Stagea Suspension

[wolverine]

even at 370mm on the rear of an S2 and one set of upper eccentric bushes there was still too much neg camber ie approx -2deg.

i used some cheap adjustable arms for about $120 and they have done the job.

[DaveB]

Hi all, I just thought, what stops the rear tyre contacting the guard when you lower the car?

Anyone running 9" wide rims (+30 offset I think - R33 GTR rims) have trouble clearing the guards at that height (~350mm) with the standard shocks?

I've heard of rolling the guards/guard pulling etc, but, although it is difficult to make out from this pic:

...there is surely no amount of guard pulling which is going to prevent the tyre from making contact with the guard when the spring compresses, if I just lower it like it is? This is a problem, as my suspension is already higher than standard (~390mm centre to guard front & rear) and I was hoping to go down to ~350mm. But how to do it without the tyre hitting the guard when the spring compresses (or the rear spring seat, for that matter - it's close too @ ~1 inch)?

My guess is that either:

a) I need to run mad camber (erk) or

b) there is a 'dynamic shift' (or however you say it) to mad camber on spring compression. ie. as the spring compresses, negative camber results, thus the top of the tyre tucks safely inside the guard

...any insight would be appreciated! Sorry if this has been answered before... I have had a look through the print version of this thread already (all 29 pages!)

[DaveB]

Gday knowledgable folk

I wish to remove 1 degree of negative camber from the rear of my S1 Stagea (currently have 2 deg neg at 350mm wheel centre - guard height)

My choices are;

2 x KCA 347 bushes (not sure if they will get me a full degree)

or

1 x KTA 118 adjustable arms ( http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/instructs/Z310_KTA118.pdf )

Arms ~$300

Any ideas?

richard

btw I think the bushes only give you about ~0.75deg adjustment each... so that's going to be a fair bit short of your target 2mm, even allowing for differences between cars. My S2 is at full (stock) adjustment already, at ~390mm, and I have around 1.5deg negative camber at the rear. I think I will have to go for the adjustable camber arm; at least that way I'm guaranteed to be able to get enough adjustment out of it. I'm pretty sure it uses the same types of joints (bushes) so NVH/longevity should be OK.

[rb]

btw I think the bushes only give you about ~0.75deg adjustment each... so that's going to be a fair bit short of your target 2mm, even allowing for differences between cars. My S2 is at full (stock) adjustment already, at ~390mm, and I have around 1.5deg negative camber at the rear. I think I will have to go for the adjustable camber arm; at least that way I'm guaranteed to be able to get enough adjustment out of it. I'm pretty sure it uses the same types of joints (bushes) so NVH/longevity should be OK.

Thanks Dave

I have been told that .75deg, is a pretty "optimistic" change so the arms are looking like the best option at this stage

It might be worth dropping your rear shock off at the bottom (with vehicle raised of course) and observing the travel of the wheel through its range of movement. Hopefully your clearance issues turn out to be an illusion

I would second the suggestion to use the bilstein shocks with standard springs (if they clear your wheels) as I have the whiteline springs on the highest circlip groove of the bilsteins and that is what gave me 350mm. In a perfect world I would have chosen a slightly higher setting...........still happy though!

richard

[DaveB]

Thanks Richard, that is what I might do.

[rb]

Gday knowledgable folk

I wish to remove 1 degree of negative camber from the rear of my S1 Stagea (currently have 2 deg neg at 350mm wheel centre - guard height)

My choices are;

2 x KCA 347 bushes (not sure if they will get me a full degree)

or

1 x KTA 118 adjustable arms ( http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/instructs/Z310_KTA118.pdf )

Arms ~$300

Any ideas?

richard

I have just tried to fit the above arms and they hit on the shock(_!_)what an bummer!..............will advise of the part # when the correct ones arrive

richard

[DaveB]

I have just tried to fit the above arms and they hit on the shock(_!_)what an bummer!..............will advise of the part # when the correct ones arrive

richard

Thanks Richard, I hope you were able to return/exchange the arms... I am very interested to know which arms will fit stagea as it seems a lot of us series 2 folk are having to make a lot more camber adjustment than the whiteline camber kits can provide, and I don't know of any non-pillow-ball/cheap camber arms which will do it.

edit: what rear shocks are you running?

