does anybody happen to know what range of camber adjustment, if any, the stock 3rd gen. suspension allows?

 

You adjust camber and caster at the same time by rotating the upper spring mount in the fender. I think it's a 1/4 of a degree for each turn, so 1 degree total.

 

Rotating the top of the front struts will adjust the camber +/- 0.5 degrees and the caster +/- 0.5 degrees. You may be able to get a little more by playing with the bolt hole clearance on the strut tops and/or the strut-to-hub bolts, but my car didn't have much extra clearance. With the stock camber adjusters maxed out, my camber is -0.7 degrees left and -1.0 degree right (stock springs and shocks).

The rear camber is not adjustable. Adjusting the eccentric bolts on the inside ends of the lower lateral links will change it, but they're meant for adjusting toe and should not be used to adjust camber.

Hope this helps!

 

carguy....

are you referring to the eibach alignment kit? i thought it was expressly made for adjusting both toe-in and camber.

sucks to think that the stock config lacks configurability.

 

??? Huh? Read Chris' post Jesse. On the 3rd gen, caster and camber are adjusted at the same time in the front by rotating the top of the strut.

 

jesse, it's the same on ours [the 3rd gens] from what i understand. in that the area of adjustment is circular, any placement into negative camber for example would decrease the amount of positive or negative caster than can be applied.

i was just unsure what the range of values you could dial in. the +/- 1 degree figure was about what i'd guessed. i just didn't know if someone knew the exact specs.

 

you can't. that's what i'm saying. adjusting toward the opposite tower adds negative camber, towards the back of the car adds negative caster. diagonally towards the middle of the car adds a portion of both. the point is to add the most negative camber possible in the range of adjustment, being that the area of adjustment is round, you would be adding no caster. does that make sense? going 90 degrees straight across towards the other tower is the max camber you can dail in. it's also centered on the axis running the length of the car meaning that the caster is 0 degree from stock.

 

No, I'm talking about stock components only. BTW you do not need a kit of ANY kind to adjust toe. You do that by adjusting the tie rod ends, just like any other kind of car. The stock range of adjustment for toe is basically limitless

The stock range of camber adjustment ain't great (it sucks if you're used to Miatas, like I am) but it's a lot better than many other FWD vehicles. At least we can get SOME negative camber- most Honda vehicles are stuck with 0.5-1.0 degree positive at stock ride height and it's not adjustable

You can get some additional adjustment for very little $$ by buying some camber bolts from Mazda Motorsports for ~$2.50 apiece (1 per corner). However, smaller diameter strut bolts are notorious for not holding alignment, especially when used with race tires and/or rough roads. Some Neon Solo II racers have to get their cars re-aligned once every 2-3 autocrosses. Of course, they consider this a fair price to pay to run 3.0+ degrees of negative camber in Stock class (stock slotted strut bolt holes + manufacturer authorized camber bolts) If you ever wonder why a stock Neon is faster than a stock Integra Type R through an autocross course, this is the reason

 

Um, that is static camber - Neon's (and others, like VW's) need that due to their bad camber curves. An Integra (Type-R included) has a double a-arm suspension, so has a much better camber curve.

True, a Type-R has no camber adjustment, but needs it less. The one I compete in (D-Stock this year) has about 1 deg on one side and 1.2 on the other.

Don't forget that a Type-R has a Torsen diff from the factory - makes it _much_ less frustrating to drive :-)

I do miss my Miata-R and its adjustable suspension - I did _way_ too many front alignments (trying to get max camber, etc.) Of course, the rear was a _pain_ to get the exact camber and toe settings.

Kevin M.
'00 ES (Daily kid mover)
'97 Integra Type-R (autox car)
'95 Miata R (no longer owned, but not forgotten.

 

Jesse, the strut rod doesn't go through the exact center of the upper mount. Think of it like an eccentric bolt oriented vertically. As you rotate the bolt, it moves in two different planes at the same time. Does that help?

 

Hey Jesse, off topic, do the first and second gen Proteges also have the front swaybar running over the front crossmember? I seem to remember seeing a front and rear set somewhere with a footnote stating the front bar was in addition to the stock front bar. Where do you add the front bar? I can't see where they could add on a bar under the front subframe on the third gen, but I know why they'd try. Changing the stock front bar is a pain. I did it this weekend and my hands are still sore.