DIY Camber adjustment

[Kick Up The Rs 0]

Waiting for my Weitec kit Ultra (40mm) to be delivered.

 

When I get it fitted, I reckon I've got a 50 mile or so treck to Stealth to get it all alligned. As I don't really want to chew-up my nice & new tyres driving there, is there a DIY camber gauge out there which can be hired for the day so I can get it roughly set up?

 

Or am I worrying too much? How much could the camber be out degree-wise?

 

Ta

[davidwort 0]

Waiting for my Weitec kit Ultra (40mm) to be delivered.

 

When I get it fitted, I reckon I've got a 50 mile or so treck to Stealth to get it all alligned. As I don't really want to chew-up my nice & new tyres driving there, is there a DIY camber gauge out there which can be hired for the day so I can get it roughly set up?

 

Or am I worrying too much? How much could the camber be out degree-wise?

 

Ta

 

I've used a spirit level before with a couple of equal length bolts stuck to it to sit on the wheel rim top and bottom :lol:

As long as you've got the car on level ground it's pretty accurate, I just got it at 90 degrees to the horizontal then gave it a bit of negative either side. You could measure it up with a protractor if you really want to get the amount spot on, but exactly vertical would be fine for tyre wear even if the grip on cornering wouldn't be as good as with a little bit of negative. Actually, I doubt whether 50 miles would be a problem anyway even if it was miles out, you can see camber simply by looking down the side of the car, compare the front and rear wheels of a big beemer you can really see the difference.

[2cc 0]

Or if you want a manufactured tool look for a camber gauge at Frost.co.uk

About £30 or so

[bcstudent 0]

Nice one 2cc. Looks like a handy tool to have laying around.

 

Link to Frost camber gauge

[davidwort 0]

Nice one 2cc. Looks like a handy tool to have laying around.

 

Link to Frost camber gauge

 

problem with those is you have to take a wheel off unless you can get it sitting flat on the hub centre with the wheels on, in my experience a similar gauge doesn't fit inside the wheel centres on most alloys, a protractor type gauge with a plumb line would be good (it needs to sit on the top and bottom of the wheel rim), but I've only ever seen an old one in use at a garage and no idea where you might get them from?

 

David.

 

Edit: ok, I didn't try very hard!

 

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ ... code=ADACG

[bcstudent 0]

Taking a wheel off is hardly a big deal. Surely it'd be easier to adjust with the wheel off anyway?

[davidwort 0]

Taking a wheel off is hardly a big deal. Surely it'd be easier to adjust with the wheel off anyway?

 

I'm pretty sure geometry will be affected if the car is up on jacks as lowering the car on non standard springs/suspension can require camber adjustment. I'd rather check things as they are when the car is 'on it's feet' as it will be on the road.

[Tempest 0]

Or drive the extra few miles to a place here in Coventry, that do a 4-wheel alignment for £25 ex VAT. They have already practised on Jim and my Corrado recently :lol:

 

Takes them up to an hour or so to do, which is then not bad for only £25 (that includes tracking, of course).

 

Tempest

[CaiosG60 PWR 0]

I bought myself one of these the other day. Its a Facom VAG camber adjustment tool.

 

To be honest Im not even too sure how it works :lol: and havnt used it yet. It came up really cheap so I got it anyway, its supposed to cost quit a bit for what it is.

[Trig 0]

I just had wheel alignment done thismorning at my local tyre shop... £18.53 all in.

[Dec 1]

Thats well cheap!!

 

I did the sciroccos using a spirit level a while back becauseI figured it wasn't worth forking out £60-£75 precisely adjusting the camber on a car that only cost £50 :oops: Seems to have done the job ok though :-P

[Kick Up The Rs 0]

Cheers guys,

 

Tempest, I work in Rugby so the Cov solution looks good to me!

[2cc 0]

CaiosG60 PWR, I like that Facom tool. Its dead easy to use, it fits between the strut and the inner panel and you just screw the centre to force the wheel out to the angle you want. Much easier than trying to pull it out by hand. Just ask Yandards about that, lol, we've done it several times on mine, his and NickVR6's.

Where did you get it by the way; I'd like one of them in my cupboard.

 

Davidwort, hello m8, yes you do have to take the wheel off but I stand the car on axle stands under the outer part of the wishbone so the suspension is in as nornal loaded position as possible. It's all a bit of a guesstimate anyway using this tool and nowhere near as accurate as the proper laser gear, but very much good enough for preliminary setting up to save your tyres if you then plan a trip to say Stealth for example.

[CaiosG60 PWR 0]

CaiosG60 PWR, I like that Facom tool. Its dead easy to use, it fits between the strut and the inner panel and you just screw the centre to force the wheel out to the angle you want. Much easier than trying to pull it out by hand. Just ask Yandards about that, lol, we've done it several times on mine, his and NickVR6's.

Where did you get it by the way; I'd like one of them in my cupboard.

 

I take it the car needs to be on a 4 post ramp to use it and one that lifts by the wheels. Thats if you use it with the wheel on, as the instuctions show it used against the inner wheel rim. Don’t fancy trying to use it on a lowered car that isn’t raised on a ramp.

 

I was pretty lucky as it came up super cheap, about £18 with p&P, in another Facom distributor’s clearance stock. I’ve just checked with them and they don’t have anymore of them. I'll let you know if anymore come up. The Facom RRP for it was £131.92+VAT!! Facom have now discontinued it too. So I was lucky to get it, a handy tool to have in my personal collection.