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Adjustable camber plates?

Open Loop

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Is anyone aware of a manufacturer making camber plates for the S550 that allow for adjustment from a 'street' setting to a 'track' setting and back? I am currently on the PP struts and progressive Steeda springs and would be interested in such adjustment to save on tire wear.

Also, if such a product is available, how much impact does a degree or two of additional negative camber have on toe?

Thank you
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db252

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Maximum Motorsports, Vorshlag, Steeda, etc. make adjustable camber plates. The first two I mentioned also can adjust caster some. Changing camber causes toe changes. Maybe to an amount you don’t care about but an alignment after any changes is recommended for optimal tire wear and cornering response.
 
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Open Loop

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Thank you. I am familiar with those but they do not appear to be designed for having two settings (street and track). I was hoping to find that such a thing exists among the camber plate kits that are out there. Thank you again for your response.
 

BmacIL

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Thank you. I am familiar with those but they do not appear to be designed for having two settings (street and track). I was hoping to find that such a thing exists among the camber plate kits that are out there. Thank you again for your response.
There's nothing you can do here without changing toe. What are you trying to mirror...the Camaro top mounts? Are you looking for something like this?
296625_C47E2ABD.jpg
 

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If I remember right changing camber a degree at the camber plate equates to about 1/8" change in total toe. It will toe out as you go more negative with camber.

Just mark the plates with your desired street and track camber settings. You can also figure out how many quarter turns of a tie rod swings toe back to where you want it with each camber change.
 

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DickR

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If I remember right changing camber a degree at the camber plate equates to about 1/8" change in total toe. It will toe out as you go more negative with camber.

Just mark the plates with your desired street and track camber settings. You can also figure out how many quarter turns of a tie rod swings toe back to where you want it with each camber change.
That is one approach that works, especially if you change tires for track and make the toe adjustment when you change tires . . . and don't get confused when doing the adjustments.. :) Therefore it might be a good idea to invest in a set of toe plates for double checking your work.

However, if Steve's memory is correct about more toe out with more neg camber and the change is only 1/8 deg total keep in mind that a little toe in is good for the street and either zero or a little toe out may be good for track. Also around 2 deg negative camber on the street is no big deal in regard to tire wear and the camber plates may not change toe much more when adjusted to their max neg.
 

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Thank you. I am familiar with those but they do not appear to be designed for having two settings (street and track). I was hoping to find that such a thing exists among the camber plate kits that are out there. Thank you again for your response.
What you're missing is that camber you see during alignment is a stack of different tolerances and adjustments (small but still) from OEM setup. It'll be different between both sides of the car so you can't possibly have plates with "absolute" camber setting that will result in that particular camber at the wheel / hub.

Camber you get is a result of how whole the strut / spindle has been made and how they're bolted together + the plate.
 
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The Camaro photo is what I have in mind. As far as the tolerances/adjustments of the various components, what I would have in mind is setting the adjustable camber plates to the same setting on each side (for example, the most inside setting on each) and then having the negative camber set equally for track (at say -3 deg) on both sides with precision through adjustments in camber bolts or a widened strut bolt hole, toe set at zero or slightly out. Then, for street I could move them outward a centimeter or so at the plates, causing the negative camber to decrease and the toe to go in a bit. The hatchmarks in the ones in the Camaro would make it easier to change it with precision.
 

BmacIL

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The Camaro photo is what I have in mind. As far as the tolerances/adjustments of the various components, what I would have in mind is setting the adjustable camber plates to the same setting on each side (for example, the most inside setting on each) and then having the negative camber set equally for track (at say -3 deg) on both sides with precision through adjustments in camber bolts or a widened strut bolt hole, toe set at zero or slightly out. Then, for street I could move them outward a centimeter or so at the plates, causing the negative camber to decrease and the toe to go in a bit. The hatchmarks in the ones in the Camaro would make it easier to change it with precision.
That picture is of an S550 with Pedders camber plates (which only direct fit Pedders coilovers, or other coilovers with some modifications). The ZL1 1LE camaro has adjustable top mounts with two distinct positions, rather than infinitely variable in an adjustment range as shown above.
 
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Open Loop

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I noticed that yesterday, including the fact that the owner of those pedders plates cut off the tops of the car's strut housings to have (better) access to the adjustment screws. That's a mod I'd rather avoid. Perhaps the small opening in the center hole of the S550's strut housing is why we don't see more manufacturers making adjustable camber plates.

I wonder if the two-position adjustment could be done at the lower strut bolts. That is, carefully widen the upper hole, set the track setting with the strut knuckle pushed in for track, and then loosen the upper bolt and pull the knuckle out for street. Probably not workable unless you are willing to live with imperfect alignments or are checking alignments at home, which I am not.
 

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BmacIL

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Probably not workable unless you are willing to live with imperfect alignments or are checking alignments at home
Correct.

Most folks who track the car frequently open up the tower hole to get enough camber, FYI.
 

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I went through a similar research as OP.
As others have said, the problem is not the camber plate. The S550 chassis uses MacPherson struts up front. Changing camber on this design will also change toe. No way around it. You can mark your street and track camber settings easily and (as others have said) manually adjust your toe by playing with the tie rod ends. If you get this down, you're golden. I personally don't trust myself to perfectly adjust toe back and forth all the time as toe will very quickly murder your tires.
Myself and many others who use their cars for double duty have simply found a middle ground between a street and track setting. You won't be able to get maximum camber for the track but a good enough amount that won't negatively impact street driving. If you want the best performing track settings on this car, then you have yourself a track only car.
 

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Myself and many others who use their cars for double duty have simply found a middle ground between a street and track setting. You won't be able to get maximum camber for the track but a good enough amount that won't negatively impact street driving. If you want the best performing track settings on this car, then you have yourself a track only car.
What Camber Plates you are using ?
Also as I understand you if you are doing CC Plates better change the shocks as well.
Otherwise to reach let's say 2.5" of Negative Camber on the front do I need to cut the top mounts ?
And for the back if I understand correctly for negative camber up to 2" the stock hardware should be good enough ?

I want to fit Camber plates in order to prevent tire wear on the outer shoulder of the tires. So at the moment I'm considering the Steeda Camber plates but not sure the investment is worth it before I settle on a suspension package.
 

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FYI according to people I know with lots of track experience and as others have posted in other threads many high performance tires including PS4S will still destroy the outside edges even with lots of camber and pressure.

This includes some of the tires in the category Tire Rack calls extreme performance. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/perfCat.jsp?perf=EP

Others here can, or probably have already in other threads, suggest proven track durable tires in various price ranges.
 

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What Camber Plates you are using ?
Also as I understand you if you are doing CC Plates better change the shocks as well.
Otherwise to reach let's say 2.5" of Negative Camber on the front do I need to cut the top mounts ?
And for the back if I understand correctly for negative camber up to 2" the stock hardware should be good enough ?

I want to fit Camber plates in order to prevent tire wear on the outer shoulder of the tires. So at the moment I'm considering the Steeda Camber plates but not sure the investment is worth it before I settle on a suspension package.
I currently do not have camber plates. I'm 100% stock suspension at the moment. I am likely getting full suspension (including CC plates) very soon.
You can use CC plates on stock struts but since you have to remove them and get an alignment after, you might as well do it all at the same time. You do not need to cut top mounts. My friend uses Vorshlag CC plates with Ford track struts and he can get -3.0 camber.

Rear you should be able to get to -2.0 with factory parts but I don't know for certain.

If you go to a lower profile tire (and therefore a stiffer sidewall) this will also reduce tire wear. The factory PP 40 profile tires allow for too much sidewall flex.
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