[jssaab]

I got the shims and the car is pretty spot on now. But a more lowered car may have issues using the shims.

I just found this on Horsepower freaks, totally adjustable...

Rear Camber Kit

they also sell shock tower braces and coilovers as well....

Suspension parts

 

[g96nt]

I don't get it.
Is it the lower arm, and you can pull it in to fix camber?

 

[g96nt]

Ah... yeah it is.

Here's the actual part (for less)

Amazon.com: Specialty Products Company 67270 Rear Arm for Saturn: Automotive

 

[Cark]

Lots of guys on SC using these... I just ordered a set of these type arms from rock auto, they are reybestos I think, all the same though. The SPC ones looked maybe a bit beefier depending on the pictures you looked at, but I couldn't find any place that had a pair of them in stock. Amazon said 2, but when I added to cart it said they wouldn't be available to ship until 2-3 weeks from now. The raybestos ones on rock auto were like $65 each. I'll be doing those with new rose bushes and then an alignment and hopefully that will cure my rear end woes for good. I have an alignment report on the car from last year and the both sides in the rear showed -2.9 degrees

 

[g96nt]

Really, it's not the camber that eats a non-drive tire; It's the toe.
Get that sorted out, and 2-4* of camber won't eat your tires.

That said... this is a nice option for the low people.

 

[Cark]

I know, everyone says toe toe toe. The alignment report showed the toe to be in spec, but that was also a year ago... so who knows now. But my passenger rear tire is down to the cords on the inner edge.

 

[DrewP]

Let us know what this changes in your alignment - my 9-5 sedan is cupping the inside edge of the left rear tire. So far I am addressing the issue by driving my new C900, lol.

 

[g96nt]

It *is* toe...

Keep in mind that most alignments are done in the air. with no forces on the bushings, it'll look straight, but with the amount of rubber in the back, with some miles, it can go in every direction with weight on the suspension. Did you replace the trailing arm bushings? If those are bad, the wheel's able to go all wonky at will. replace them, and when you go for an alignment, they can use the mounting plate to adjust for toe.

 

[Cark]

Funny though, and not to debate you... but on my grey wagon after I replaced the trailing arm bushings with poly I had the rear toe set. My alignment guy is old school, knows his shit, he checks all his settings with the car weighted. Lifts the car back up and re-adjusts if necessary. So the toe was set, but the camber was still whack due to the classic rear end sag, and it was an aero so probably more than normal. Well, those tires showed pretty serious cupping on the inner edge too...

So I agree that toe is the #1 cause of tire wear/cupping, but if the camber is out of whack and the toe is set correctly, you will still wear the shit of your tires long term.

These arms will fix your camber so hopefully you'll have "normal" tire wear vs. "excessive" wear like that from which most 9-5 owners suffer. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting everything dialed and hopefully seeing some decent miles out of my next set of summer tires (18's maybe ).

 

[g96nt]

Weird. Cupping is a result of toe being out, though. the "smearing" of the tread on a diagonal is what causes it.

Either way, I do agree. get the best setup you can...

 

[Saabeh]

(excessive) Negative camber with perfect toe will still not wear a tire properly. You typically wont see cupping though.

 

[jpgroth]

Has anyone had an alignment done with the adjustable rear arms? I went for an alignment today and the shop claimed when they adjusted to fix the camber, the toe increased too much. So the left rear camber is -2.5 and the right is south of -4. I assumed there was a way to adjust camber before toe? Or that they'd be separate/adjustable values? The only solution was to shim or raise the ride height (on coilovers)

 

[Cark]

Huh? After adjusting the camber they just need to correct the toe. Then double check the camber. It may be a bit of back and forth, but that sounds strange to me. The toe is adjustable by just loosening the bolts for the plate that attaches the trailing arm and moving it side to side as the holes are slotted... Maybe find a new alignment shop that is capable of working on custom type/race setups.

 

[jpgroth]

Yeah I was a bit confused. I too assumed it would take some tinkering, but definitely doable. Which plate are you talking about? The front of the trailing arm (towards the front of the car) where the bushing connects? I'll post a scan of the alignment specs in a second

 

[jpgroth]

 

[Cark]

The curious thing to me is why you're - camber is double on the right what it is on the left?

And yes I was referring to the mounting plate where the front of the trailing/control arm mounts to the body/rear sub-frame. The bolt holes in the plate are slotted and that's how the toe is adjusted. My alignment guy leaves them just loose enough that when he puts weight on the car he can whack them a bit to get them to spec and then tightens them.

 

[Saabeh]

The only thing I have seen solve all camber and toe issues is replacing ALL 18? bushings and joints in the rear.

 

[wjogert]

I'm confused. The original post links to rear upper control arms, and the following replies all refer to an adjustable link.

Is this an either/or application, or both are required?

 

[g96nt]

The photo is wrong in the first post.
The whole thread is about the adjustable lower arm.

 

[jpgroth]

Indeed! The only downside about these adjustable arms is that they aren't perfectly centered on the hub. So it seems to adjust more toe than camber.