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[The Barge Captain]

Is there a guide on here how to check and possibly adjust front camber?

[feeutfo]

Is there a guide on here how to check and possibly adjust front camber?

Fairly sure its to do with the clamp on the shock body.  As mine was well out and had coincidentally a new shock fitted a couple of week ago. Apart from getting a full geometry set up to make sure its correct i dont know how to adjust correctly, but i have seen posts about Mr dtm having a play.
Not aware of a guide.

[HerefordElite]

Dtm has said about adjusting it before but only if there is a flat enough piece of ground (ie not a campsite)

Personaly i'd say its laser alignment only - let the pro's do it

[Kevin Wood]

If you need to do a rough alignment and you have a flat floor you can use a spirit level to measure how far off the vertical the wheel is sitting and calculate the angle with a bit of trigonometry. Probably best only for a rough setting after a wishbone change, etc. A geometry tester will make a much better job assuming the user is any good.


Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

If you need to do a rough alignment and you have a flat floor you can use a spirit level to measure how far off the vertical the wheel is sitting and calculate the angle with a bit of trigonometry. Probably best only for a rough setting after a wishbone change, etc. A geometry tester will make a much better job assuming the user is any good.


Kevin

I would not agree on the camber.....my results to date show it to be VERY accurate if don with care!

Toe is something i have not managed to suss out yet though

[Kevin Wood]

I would not agree on the camber.....my results to date show it to be VERY accurate if don with care!

Toe is something i have not managed to suss out yet though

I've never really checked my results against a proper alignment machine, TBH. I'll have a go next time I'm headed to WIM.

I tried to set the toe on the kit car when I first built it. Got it reasonably good on my car using 2 parallel bars but on the Rush my mate built it took about 4mm off a set of tyres in the first 100 miles.  

When the sides of a car are that tapered don't trust your eyesight - just your measurements! Still can't reverse one straight into a parking space let alone set up the suspension.

Kevin

[The Barge Captain]

If you need to do a rough alignment and you have a flat floor you can use a spirit level to measure how far off the vertical the wheel is sitting and calculate the angle with a bit of trigonometry. Probably best only for a rough setting after a wishbone change, etc. A geometry tester will make a much better job assuming the user is any good.


Kevin

I would not agree on the camber.....my results to date show it to be VERY accurate if don with care!

Toe is something i have not managed to suss out yet though

Any pic's Mark?

[JasonH]

I'd have thought that on a flat surface - say concrete and checked with a spirit level - you'd have a good chance roughly setting the camber with a plumb weight and ruler or spirit level and a ruler. You could have a go at checking it at least.

Regarding toe - I have got mine really close (well in spec anway) using a piece of string tied round a spoke of the back wheel and pulled taught at the front against the front wheel. I loop the string through the back wheel so it sits flat against the back tyre then use the string to get the front parallel. This does rely on the rear wheel geometry being right though...

[Marks DTM Calib]

If you need to do a rough alignment and you have a flat floor you can use a spirit level to measure how far off the vertical the wheel is sitting and calculate the angle with a bit of trigonometry. Probably best only for a rough setting after a wishbone change, etc. A geometry tester will make a much better job assuming the user is any good.


Kevin

I would not agree on the camber.....my results to date show it to be VERY accurate if don with care!

Toe is something i have not managed to suss out yet though

Any pic's Mark?

Sadly not, I use a cheap spirit level with two bolts inserted into it that make contact with the alloys rim.

You adjust the depth of the bolts to give a difference between the two which means that at the correct camber (this one is set to -1deg 15') the bubble reports level.

Amazingly, you get about 9mm of difference over teh wheel rim for the above angle so the error is dominated by your ability to set the hub position!

[Kevin Wood]

Amazingly, you get about 9mm of difference over teh wheel rim for the above angle so the error is dominated by your ability to set the hub position!

That surprised me, too. Had to check my calculations. It's also surprising how little it needs to be out for the bubble to disappear off one end of the spirit level.

One point to note is that if you have to jack the car up and make adjustments, make sure you drop the car down and roll it back and forth a couple of times to settle the suspension before measuring again.

Kevin

[Kaycee]

I have used this method as Jason says on several occasions and i might add you can get it spot on just make sure its on level ground use the plumb bob and ruler and on a 16inch wheel the difference is about 9 mm diff  top and bottom My local tyre place as got the bluetooth aligner he charges 40 for toe but if you wasnt camber its £100 but the readout still gives all the measurements so i do my own camber and let them do the toe I can take my hands of the wheel and it doesnt veer anywhere not many omega owners can say that. Just do it that way and you will be pleasantly suprised how easy yuo can set it up
If you want micro  adjustments do a searrch for Camskill Camber adjusting bolts £28 a set you replace top bolt with the camskill and its presise unfortuanatly i let them go on my old 2.5 and forgot to replace them and keep them but as i did the above method and got it cock on i have not bothered replacing the camskills

it truly is an easy job with the plumb bob and ruler measurement
iv also done it by taking of the wheel measure from the disc to a fixed point on the chassis note the measurement write it down then slacken bolts tap in or out with a block of wood or something only go a mill at a time as a mill is a lot in degrees if you then put wheel back and have around 9mm diff on 16 wheel you will not be far off  thats top of rim and bottom

Robert
 

[The Barge Captain]

Quite an interesting discussion this has turned into  

[The Barge Captain]

Still don't know which bolts to loosen.

Is it the ones on the strut turret?

[Marks DTM Calib]

Still don't know which bolts to loosen.

Is it the ones on the strut turret?

Its the ones that hold the steering knuckle to the strut base.....the top slot is elongated and provides the adjustment

[lpgelite]

I agree with others who have carried out their own adjustments successfully that it is a reasonably straightforward procedure if you can find a level piece of ground and apply a bit of common sense.

If you've a matching pair of tyres on the front you can measure the gap between tyrewall and shock absorber tube.

This should be as near as possible the same each side.

If the tyres are almost touching the shock absorbers, you've almost certainly got too much negative camber.

Getting equal settings between sides and satisfactory feel through the steering can be just as effective as chasing optimum numbers.

Vauxhall didn't pay too much attention at the factory, so it shouldn't be difficult to make an improvement. Even a very small adjustment will make a noticeable difference to the feel of the car.

If your not confident, spending a few quid on a proper geometry check will be money well spent, especially when you consider the cost of buggering up a decent pair of tyres will be upwards of £200, however if your inside edges are already worn you don't really have a lot to lose by having a go yourself.

Bear in mind that any adjustment to camber will require toe in to be reset, too.