Evo suspension question (front camber)

[Armitage]

I put my Evo8 suspension to the test last weekend with its first RallyX. It performed very well and earned me a 2nd place class finish and 4th overall out of 48 so it's very capable. However one problem which I anticipated did arise.

Because the bolt holes in the front strut's ears are of a wider diameter than the that of the wheel hub, you have to set the camber by pushing the top in and the bottom out before tightening the bolts using hardened washers. This seems to be pretty much the standard way of approaching the conversion, and it has served me well on the street under every condition I've come across..

Not so at RallyX. The combination of bumps and loads experienced with competition tires causes the strut to move with respect to the wheel hub even when the bolts are fully tightened. This causes the camber to flop around under hard cornering. I need a more robust solution. I was thinking of maybe just welding the washers to the strut ears in the pre-set positions so they couldn't slide around. Alternatively, a "C" shaped bracket could be made up that locked the bolts in a fixed position for maximum negative camber. Any thoughts or solutions?

Other than that I am extremely happy with the Evo8 suspension. The rear welding shows no sign of failure and the brake lines seem to be fine even though they're only fixed in place with hose clamps. I have uncut front springs and am thinking I might like a higher spring rate up front because the Evo springs are pretty soft (stiffer in the back than the front) compared to the Eibach springs I used to have (stiffer in front than in the back) with my GC coilovers.

 

[jepherz]

I can only come up with two solutions to your problem. The first solution you already mentioned; welding washers where they need to go. The second? Drill the holes out on the hub to match the bore size of the hold in the struts. I don't really like this idea much because you're permanently altering a hard to replace part on the car.

How did you go about doing the welding of the rear struts? MIG welding ? Seems like the bushings would just melt up pretty bad if you were to tig them.

 

[Armitage]

Yea, the rears were MIG welded. The mounting ears on the shocks were cut down, and the balls were welded on both sides, as well as 180 degrees upward where the ball sits inside. Just had to do a little at a time and then cool the whole thing down with a towel soaked in cold water repeatedly as instructed in the archived threads.

 

[curtis]

Armitage I've done a few of these for people the thing I've found is to weld not washers but make shims out of an old set of stock front struts. Position them up and weld around the peremeter. Buy building shims the loading from the compression of the bolts is more evenly distributed over using washers on each side. Then you can drill out the stock hubs to except the larger evo style bolts. I use just a 9/16 drill bit and then size with a diegrinder and a cartridge roll.
I never buy the factory hardware but pick up the bolts at a local farm supply should cost about 20 dollars for the 4 bolts, 8 flat washers 4 lock washers and 4 self locking nuts.

 

[Armitage]

I think you're on to something Curtis. I just wish I hadn't thrown away my stock struts /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Do you have a source of used parts for shims?

 

[curtis]

No I'm zero balance but any of the dsm na or turbo would have the same thing for the front strut mounts. A hacksaw and a junkyard would be the best bet cause I'm sure there not going to believe that your buying them just to cut up. Or just hit a steel shop and buy some thin gauge steel and drill two holes in each and cut to fit.

 

[324vr4]

I was having difficulies keeping the beast aligned with the EVO8 suspension...turned out all I needed to do was "reef" on the LBJs and tighten them up...so far so good....Before the car was jumping around the interstate when subtle movements were tried....or you could weld the shims in, you could get from any local machining shop...pretty much just scrap there, and never have to worry bout them again...

 

[gtluke]

i drilled my hubs out and used OEM mitsu bolts. gives you + 1.5deg camber when you flip the top bolt over too. pretty trick

 

[Armitage]

I am very very hesitant to drill out the holes in the wheel hub because it will slightly weaken the old rusty metal and the amount of abuse my car sees is significant. That and I've personally broken that part of the wheel hub right off before.