[76Alfasud5M]

I just installed a spring lowering kit from Just Suds on my Series 1 Berlina and now the front wheels have way too much camber. What is the best way to correctly align the car and does anyone have the specs I can give to my alignment shop?

I've been told two different ideas: one is to machine the bottom of the strut mounting plate where the front hub bolts to it in order to create extra play to pull the bottom of the wheel in. The other idea, which seems to make more sense, is to move the strut back into position by somehow shimming the bolts that poke through the top of the strut tower in the engine bay.

Does anyone have any experience with this? What is the best method and correct specs?

 

[77SudTi]

Since theres no play in the set up for camber, both of the ideas sound fine, I have heard them before and will be doing one or both to my Sud when its done. The idea where you drill the holes so the bottom of the wheel can move in, I thought of welding on high tensile washers in the 'new' hole alignment so there would be no chance of movement when cornering.
Does anyone know if there is a proper camber kit available from anyone?

 

[alfacape]

Camber

If you slot the holes in the hub bracket you can get the camber right. It's not very pretty but it seems to work and does not slip. Be carefull that the lowering does not affect the steering arm angle or you may have to bend them to get the bump steer out.

 

[76Alfasud5M]

Thanks for the tip. What about the idea of shimming the strut at the top of the strut tower in the engine bay? That seems a lot easier and something that a decent alignment shop could do easily.

 

[Spooty22]

How far can you lower a 'Sud from standard before these issues begin to arise?

 

[alfacape]

Lowering by 40mm seemed to be the limit on my car.

 

[PSk]

You cannot have too much negative camber on a Sud ...

I used to run 3 degrees I think on my race car and tyre wear was perfectly even. I altered the camber by welding up the 4 holes (in the struts) where the wheel bearing hub bolts to the bottom of the strut. Then I re drilled them slightly rotated.

Maybe you could do the same but rotated in the opposite direction to get less camber ... if you really must .
Pete

 

[76Alfasud5M]

By going with the JustSuds lowering kit, the camber is clearly too much. You can feel it in the steering wheel and the wheels look strange from the front of the car. Clearly, an adjustment needs to be made.

Does anyone have the exact factory recommended specs for camber and other alignment specs for the Series 1 berlina 'Sud?

 

[PSk]

By going with the JustSuds lowering kit, the camber is clearly too much. You can feel it in the steering wheel and the wheels look strange from the front of the car. Clearly, an adjustment needs to be made.

Does anyone have the exact factory recommended specs for camber and other alignment specs for the Series 1 berlina 'Sud?

I don't think you understood what I meant. You should run more negative camber than stock, if you want the thing to handle.

If you want it to retain stock appearance, ie. the camber to look and be the same ... then why the lowering kit? Obviously you are trying to make it handle better, or was the lowering just for looks , thus you DO need more camber to achieve your goals. Also when you lower a car the spring rate is harder, this means you need more camber anyway as the suspension will not compress as much and you will not get the extra camber via suspension movement you would have gotten. Basically once you play with a cars suspension it all has to be changed ... standard specs will be wrong.

On a road Sud I'd still run atleast 1.5-2 degrees negative.
Pete

 

[76Alfasud5M]

I don't have a problem with the idea of running more negative camber than stock. I'm not sure where the camber is right now, but my point is that it definitely does not feel right, and certainly not as accurate as before I lowered the car.

Also, I will be adding 14" Ronal A1 wheels at the same time I figure out this camber thing. I will probably run 195/55/14 tires (Toyo T1-Rs, unless someone has a better suggestion) since that's the only +1 tire size I can get and there aren't any decent performance tires available in 185/60/14 anymore.

The car already feels like it needs more muscle to turn the wheel due to the excessive camber and I am worried that the larger contact patch of the new wheel/tire combo will make this even worse. That's why I'm trying to determine just what will be the optimal camber setting.

 

[77SudTi]

Have you had a wheel alignment yet? On a Sud when it is lowered the wheels become more toe-out, which will lead to heavier steering and a not quite so direct feel. Try a wheel alignment and then adjust the camber if things still arent ok.

 

[alfacape]

Lowering

You are all 100% correct. You have to set the alignment. Local wheel alignment workshops would not touch it so it was mostly trial and error. In my case I found that because the car was low in front it affected the castor angle. I lowered the back as well and made the rear suspension rock hard. I have a car that is now totally impractical for the road as it crashes over bumps if more than two are aboard but on the track it melts the 165 x70 tires and definitely will out corner my Japanese boxer.

It is the only fwd car I have ever owned that will oversteer and hang the tail in a corner.