VN strut tops

[Jxfwsf]

I'd set them there and see how they turn out on the alignment...
Found the print out of what my above pics are.... it's lowered but tbh doesn't look far off stock height, with those strut tops in the positions shown it is:

LH: -1°55'
RH: -1°30'

So even with the top as far out as possible it's still almost -2° camber, high Km VN's just aren't very straight in the body... (Even with that camber i've got almost 40,000 Km's out of the tires (worn evenly), If (and it's not going to happen) I revised my driving and hard cornering habits i could get alot more out of them but that'd be no fun at all.

 

[hi_ryder]

ok ill leave them fully adjusted to the second pic i posted, arrow to the engine. see what happens when i get the tires mounted. yours still seem like they're closer to 3 o'clock (if my arrow would be 12 o'clock) on the right side than mine do. could just be a trick of the camera angle.

 

[Jxfwsf]

more pics taken from similar angle to yours.
View attachment 168388RH: -1°30'

View attachment 168389LH: -1°55'

Yours may not be anywhere near these angles, just adding to show that sometimes the best setting is still out of spec and can't be fixed (but every commodore with this type of strut top the best possible setting i've ever managed to get is with the positions closest to my RH side, with OEM it usually is further apart than i've managed to get this one)....

Essentially got the LH as close to 0° as possible and moved the RH to be within 0.5°, keeping in mind when the drivers seat is occupied the RH side will go more negative and the LH will go more positive (i very rarely have passengers in this car).

 

[hi_ryder]

im just thinking about how this red car has had a healthy bingle at the front. i just hope the front and kframe are square. the right rail was bent at one point. has had a full rad support and battery box replaced, the rail is full of bog on the top. (fingers crossed). im getting new ball joints and new bushes pressed into the control arms too, so hopefully it will have predictable handling. put in new kframe radius rod bushes, and nolathane sway bar link bushes too. well see what happens anyway. cheers again man...

 

[DJ_Cosmic_Fire]

from this position arrow facing front and cutaway facing the rear (see pdf http://www.nolathane.com.au/install_guides/50-4000_50-5008.pdf)

then rotating counterclockwise to this position arrow facing the engine. these 2 adjustments are the limit.

Pic 2 is close to what you want mate, sorta the same for the other side - get a front alignment done & if they are a good place they will spin the bearing tops to suit, plus of course adjust the rack ends etc. keep away from the excessive "toe in" lazy major shops.

 

[hi_ryder]

Pic 2 is close to what you want mate, sorta the same for the other side - get a front alignment done & if they are a good place they will spin the bearing tops to suit, plus of course adjust the rack ends etc. keep away from the excessive "toe in" lazy major shops.

its going to bob janes preston :s i just did the berlina there and the dude that did the alignment made a comment about the camber being that touch generous in the negative so hopefully when i tell them the tops are adjustable they can have a play around with it. ill leave it as the second pic for when i get the wheels mounted. our shop deals with them all the time and we know pretty much everyone that works there so hopefully they play nice. cheers for the input as well man...

 

[DJ_Cosmic_Fire]

its going to bob janes preston :s i just did the berlina there and the dude that did the alignment made a comment about the camber being that touch generous in the negative so hopefully when i tell them the tops are adjustable they can have a play around with it. ill leave it as the second pic for when i get the wheels mounted. our shop deals with them all the time and we know pretty much everyone that works there so hopefully they play nice. cheers for the input as well man...

You seem to know them quiet well so I doubt they will try the lazy way, especially when you mention that you have installed them (amazing how things change when they know, that you know what is going on). I used Bridgestone at Oxenford this time last year, as the mechanic Luke was an ace & I took it back 4 times without charge to attempt the perfect alignment with the new Superpro strut bearing tops I'd install in May 2012 (only adjustable in three positions just like OEM). That's where Luke (the mechanic) & I concluded - that the only way is KMAC full adjustables for perfect alignment. Luke left the place soon after to work up "where the mines are at" on major machinery = big dollars, so I sourced a rally car driver dude through a drift car racing friend of mine who is damn good, knows what I want & goes the extra mile to get it right, very fast & the price is right! I have just adjusted mine to suit the camber on the main freeway I travel up here, & he will adjust/align for nothing, as the last 2 I got off him & the pathy 4wheel alignment were just after I installed the KMAC adjustable strut bearing tops on VP-S . Keep in mind the pics you view are just me following the instructions, it looks alot different now, will take pics for your reference after my latest alignment.

 

[delcowizzid]

2nd pic looks good.back in the day we used to redrill the holes or slot them to correct alignment.ive owned vk's with 3 sets of 3 holes before LOL.i still redrill holes for the people who want perfect alignments but the towers never stay in the same position as a static alignment once the cars on the road moving

 

[Jxfwsf]

Ahh the old toe'n'go method, what alot of places do.. don't even look at the strut tops to see if anything can be done. Have had this happen in the past, sent the car in with fully adjustable tops, got it back up the **** and all that was adjusted was the toe....

To true delco, it never stays the same, factory specs are as wide as the length of a piece of string and every car is different.

Most places go for a standard setting (usually within OEM specs but not always) Watch the tires for abnormal wear, if after 5,000 km's they're not wearing evenly then they got it wrong and some minor adjustment may need to be made (if they're chewed out or wearing unevenly before this then it is way out)

Another fine example of quality trades people is a VX SII i know of, it had a couple of 4 wheel alignments, the owner was told it required a camber kit from some places... Got my hands on it and it had about 10mm toe in on the rear... adjusted the factory toe and it hasn't worn a tire since in over a year, before it was destroying them within 4,000 km's, sad part is most people have no idea and trust what they're told, that sort of repeat business is just wrong, simply you need to find someone that takes pride in their work.

 

[carlya]

primary distinction in a VN onwards is the front influence bar join pins are longer and mount to the strut rather than the more level control arm.VR onwards strut tops are not good.