Alignment with camber bolts
Chris1
41 - 60 of 74 Posts
This would at least help balance front camber across the car, but I already installed the bolts so would have to go back in to adjust if it doesn't read even now. I would rather get the shop to do this with proper measurement during the alignment, but like I said in my experience so far shops have been hesitant to offer adjustment of the bolts.You are right, I answered in a hurry
What I did when I installed the bolts was to use an angle meter and in the shop it proved to be spot on. I believe that an angle meter of a smart phone is good enough for this job as long as you use a bar to “attach” the meter/phone in the rim.
Run away from any shop who says it's hard to adjust on the rack...they are being lazy and will do a shit job anyways.
My neighbor is essentially an expert mechanic and did my alignment. I simply told him that I had adjustable camber bolts and how much camber I wanted. He drove the car to work and did the alignment but he said the bolts were easy to figure out and adjust. He's a very smart guy though and isn't afraid to learn something new. I'm not sure how I would've proceeded if I didn't have him to help. Maybe I would figure out where your local AutoX club gets their alignments done.
Dang, everybody has a connection! I ended up finding a capable and reputable shop, got an appointment booked week after next. Will follow up with my results here afterward.
Here is another data point. I installed front camber bolts in my new 2024 GR86 and did a quick DIY measurement of the front camber. It was about -1.5 on each side but I didn't spend much time trying to get a super accurate measurement. I just wanted to confirm that I had indeed produced some negative camber with the new bolts. Then I headed to the local alignment shop.
I asked them to give me as much negative camber in the front as possible and zero toe front and rear.
The final result was -1.5 and -1.7 in the front with zero toe and -1.5 and -1.5 with -0.01 toe which is close enough to zero for me.
Of course, the big question is what exactly did he do? It's entirely possible he threw it on the rack, made the measurements, and handed the keys back to me without ever picking up a wrench. Did he really try to max out the front negative camber or did he just accept what I had already done when I put the bolts in?
I asked the counter guy if I could have a two minute chat with the actual alignment technician and he said yes. I had a twenty dollar bill in my pocket for a "pre-service" tip because I wanted to advise him of the camber bolts and ask him for both a before and an after print out. But the tech guy never appeared. They presented me with an "after" data sheet, but they claim they did not record the "before" data. Anyhow, I'm satisfied with the alignment for a street driven car which will be used occasionally for local autocross events, but I wish customer service wasn't so damned hard to get these days. I still have that twenty in my pocket.
I asked them to give me as much negative camber in the front as possible and zero toe front and rear.
The final result was -1.5 and -1.7 in the front with zero toe and -1.5 and -1.5 with -0.01 toe which is close enough to zero for me.
Of course, the big question is what exactly did he do? It's entirely possible he threw it on the rack, made the measurements, and handed the keys back to me without ever picking up a wrench. Did he really try to max out the front negative camber or did he just accept what I had already done when I put the bolts in?
I asked the counter guy if I could have a two minute chat with the actual alignment technician and he said yes. I had a twenty dollar bill in my pocket for a "pre-service" tip because I wanted to advise him of the camber bolts and ask him for both a before and an after print out. But the tech guy never appeared. They presented me with an "after" data sheet, but they claim they did not record the "before" data. Anyhow, I'm satisfied with the alignment for a street driven car which will be used occasionally for local autocross events, but I wish customer service wasn't so damned hard to get these days. I still have that twenty in my pocket.
My observation has been that the GRs get more camber out of the bolts than the BRZ...must be the aluminum vs steel knuckle. -1.5 or so sounds like BRZ territory whereas I've seen many GRs get a little more than -2. Either way, its a great starting point and better than no camber!
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327 Posts
Wait, are we talking about the eccentric camber bolts or OEM crash bolts? I thought the crash bolts maxed out at ~1.75
I installed the SPC ones and was able to get -2.0 up front. Not sure how far I could have gone though, I was told -2.0 in front and -1.5 in the rear was a nice neutral setup.
I installed the SPC ones and was able to get -2.0 up front. Not sure how far I could have gone though, I was told -2.0 in front and -1.5 in the rear was a nice neutral setup.
Alignment results are in. SPC camber bolts in lower holes, OEM upper bolts still in place. Long term I would like to get to -2 up front but from what I've seen that will require either swapping the upper bolts or adding Pedders top mounts. For now pleased to have the car more or less balanced around all four corners.
![Image]()
Finally ditched the front camber bolts, and installed Verus plates. Plates are max camber. Still stock in the back with the H&R bolts.
Ended up with:
-2.8/-2.9 front camber
-2.3/-2.3 rear camber
Trying out 0 toe front & back.
![Image]()
Ended up with:
-2.8/-2.9 front camber
-2.3/-2.3 rear camber
Trying out 0 toe front & back.
Just adding this here.....
Credit to @RokHard.GR86 for another camber bolt option for the rear. Cheaper than my H&R bolts. Go in the same location.
MOOG Camber Bolts K90473
Credit to @RokHard.GR86 for another camber bolt option for the rear. Cheaper than my H&R bolts. Go in the same location.
MOOG Camber Bolts K90473
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84 Posts
I just installed the white line 16mm bolts in the top hole. I need to get the car aligned, but what do I tell them for how I want alignment? I know max out negative camber in front and back and 0.00 thrust angle, but what should caster and toe be in front and back?
I don't know much about alignments so any help in what I tell the shop how I want the alignment setup would be helpful. My car is mostly street but do a few track days a year.
I don't know much about alignments so any help in what I tell the shop how I want the alignment setup would be helpful. My car is mostly street but do a few track days a year.
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84 Posts
What is slight toe in? 0.01 or 0.05? Sorry not sure what I should be aiming for.
I'd say around 0.10 total toe in would be good. So about 0.05 each side. A little more or less will be ok.
Is there a particular reason you removed the bolts when doing the plate?
I'm not a suspension expert, but I read that there's a difference in how the camber is achieved between bolts and plates on MacPherson struts, and that the recommendation is camber bolts first (i.e. max out how close the top of the wheel is to the spring/strut) and plate second (i.e. how close the top of the strut is to the middle of the car).
Camber bolts introduces other issues with KPI. You always want to use bolts last. But, most people use them first because they are $20 instead of several hundred for camber plates or thousands for coilovers.
Nice, so I may have remembered wrong. Thanks for the explanation.
Hi guys, I would love your opinion on this.
Got alignment today (changed the top 16mm bolts). I am happy with the front (although I wished for more, like -1.5).
I think they just did a bad job (nothing) on the rear. Is it possible to even out? Should I worry about the camber being so off? Toe can be even out, can it?
Is this something I should pay another 50eur to sort out?
I think I just got ripped off today... Dunno if I can find a better shop tho... apparently it is hard these days!
Got alignment today (changed the top 16mm bolts). I am happy with the front (although I wished for more, like -1.5).
I think they just did a bad job (nothing) on the rear. Is it possible to even out? Should I worry about the camber being so off? Toe can be even out, can it?
Is this something I should pay another 50eur to sort out?
I think I just got ripped off today... Dunno if I can find a better shop tho... apparently it is hard these days!
Attachments
Rear camber isn't adjustable, unless you have something there to adjust it.
Toe can affect camber, so maybe they don't want to give you too much toe in so that your right rear tire won't go to positive camber?
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