Coilovers, the truth behind Camber?

Ive just purchased a set of HKS Hiper D coilovers. Very swish they are too.

Anyhoo, im talking to a friend who likes to think he knows his stuff and he starts telling me about how with coilovers you have to buy specially adapted lower arms and modified topmounts etc etc to stop the camber from being stupid and burning tyres out quickly!

Ive always assumed that after fittment it would be a simple case of booking it into an allignment centre and having the camber, tracking etc done.

Would that be correct?

Any views or experiences/tips would be great!

Ive just purchased a set of HKS Hiper D coilovers. Very swish they are too.

Anyhoo, im talking to a friend who likes to think he knows his stuff and he starts telling me about how with coilovers you have to buy specially adapted lower arms and modified topmounts etc etc to stop the camber from being stupid and burning tyres out quickly!

 

Ive always assumed that after fittment it would be a simple case of booking it into an allignment centre and having the camber, tracking etc done.

 

Would that be correct?

 

Any views or experiences/tips would be great!

 

yep i got mine done when i fitted the teins as i scraped a good set of eagle f1s:( alls good now though think it only cost about £30

I need to get mine booked in is it normal tyre places that do it or is it actualy garages

the shocks and springs have no effect on the geometry of the car... right?

As I understand; the hub is fixed in place by the upper and lower arms and camber is altered through the range of travel according the the designers suspension geometry.

If your suspension alters the ride height then the camber will change, hencforth destroying your tyres.. but shock on it's own can only alther height, spring strength and damping ability.

Right but coilovers are in fact replacement shocks and springs chap

I need to get mine booked in is it normal tyre places that do it or is it actualy garages

I thought a local tyre place could do it but most of them around my area told me they wouldnt touch lowered suspension. Im now taking it to a specialist in Bournemouth (30 miles away) to get it done. Im getting the wheels balanced and tracking done again!

Thanks for the help so far. Anyone else got something to add?

Its not this lot is it? Protyres poole? http://www.protyre.co.uk/(A(vCuy9PuHyAEkAAAAOWQ5MjhkMTAtMjNhYy00M2EyLWI0ZDYtMjVmMDM5YTNiNGNhshYXKrsuV5RhoKy-Hr7WkyBkno81))/outletsdesc.aspx?id=11059&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

They've done mine before and have done a good job as has their sister unit Micheldever. They aren't cheap mind.

I was going to use http://www.christchurchtyre.co.uk

My mates 200sx went in there and they did a really good job + theres only one set charge for everything. about £60 inc vat i think! That includes Camber, tracking and balancing. I thought that was quite reasonable!

OK I had not heard of them but they have a live webcam so they must be good

Christchurch tyres are good guys, I always get my tyres there. Never knew they had a webcam mind!

the shocks and springs have no effect on the geometry of the car... right?

 

As I understand; the hub is fixed in place by the upper and lower arms and camber is altered through the range of travel according the the designers suspension geometry.

 

If your suspension alters the ride height then the camber will change, hencforth destroying your tyres.. but shock on it's own can only alther height, spring strength and damping ability.

Yes, but the Supra has camber adjusters on the lower arms underneath the car. There's a big bolt with degree gradations on it, each side, front and rear.

Normal tyre places won't touch it, you need a proper garage who specialise in this.

Ride height affects camber and castor, and sadly sometimes toe to an undesirable effect. But if you stay at the same height as you have now, none of these will change. That's NOT to say they are correct now.

im talking to a friend who likes to think he knows his stuff and he starts telling me about how with coilovers you have to buy specially adapted lower arms and modified topmounts etc etc

Well, the stock suspension is coilover anyway, so . . .

Technically yes, most cars come out of the factory with 'coilovers' (spring coil over damper) but in aftermarket circles the term became a buzz word for overly stiff, overly low fashion accessories best left for billiard table smooth track surfaces.

The reality is that for the road you wont get a much better handling setup than nice fresh OEM parts with correctly set geo. I personally witnessed this on my MR2 when changing from the stupidly stiff Ohlins tired 'coilovers' it came with (they went in the bin) to stock Toyota Billies with the milder of the Eibach spring kits to lower it very slightly. It was on standard 15" wheels with new Goodyear F1's and then went for a full geo setup after fitting the new suspension parts including new bushes, drop links etc. After that it handled beautifully and I have not driven such a quick cornering MR2 on the road since.