Camber plates or eccentric bolt?

[GTLocke13]

So the new ZZYZX EM sport coilovers use an eccentric bolt to adjust camber for the front wheels instead of camber plates. This makes me wonder whether its better to just tip the tire in like that or to get the extra steering angle inclination that a camber plate gives you.

I'm thinking that less SAI is better. Any camber that results from SAI goes away as you turn the wheel. Any camber that's there independent of SAI it doesn't change (well, it changes a little but not much). I guess the question is whether the change in effective camber angle due to caster is too large and you want to try to cut it down using SAI or not.

Of course tipping the strut in also changes the camber gain characteristics of the suspension.

Any McStrut gurus out there that know?

[ZzyzxM]

Just to clarify: My EM Sport coilovers allow you to do the adjustment via the bolt at the hub. I wouldn't really say "instead of". The reality is that there are very good reasons to do either/both, depending on your goals.

That said, adjusting camber at the hub has a much smaller overall effect on geometry than using the camber plates. With the camber plate, you are moving a suspension pick-up point - on a MacPherson strut nonetheless - and it impacts a number of different things.

I wrote a paper a while back that can help you understand some of this:

A primer: Understanding the relationship between ride height, strut axis inclination and roll center on a MacPherson strut suspension.

Let me know if you have any Qs.

[GTLocke13]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't put camber plates on, just that there was another way to adjust camber available.

I actually came across that writeup a while ago but forgot about it until now. So I guess the camber plates would be used to adjust the geometry to get the roll center where you want it (I'm still trying to figure out exactly where the ideal location is and how you want it to move as the car rolls) and the eccentric bolt to set the static camber where you want it.

BTW, the EM Sport setup I'm convinced is the best bang for the buck in coilovers out there. WTG guys. I'll be in touch to order mine sometime next year.

[Noob4life]

Originally Posted by GTLocke13

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't put camber plates on, just that there was another way to adjust camber available.

I actually came across that writeup a while ago but forgot about it until now. So I guess the camber plates would be used to adjust the geometry to get the roll center where you want it (I'm still trying to figure out exactly where the ideal location is and how you want it to move as the car rolls) and the eccentric bolt to set the static camber where you want it.

BTW, the EM Sport setup I'm convinced is the best bang for the buck in coilovers out there. WTG guys. I'll be in touch to order mine sometime next year.

Roll center migration should be minimized. The ideal location of the RC will depend on where the COG is, and should be as close as possible to reduce the roll couple.