way off...like one side is -2.16 and the other is -2.24...somethink like that...thanks

 

Hmmm I didn't notice this before in my Helms manual, but Accords do have adjustable caster, not camber. Caster angle can be adjusted by increasing/decreasing the adjusting shims on the radius rod. But anyways, most cars are not particularly sensitive to caster settings... just an FYI.
(But of course you do want your right and left caster angles to be equal)

 

the helms manual states this but when I had my car aligned I was told the car did not?

 

I had to drop in 3 degree camber adjustment kits on my accord, and they just shimmed the rears. You can either pay an unreasonable amount for longer screws in the rear or do what alot of these guys are saysing and shimmy them. ie: put washers in the rear to extend the screws a little. I had mine shimmied instead of new screws or control arm's, and my alrightment is so perfect, the shop owner kept a compy of my before and after alignment papers to show customers.
hope this helps.

 

The reason why you would need the longer screws is to keep enough threads in the hole after you've added washers... It is dangerous to add 3+ washers without lengthening the bolt because there will not be enough of the bolt in the hole.

 

ok say i do the shims in the back...how many degrees does one add? and how bout the front..is it safe to do the same in the front or do i need to go with a camber kit in the front? and if i do how hard/easy is it to install it? bc they what a unbelievable amount of $$$ for labor!!! thanks

 

Adjusting caster is a major PITA compared to simply twisting the tie rod bolt to adjust toe. Even if a shop knew how to adjust caster, I doubt they'd do it as part of a basic alignment.

To quote dvsOasis above: "you can use metal washers in the back...add it to the control arm bolts. One washer increases the camber by about 0.25 degrees. If you plan on putting 3 or more, you will have to buy a new bolt. Usual price for doing both rear tires is under $10 I believe. For the front, camber kits are usually expensive, which is why people usually fore-go getting them. Also camber kits usually give you problems like being noisy...etc..."

You can't do anything with the front upper control arms, you have to get a camber kit to adjust the front camber.

 

however, i do believe if you use shims, you are altering the suspension geometry, and thus probably knocking the toe and caster a bit out alignment again... but i'm not 100% certain...

if i were you, i'd keep a little camber, between -.5 and -1.0 degrees... between those specs, you really won't see any noticable tire wear...