donour

iTrader: (6)

That's not what he said at all. With plates, your limited by dimensions of the center hole in the unibody. Max caster is all the way rearwards, but if you go all the way back then you can't adjust side to side. He was simply pointing that at available caster is maxed out at the max caster setting.

Take a close look at the plates and how they work. It's very clear from the pictures.

d

TouringBubble

iTrader: (2)

I think we are saying the same thing ... kinda. I see what you are saying now though ... at the maximum negative camber setting, the plates allow the caster to be as much in the positive positive as the strut tower opening will allow.

Basically, the camber adjustments angles back toward the firewall as camber is reduced. The adds more positive caster as you reduce the camber. Right?

theshadow

I've got these on my car and am not very satisfied.

The bolts used to attach the camber plates to the frame of the car and strut brace wouldn't tighten fully - it felt as if they stripped or something. I added washers and better bolts to fix the problem.

The other issue was that getting the deep nut tightened was an issue and this was the most annoying part - if you don't get that deep nut tightened properly the shock can move around which, in my case, caused my suspension to make clunking noises when going over bumps. I only just figured out the problem today and it was driving me crazy for the last 2 weeks! 2 garages I took it to couldn't solve it.

Other than that, I think the design's pretty sweet. They do allow you to dial in pretty much all the camber you'll ever need and the caster adjustment is interesting - you can feel the steering sharpen up.

Not sure what happened in my case - I run slicks so maybe they put more stress on the suspension than normal but the clunking drove me absolutely nuts until I fixed it.

Bottom line make sure you get them properly installed and DO check up on everything after a hundred clicks or so just to make sure it's all seated and tightened properly.

GTWORX.com

iTrader: (35)

What kind of coilovers do you have?


- Andrew

theshadow

Ah sorry for the long response time...I have KW V3s on the car, love them!

I isolated the problem behind my clunking issues - it seems that the top nut - the big one that secures the shock - just doesn't seat properly or is stripped etc. It's impossible for me to get these to tighten to the point that they are "snug" and holding the shock firmly in the bearing.

Thus it seems that I get a little play in the shock, which allows vibration which in turn allows the bolts to loosen over time to the point that the shock can move around enough to make the "clunking" noises over bumps or rough surfaces (speedbumps in particular as well as surfaces like such as interlocking brick etc.).

In my case, I don't think that the fact that I run semislicks and -3.4 degrees of camber helps alot eitherr - there's alot of force going through there as I can pull 1.2 lateral Gs on the street (as measured by my Performance Box).

FWIW, I use the car for track and Autocross. i run Bridgestone RE55S semislicks for street and track, Pirelli slicks for Autocross. I have the KWs set at max negative camber at the bottom of the shocks and the camber paltes set in the middle using the least aggressive mounting hole on the backing plate.

if a solution can be found I'd be very happy to hear it. I'm not writing these camber plates off completely by any means as the design seems sound but for now, until I can make sure they can be mounted 100% reliably, I'm going back to the stock top shock mounts, and the -2.4 or so degrees negative camber I can get with the V3s alone.

Having complete confidence in the car is more important IMHO until I can work out what's up.

Garage might have stripped the bolts but I highly doubt it - no signs of stripping on the threads at all - so I'm at a loss to explain!

GTWORX.com

iTrader: (35)

I suspected KW's....it is notoriously difficult to tighten the topnut on any camber plates with them. The shaft just spins and spins. We use a strap wrench to keep it from spinning and this way we can get the topnut tightened down properly. A pain, but if you're patient it can get them on. Great coilover by the way.

Definitely pick up a set of Kobalt strap wrenches for like 15 bucks from any hardware store or online.....they will make your life easier.


- Andrew

theshadow

BINGO! The shaft endlessly spinning is exactly what I have been experiencing when tightening those top bolts...I thought the bolts had stripped but when I inspected them they looked fine...was driving me nuts!

So you're saying that the issue is that the shick shaft is spinning when I'm tightening the top nuts eh?

Thanks ALOT, I'll look into it! Will let you know how things work out

Big thumbs up to a vendor with excellent product knowledge too I might add.

theshadow

BINGO! The shaft endlessly spinning is exactly what I have been experiencing when tightening those top bolts...I thought the bolts had stripped but when I inspected them they looked fine...was driving me nuts!

So you're saying that the issue is that the shock shaft is spinning when I'm tightening the top nuts eh?

Thanks ALOT, I'll look into it! Will let you know how things work out

Big thumbs up to a vendor with excellent product knowledge too I might add.

GTWORX.com

iTrader: (35)

exactly, the shaft spinning means you can't get any good torque on those topnuts. we give our customers the option of preassembling the KW's since they can be such a pain.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...35-16878-40112

^ These guys are life savers.

and thanks. definitely post up with your results!


EDIT: and be careful not to overtorque the top nuts. then you may actually strip them....


- Andrew

theshadow

yep, I'm assuming the top nuts just have to be snug, not tightened until the whole assembly creaks

I'm trying to track down a strap wrench and a guy who knows how to use one properly - stupid question but if I DIY what part of the shock do I need to grip with the strap wrench? Shock body I'm assuming, as opposed to the shaft?

GTWORX.com

iTrader: (35)

the strap goes around the shaft.

i have some pictures, send me a PM with your email and i'll send over our instructions.

- andrew

tephra

iTrader: (6)

guys how are these plates? any feedback? Whiteline's reputation (at least here in Australia) has gone downhill in recent months, shoddy fitting products and terrible service.

Andrew - have you got a price on these babies yet?

Do they have spring perches included.. I have KWV3's on the way so I would like to know if I need to keep my stock perches...

20psiMR

iTrader: (6)

Oh man thats not good, I love my whiteline stuff and had planned on getting these once I go coilovers. Tephra say it aint so!

tephra

iTrader: (6)

I'm still interesting in these, i just want a couple of other ppl's feedback about quality

GTWORX.com

iTrader: (35)

Not allowed to post a price here, PM me with your info and i'll get a shipping quote for ya.

KW perches will work with these without issue.

Whiteline USA has always had a fantastic reputation over here, amazing service and support to us. In any rare case where something is wrong it's immediately taken care of. No complaints from us, and we're picky.

We actually make our own camber plates for Subaru, but since we can barely keep ours in stock (made in the USA, each is CNC machined in very small quantities), we end up doing many of the Whitelines. So we've got a lot of Subaru's running these plates with good results.


EDIT: I think there were a handful of early sets that had a loose spherical bearing, but they were promptly taken care of.


- Andrew