caster shims

[SCRken]

did the drivers side of the car tonight.

for the camber i removed a 1.25mm shim from the front and 2x 1mm shims from the rear hub so in theory i should have 

front camber -.55
rear camber -1.84

I then made a start on the driver side caster.

This is what i had from the factory- 

rear arm - 3 shims, bush 1 shim 

Front arm - 2 shims, snub washer, bush, 1 shim

i moved the shims to have 1 shim behind and 3 in front on the rear arm and snub washer behind and 3 shims in front on the front arm. this should give me +3.25 caster which is lower than ideal according to the manual but the max i can achieve.

thing i am not sure about though is the passenger side has all the shims behind the arms.

Drivers side was 3 and 1 and passenger side is 4 and none

is this right or just a mess up at the factory or to compensate for driving on the left or something?

When i had my alignment checked both sides were the same at +2.45
when i get round to doing the passenger side should i keep it symmetrical with what i did on the drivers side or keep it 1 shim - compared to the other side?

thanks

this is how the car was measured before i started adjusting things

[Ishy]

Personally I'd be doing this with the correct equipment to measure the changes but....

Failing that I'd do the same to both sides.

What are you hoping to achieve by increasing the castor?

Not knocking (I run additional castor on mine) just interested in where your thought process is with this?

You are aware that changing the camber & castor like this will have an impact on toe both front & rear aren't you?

[SCRken]

The caster is lower than specified from the factory which is why I'm setting it properly.

i know a caster shim gives 0.4 degrees. i know 1mm shim gives -.25 camber front and .30 camber rear.

i have a wheel alignment done so can get a good idea of what each change will make and a fairly accurate idea of what to expect after these changes.

toe on the rear won't be affected due to toe link location on hub.

Front toe is affected mainly by camber and will be re-adjusted on a hunter machine.

[Ishy]

Once completed I'd be inclined to have the toe re-set as otherwise you could gain a false impression,

Whilst on the hunter you should check the rear toe also I'd be surprised if it's not increased!

[SCRken]

as i said the toe will be adjusted on the hunter rack.

The rear toe isnt affected by camber as the toe link is on the bottom of hub and camber adjustment on the top,

[Ishy]

OK just trying to help.....   

[Seriouslylotus]

as i said the toe will be adjusted on the hunter rack.

The rear toe isnt affected by camber as the toe link is on the bottom of hub and camber adjustment on the top,

Ken

Rear toe IS affected by tracking but the amount depends upon how accurate the rear bump steer is set.

Front camber adjustment does NOT  affect front toe.

Hope this helps

Dave

[SCRken]

rear camber or tracking?

the rear camber is adjusted at the top and toe set from the bottom so bringing the top of the wheel closer in shouldnt affect the length of the the toe link on the bottom ?

i can see how the front camber may not affect toe as the shims are between the steering arm and the hub.

I cant see castor (pushing the wishbone back 3mm) will have a huge imnpact on toe either.

the changes i have made are very small and in keeping with the spec's stated by lotus at around 0.5 front camber, 1.8 rear camber and around 3.3 caster.

any affects to the toe front or rear will be adjusted when it gets alignment check anyway.