REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

asian_XL · 01-22-2019, 11:52 PM

I just got my car back from alignment shop and here is the report. It is lowered with TEIN coilover.

Toe seems fine? Camber looks quite bad?

coneZONE · 01-23-2019, 08:32 AM

looks pretty even...
In general, independent suspensions naturally gain negative camber as it travels upwards... if you just straight swap coilover assemblies, your LCA remain the same length, but are now at a position where the lower ball joint is slightly more outward, thus giving you more (-)ve camber.

Just googled some images, seems like mazda strut ass'y inserts into knuckle and secured with a pinch bolt? if you must put the camber back to spec, you'll need these

Otherwise... the reading isnt too too bad, but it may induce some camber wear over time.
Are there other cars out there with -2° oe spec camber?
On the other hand, currently the plus side is improved cornering stability

asian_XL · 01-23-2019, 09:13 AM

It is a Mazda 5, hard cornering is not necessary lol.
I just hate the alignment guy who keeps saying horrible things like that camber angle will likely eat your tires before you go home.

by the way where can I get that camber plate?

coneZONE · 01-27-2019, 09:35 PM

sorry i hadn't gotten back sooner...

This is the website the google image linked to
https://corksport.com/corksport-mazd...er-plates.html

But can any Mazda guys chime in on compatibility with the 5?

I tried looking for other sources but Honestly i'm not that familiar with the aftermarket.

asian_XL · 01-27-2019, 10:30 PM

I just visually checked the strut tower from the engine bay, the -2deg front side is not position in the dead center, I can see the top adjustment knob is slightly lean inward (toward the engine).

My question: if I lose the 3 top mounting bolts, is it easy to yank it to the center? (with jack stand of course)

SumAznGuy · 01-28-2019, 12:10 PM

don't worry about the -2 degrees of camber.

Camber doesn't really affect tire wear, vs toe unless you are always hard starting and slamming on the brakes all the time.

SumAznGuy · 01-28-2019, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asian_XL

I just visually checked the strut tower from the engine bay, the -2deg front side is not position in the dead center, I can see the top adjustment knob is slightly lean inward (toward the engine).

My question: if I lose the 3 top mounting bolts, is it easy to yank it to the center? (with jack stand of course)

No, cause the holes where the bolts go through are usually slightly bigger than the bolts, but not enough to affect things THAT much.

EvoFire · 01-28-2019, 02:06 PM

You never run 0 front toe on a FWD car, so that's fine. You can choose to have 0 toe on the rear for tire wear, fuel economy, and cornering ability. All those are minor though

I wouldn't be too concerned about the front camber, I've never had 0 front camber on any of my cars. A little camber helps turn in and about 2 degrees aren't going to reduce tire life. What you could do is ask the shop to shift your front subframe to the right and balance out the camber on the front. These cars don't have adjustable camber, you really could only balance it left to right with the subframe trick.

asian_XL · 02-02-2019, 03:09 AM

Trying to figure out what's going on and I see the left strut tower doesn't look the same as the right side, the one on the right side in the photo seems to be leaning to the side.

Is this something can be fixed?

Oshiguru · 02-03-2019, 07:27 PM

You can always loosen the top bolts a bit and pull it away from the engine to add positive camber. I did the opposite to add negative camber on my mazdaspeed3. If anything you'll get .1-2 difference. As noted above, -2 is nothing and it's toe out that will kill your tires. I run 0 toe front/rear for autox/track and even then I don't notice any expedited tire wear.