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Camber kit?

Grant86

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Ok took my car to a so called professional yesterday after a whole lot of arguing he side looks like my car was lowered at some point so he said get a camber kit so I can adjust the toe and cambers. My question to him was what if I put suspension and springs that aren't lowered would that fix my issue with wheels scrubbing out. He couldn't or wouldn't answer me so please need an honest answer would putting stock unlowered suspension and springs steer me away from getting a camber kit?
 

mpower

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you should do the camber kit anyway - it was a known issue on everything pre-VX2.

afaik they are pretty cheap.
 

_R_J_K_

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What was the problem that made you take it there and what were you arguing about?

If you go to stock height the camber problem won't go away completely (it's inherent in the Commodore's suspension design), but at stock height it shouldn't be a huge problem. VT S1 had it the worst, but it was improved for VT S2 onwards. VX S2 introduced toe arms.

Stock springs will be dime a dozen and are pretty damn easy to change. I'd try that and see how you go before buying a kit.

afaik they are pretty cheap.

Average price for supply and fit seems to be about $400. Not really that cheap to do it on a whim.
 

Grant86

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They jus kept talking like even saying they aligned the wheels was justified and really wasn't any help at all but once the mechanic started talking to me he jus said get a camber we quote them jus over a grand plus installation. Pretty much all I can do ATM is swap out the springs and see what happens.
 

_R_J_K_

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the mechanic started talking to me he jus said get a camber we quote them jus over a grand plus installation.

He quoted you 1k for just a camber kit?
 

vc commodore

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As mentioned, camber wear on the rear wheels is a common problem with IRS commodores.....With the VX series 11 onwards having a toe link fitted from the factory, helps reduce the tyre wear problem, but doesn't cure it. After all, camber and toe are 2 different settings....camber being on a horizontal plain and toe on a vertical plain.

Raising the rear of the car, should reduce the tyre wear problem, but again, won't cure it. So this professional you went to, was correct in not commenting, because if he said, it would solve the problem and you started experiencing the problem (which is quite possible), you would have went back to him, cracking a wobbly and then gone onto here, complaining about that.

So my suggestion would be, at this stage, raise the car, keep an eye on the inside edges of the rear tyres for signs of wear and if you start seeing it, then shell out for a 4 point camber kit. It should take about 5,000 kays to 10,000 kays of driving to notice the signs of wear associated with excess camber. Or alternatively shell out for a 4 point camber kit and leave the car at it's current height
 

Turtl3

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Ur car may not have been lowered at some point...maybe the springs r cactus and sagged?. But either way the result will be getting a whole lot more camber wear. Pre vx2s r shocking for camber wear. Other than upgrading to a vx2 control arm setup...the best best is to get adjustable control arm bushes. Inners and outers for <vx1 and just outers for vx2<
 

Drewie

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There must be a big difference in some of the earlier VT/VX1 cars, my VX series 1 SS did around 45,000km on the original rear tyres (never rotated) and then there was only slight wear on the passengers side tyre starting to appear, the drivers side was still wearing evenly, probably could have pushed another 5,000km out of them, the current set of tyres have done around 31,000km and there is no sign of inner wear yet, car is the standard FE2 suspension, it is a very late series 1, built about a month before the series 2 was released. Maybe I have just been lucky.
 

Turtl3

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The problem also comes about when the springs and shocks wear and sag, that causes the suspension to naturally sit lower, increasing camber, its not just from the car being dumped on its nuts...even towing a loaded trailer or having the boot full of heavy crap will, in turn, lower the ass of the car and increase camber wear. How they are driven can also have a big effect, and i dont just mean by spinning/chirping tyres...taking off with a heavy foot causes the ass of the car to dip down, and due to the working nature of the suspension, it increases camber angle...combine that with the twisting load on the tyre from the heavy foot and u will tear tread off very quickly. Cornering fast with a heavy foot (even without breaking traction) will also chew the inner side of the inner tyre...and also the outers of the front lol(in regards to turning direction)...then it also comes down to tyre composition and how soft or hard they are as to how quickly they wear out.
 
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