Rear Camber Angle - I don't wish to appear negative but I may be too positive

[Ferds]

All,

After having my suspension replaced all round (new springs and dampers) I ended up with what could be classed as an 'off-road' looking Stag.

At the time, the suppliers and fitters of the parts said to allow a few hundred miles for everything to settle. I allowed 3 years and still it sat 'high'.

After searching through this forum and talking to a few Stag owners, I opted for:-

HRS lowering kit

Standard front dampers

Spax adjustable rear dampers

I asked a local Stag specialist to fit it for me, which they did, however when it came to fitting the rear trailing arm brackets, supplied with the kit from HRS, they refused saying it would give the car positive camber, look ridiculous and handle badly.

With the originals still on the car, the rear wheels had a lot of negative camber and looked ridiculous anyway, but they argued that the car would handle better with more negative camber than with positive camber.

I've drove the car for a year, during which I spoke to HRS about what I'd been told. He informed me the brackets would correct the rear camber by 2-3 degrees.

As a result I booked the car into a local garage and had them fitted.

Before I did so, I measured the camber angles...

Rear driver = -6 degrees

Rear passenger =-5 degrees

After the brackets were fitted I measured the camber angles again...

Rear driver = -0.5 degrees

Rear passenger = +0.5 degrees

The manual shows that the rear camber should be:-

-2.5 degrees (+/- 0.75 degrees)

So, on first experiences it would seem both the specialist and HRS are wrong. They are pretty much vertical.

The question is this... what would you do now? How critical is the rear camber? Is it dangerous in its current set up?

I could buy adjustable brackets from Monarch, but they are expensive.

All suggestions welcome...

[whereufromnosecity]

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Ferds

Ihave fitted Tony Harts lowering springs all round and have also fitted his rear arm brackets

I would say that my wheels are just on the negative side (how did you measure the camber angle?)

You could contact Tony and get a set of his brackets and compere them to the HRS one's

But other than buying the monarch adjustable's don't know what to suggest

Stu E

[Ferds]

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Hi Stu,

Sorry, I should have said - HRS was Hart Racing Services - i.e. Tony Hart.

It is his brackets and suspension kit that I am using.

I measured it using a camber angle gauge bought on Ebay. It is a Sealey item and works in a similar manner to a spirit level.

Have a look at:-

http://www.sealeyonline.co.uk/ga45-m...tor-gauge.html

Kind Regards

Chris

[whereufromnosecity]

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Chris

How much have the springs lowered the car, mine now sits with about 13'1/4 inches from the center of the wheel to the wheel arch lip as oposed to 14'1/2 inches before i fitted the springs etc

Hers a pic of the NS wheel

[whereufromnosecity]

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And the OS wheel

Whats your camber like on the front?

[Ferds]

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Hi,

Yes, mine is now sitting at a similar height, with the Tony Hart trailing arms fitted.

Looking at your pics, I'd say you do have -ve camber (which is correct).

Which dampers do you have fitted on the rear of your car?

Kind Regards,

Chris

[Ferds]

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Oops - sorry I meant to say that the camber on the front is correct (within original specifications).

Chris

[whereufromnosecity]

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Spax adjustables set 4 clicks from soft and poly bushes

What are the specs for the front camber as mine looks quite negitive

[stustag]

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Hi Chris are we talking track or camber?

The reason I ask is when I had my car 4 wheel laser tracked recently the rears measure -5 & -5 (car therefore striaght!).

Front was 1 & .5 on the tracking.

As far as I know my car sits on Standard fronts (just replaced) and Standard rears.

Stuart

[Ferds]

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Hi,

I'll dig out the front camber angle settings tonight and confirm what they are. When I had the original springs, the front sat too high and the camber was positive. Now they are pretty much vertical.

My Spax were set at one click but I plan to adjust these at the weekend to 3 or 4 clicks.

StuStag - I am talking camber - i.e. the angle of the wheels in the vertical axis (top to bottom). I believe the tracking works in the horizontal axis - (front to back).

As I understand it, if the tops of the wheels stick out further than the bottom, then that is positive camber. If the bottom stick out further than the top (i.e. squatting) then that is negative camber.

Hope this helps

Chris

[mjheathcote]

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Interesting figures, I must check my actual chamber angle.

I also fitted lowered springs (Leda) and bought HRS de-cambering brackets, but I was not happy with the straight up wheels, perferring more negative chamber, so I took them off.

[Paul B]

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Ferds,

I have a similar problem with mine. Its a new total rebuild which hasn't done any miles yet.

Measurement from the centre of the wheel to wheel arch is 16.25 inches which is way too high. I too have been advised to run it and it will settle, but I'm dubious, it really needs to come down at least 2 inch to look sensible.

The front is also very high.

I have thought about the Tony Hart kit, but it needs to drop a lot more than the kit will give me.

Did yours settle at all before you opted for the Tony Hart kit.

I'm wondering if the springs are too long?

Regards, Paul.

[Ferds]

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Hi Michael,

I've seen your Stag at a show and even though it looks lower, the rear camber didn't look noticeably negative. I can believe that fitting the brackets from Tony Hart would have given you too much positive camber and would have looked awful.

Hi Paul,

Your Stag sounds very similar to how mine was. I've also spoken to a couple of Stag owners who have had the same problem. Can I ask where you sourced the springs and dampers? The chances are that most suppliers get them from the same manufacturer but I would be interested to know. My original springs came from EJ Ward - the dampers from James Paddock.

The car did settle a bit over the years but it was still obviously too high when compared to other Stags with standard suspension. It also had a very obvious positive camber front. If you look at the picture of BIG J's Stag when he picked it up from EJ Ward you can see the rear wheels and it seems to be sitting high. The white Stag sat next to it seems to be sitting at the height which most Stags I have seen 'sit at'.

Hope this helps!

Regards

Chris

[mjheathcote]

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Just checked mine using my iphone (digital level gauge application) and it appears that I have a negative chamber of approx 3 degree's on both sides.

As the workshop manual states 2 1/2 degrees +/- 3/4 degree, i'm in spec, which I am quite surprised having lowered the car and the rear end having a negative camber 'look', but not a 'broken' look...if you know what I mean!

[Ferds]

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Okay, I've done some measuring.

With the Tony Hart (HRS) lowering and associated trailing arm brackets fitted:-

the height of the centre point of the arches to the ground, all round is roughly 25 inches.

The passenger rear camber is 0 degrees +ve (should be 2.5 deg -ve +/- 0.75)

The drivers rear camber is 1.5 degrees -ve (should be 2.5 deg -ve +/- 0.75)

The passenger front camber is 1.25 degrees -ve (should be 0.25 deg -ve +/- 0.75)

The drivers front camber is 0.5 degrees +ve (should be 0.25 deg -ve +/- 0.75)

So.. the fronts appear to be at opposite ends of the range but nearly correct.

The rears still need some adjustment.

I still need to know, however if these settings are dangerous or should I be ok?

Thanks

Chris