Cut my Intrax springs

[TrueBlue]

Cool. I've been holding off getting a set of tires so I could get them mounted when I do the alignment. Let me know all your details after you get it all set.

Tom

 

[SolidState]

hey will....do you have a pic of the finished product yet?

 

[FAST4DR]

Ok, got my car back from the aligment shop on Thursday morning and then I went out of town. I put 400 miles on the car.

The alignment guy had no problems. The front camber is set at -1.2 and the rear is -1.0 with zero toe all around.

The plates are basically where they were with my old alignment at -.8 without the front springs being cut. So it seems like with one coil cut on the front the front camber went from -.8 to -1.2

I don't know how the inside edges will wear but I don't think -1.2 is that severe. What is the stock settings?

The ride did not change at all and the stance is much better. I left the 20.5 bar on the front with the rubber bushings. I don't know if it's the new alignment or the Quaife, but this thing goes off highway ramps so fast it's damn scary. I will get some pics tomorrow. Didn't have the chance over the last couple days.

Will

 

[AutoSHO]

Have you corrected for camber yet on your car, Will? Did drilling out the strut mount welds and hogging the holes correct it for you? After I got the new ball joints in, I'm finding this thing eats the outer shoulders like mad.

If you are eating the outside edges of the tires, you are running positive camber (!) which is the exact opposite of what you want. This means the tops of the struts are too far out, and the top of the tire is further out than the bottom. Bad for handling. Definately get an alignment!

 

[FAST4DR]

Here are some pics of my car with the front Intrax springs cut one coil. I like it very much. I have not had any trouble with speed bumps or driveways. I have a steep incline to get into my driveway and it is close, but it does not rub. If the back intrax coils weren't so loose in the strut the way they come, I would cut them one coil and the front another coil, but it's good as it is.

Will

 

[twr]

Will... Looks very good. Your wheel gap looks almost the same as mine.

 

[FAST4DR]

Will... Looks very good. Your wheel gap looks almost the same as mine.

Your's looks a little lower in the front than mine. Did you drop the strut in the knuckle any?

 

[SolidState]

that looks really good...

I might end up cutting another half coil or so off the cargos and see how that sits...

 

[twr]

Your's looks a little lower in the front than mine. Did you drop the strut in the knuckle any?

Nope, but I am running 245/45 tires... They are a little taller than 235's.

 

[92sho16]

Looks like my wheel gap is simliar too, i just need some after market wheels now.

 

[TrueBlue]

Add my two cents in. I'm running 235/40/18's.

The more I look at the way the wheels are sitting, the more i'm convinced it has negative camber to the wheels, like AutoSHO said. Why would it have negative camber, should it not have positive camber after a lowering job?

Nice stances all the way around here!

 

[twr]

Actually the opposite happens. Lowering a SHO results in negative camber. Positive camber occurs when lifting. Think of the suspension as a trapazoid (sp), (control arm @ the subframe, control arm @ the knuckle, the top of the strut and the horiz. dist from top of strut to over the control arm) the bottom leg is fixed as well as the distance for the control arm to top of strut. The amount you can move the top of the strut in and out and the length of the strut are adjustable. When you shorten the lenght of the strut, the angle decreases, which pulls the top of the tire inward.

Edit: Here a quick drawing of how lowering the suspension effect chamber. The dimesions are not accurate (just pulled numbers out of thin air , but it demonstrates what happens)

 

[ShoGuy93]

AHH yes the wheel gap wars!

 

[TrueBlue]

Actually the opposite happens. Lowering a SHO results in negative camber. Positive camber occurs when lifting. Think of the suspension as a trapazoid (sp), (control arm @ the subframe, control arm @ the knuckle, the top of the strut and the horiz. dist from top of strut to over the control arm) the bottom leg is fixed as well as the distance for the control arm to top of strut. The amount you can move the top of the strut in and out and the length of the strut are adjustable. When you shorten the length of the strut, the angle decreases, which pulls the top of the tire inward.

Edit: Here a quick drawing of how lowering the suspension effect chamber. The dimesions are not accurate (just pulled numbers out of thin air , but it demonstrates what happens)

Okay... that's about what I figured what should happen, the tire's bottom gets pushed outwards, the top of the tire gets pushed inwards, resulting in the inside of the tire (the portion facing in towards the wheelwell) wearing faster than the outside of the tire.

On my car, the outside of the tire is wearing way faster than the inside of the tire, which makes me believe one of three things-
A.) The tire sits with the bottom pushed in and the top pushed out. (Isn't that negative camber? Now I'm confused.)

or

B.) The tires have been set with some toe added in so they look like this / \ instead of this [ ] . The outer shoulder wears more because they rub slightly sideways,

or

C.) All of the above.

 

[twr]

 

[TrueBlue]

That man is good.

Okay, negative is what I'm looking for then.

 

[K-Dawg]

I think toe-in will cause the outside of the tire to wear as well. I find it hard to believe that you have so much positive camber with the Intrax springs that your tires wear that bad on the outside.

 

[twr]

Lowering a car doesn't induce positive camber only negative.

 

[TrueBlue]

I find it hard to believe that you have so much positive camber with the Intrax springs that your tires wear that bad on the outside.

Have you corrected for camber yet on your car, Will? Did drilling out the strut mount welds and hogging the holes correct it for you? After I got the new ball joints in, I'm finding this thing eats the outer shoulders like mad.

If you're just joining us... It most definetly eats the outer shoulders.

 

[SHOman24v]

Now you got to align it, looks good, always wanted to do that to mine, but i sold my car........ last week