First of all thanks for reading!

I have a 98' Accord LX 4dr that has been lowered 1.5" with Eibach Springs sitting on 18" wheels with 225/35/18 tires. This being said the inside of my tires all are down to the steel(negative camber I assume?)...I just moved to this city and I have tried a handfull of places to ask them to align my car....for whatever reason they say they can't???

I ordered some new tires which are 215/35/18 and I dont want to put these on until I figure out how to fix this problem I have. Any input here would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks guys.

Kevin M.

 

they say they can't maybe because you need an adjustable camber kit. I don't know about accords, but I know with my civic I had to get the kits to do it.

 

I thought a camber kit was just a camber kit? adjustable? I was also under the impression that a 1.5" drop isnt low enough for whomever to do an alignment.

Kevin

 

I bet they could do it if they really wanted to. All they have to do is adjust tie-rods and center the wheel. What's the big deal? I've had alignment shops tell me no b/c car was lowered. Get out the yellow pages and just keep calling places. It'll pay off eventually. They can only correct toe until you get a camber kit. BTW if you had coilovers, you could just raise it real quick and go to any alignment shop.

 

So your telling me that the only way to correct my problem is with a camber kit? I have too have a camber kit? My wallet is very thin....does anyone here know of good quality but yet inexpensive camber kits for a 98' honda accord lx? I'm really lost at what to do here. Should I even get an alignment 1st if all they can adjust is the toe? Thanks for any input.

Kevin M.

 

The general guideline is that you don't need a camber kit with a drop of 1.5 inches

(all of them are adjustable by the way, if they weren't for adjusting camber, why would anyone buy them?)

You should definitely get an alignment and get your toe set within spec. The toe is more important than camber in terms of eating up tires. If your toe is set to spec, you will be fine with a degree or 2 of negative camber.

Keep calling, you should eventually find a place that will do your alignment, it's not impossible to do a lowered car. Also, have them give you your alignment spec sheet so you know your own alignment specs.

 

I'm taking it in today for an alignment. I will post my specs when I get finished because I will not know from the specs if I need a camber kit or not. Thx

Kevin M.

 

Update....

First off the guy said he can get it on the rack which is good BUT that I need to get my spare tire off and get another one of my velox VX-8 rims back on when I get it in.....this being said, he used some instrament that measures camber on each tire which came out to -1.2 to -1.5 on each tire...he also said that he cant change the camber on hondas just the toe.......so do I need me a camber kit on both the front and rear of this car? If so where can I go to get the best prices...once again I have a very thin wallet. Thanks for any input guys!

Kevin M.

 

He is correct, you cannot change the camber on Hondas. You only need him to adjust the toe to spec. -1.5 degrees of camber is not bad at all, a lot of the people on H-T have more than -2 degrees of camber and get camber kits to get it back in the -1.5 range.

Remember, zero camber is bad for handling, and you will not wear through tires at all as long as you have your toe aligned properly and you keep the same camber levels you currently have. If you lowered your car more and your camber was in the -2.5 range, then you may want to invest in a camber kit from Omniman (www.kteller.com or http://www.omnipowerusa.com), SPC, SRR (exospeed.com), etc.

 

Well okay I guess, kinda confused now.....I just ordered 4 new tires which are 215/35/18's instead of the 225/35/18's I have on now.....this being said do I just NOT get a camber kit and put the new wheels on, get my toe aligned to spec, then rotate my tires every 2 oil changes since my camber is only -1.2 to -1.5? Thanks for any input here guys.

Kevin M.

 

Yes, I would say that would be fine. Just keep an eye on your tire wear, as long as your toe is set to spec, you should be able to roll on those new tires for a good 40k+ miles. I had Neuspeed Race springs for 4 years with no camber kit and although it wore a little more on the inside of the tread, the tires lasted for over 45k miles with regular rotations.