Edited November 17, 2008 by DaveB

[rb]

When I contacted the suspension shop that I purchased the arms off and told them that they didn't fit, Peter (suspension Guru) suggested that I required ones to suit the later model skylines and that he would order some in. I haven't seen any others listed in the whiteline catalogue so perhaps he uses another brand. I will advise when they arrive.

Rear shocks are bilsteins

richard

[rb]

Ok, I went to pick up the new arms today and they turned out to be the K-mac variety

They look to be well constructed, however I did not go through with the puchase as they have pillow-ball style bushes

I was informed that there are no poly-bush style arms available, that have the clearance required for the stagea

So I departed with a couple of sets of offset bushes (Super Poly Pro $125), and my fingers crossed that they will remove the required amount of neg camber (~1deg)

richard

[DaveB]

That's not good news... Thanks Richard, please let us know how the bushes go; was that $125 for both sides of the car or just one side? Interested to know how much camber they will remove...

[GorGasm]

hmm weird i have generic r33/34 S14/15 rear camber arms for my stagea. RWD though.

[DaveB]

hmm weird i have generic r33/34 S14/15 rear camber arms for my stagea. RWD though.

Are they bushed ones? Or pillow-ball?

[GorGasm]

Im not even sure what the differnce is but im guessing theyre pillow ball. Theyre the same type as this:

http://www.driftshop.com.au/suspension_fil...4rearupper1.JPG

[Duncan]

they are "pillow ball"style. it refers to the rod end where the bolt goes through to mount to the subframe. Bushes are the normal rubber or poly cylinders that the bolt goes through, this one has that steel eye. They get called "spherical joints", "rod ends", "pillow ball"(mainly on strut tops) all mean the same thing.

I wouldn't worry too much, just keep an eye out for noise - as they get dirt in joints they start to clunk - you may need to replace them every 1-2 years. the better quality rod ends last longer due to better manufacturing tolerances and they often come with dust covers

[rb]

That's not good news... Thanks Richard, please let us know how the bushes go; was that $125 for both sides of the car or just one side? Interested to know how much camber they will remove...

$125 for four bushes - both sides........was told wont quite get 1 degree

hmm weird i have generic r33/34 S14/15 rear camber arms for my stagea. RWD though.

The K-mac arms where similar in design to yours, but the Whiteline arms actually surround the shock and the contact point is on the rearward side

richard

[DaveB]

$125 for four bushes - both sides........was told wont quite get 1 degree

Good price.... pity only < 1 degree, I'm at -1.6 degrees _already_ at ~395mm!!

[rd-runr]

btw I think the bushes only give you about ~0.75deg adjustment each... so that's going to be a fair bit short of your target 2mm, even allowing for differences between cars. My S2 is at full (stock) adjustment already, at ~390mm, and I have around 1.5deg negative camber at the rear. I think I will have to go for the adjustable camber arm; at least that way I'm guaranteed to be able to get enough adjustment out of it. I'm pretty sure it uses the same types of joints (bushes) so NVH/longevity should be OK.

Hey mate,

Can you recommend a set of adjustable camber arms for a s1 stagea.

[DaveB]

Sorry I haven't found any that aren't "pillow-ball" types. (The problems with pillow-ball types are that they wear quickly and transmit more road noise). If you are willing to put up with this then I guess just searching ebay for 'skyline rear camber arm' or something similar and using a reputable ebay store... that's where I'd start anyway. I have found sets there for ~$150 I think? But I'm not sure I want pillow-ball ones on my heavy wagon... I think they're really just meant for drift 180's and silvias.

Edited January 2, 2009 by DaveB

[rd-runr]

OK, I think I have found a "bushed" type adjustable camber arm available from whiteline:

http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/instructs/Z309_KTA117.pdf

The KTA118 is not for a R33 hence why there might have been a fitment problem.

[DaveB]

Interesting, it says it's for R32-R34, but it doesn't have the bend to clear the rear strut. I'd be very interested to know if this fits though, 'cause I'll get a pair. +/- 15mm adjustment should be enough to cure any rear camber problems