mindonmatter

Just a warning, you DO need a front camber kit(SPC?) with an eibach spring drop.

I haven't been here for a long time, but back when, people said that you could get away without a camber kit on the front. That's not the case. I have two pefectly good michelin sport plus' that are ruined(still had more than 70% of life) because the inside of my tires are basically shredded(belt is showing). Luckily I noticed today when doing some maintenance.

SPC kit($400) will be here friday and I will install on saturday after I get new tires($450). So people, just do it right the first time, it will cost you less in the long run. Plus, when you are changing the springs it will take an extra 5 minutes to do the a-arms too; so you won't have to do it all over again.

I did the rear camber kit originally. Rear tires are perfect.

Heed warning, those who wish to save money and time.

rks

iTrader: (6)

every suspension is slightly different as is the ability of your alignment guy. i went a year without any issue on the Eibachs. I'm even lower on coils, no new A arms, and a decent alignment shop.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Rks nailed it^^. I just bought the arms and toe kit and installed everything myself a couple years ago, but even w/ the camber kits two shops couldn't get my G aligned properly, the third time was a charm for me as I found a guy that had a lot of experience w/ lowered cars, had all the modern equipment and got everything well in spec. About 30k miles lowered first on springs now on coils and perfect tread wear.

I've seen too many alignment printouts w/ guys lowered on Eibachs that were able to get in spec without kits so I know it can be done, but that's not always an easy task. I'd be interested in seeing OPs alignment specs right after removing those tires.

HoldmyMouse

Aligned with no camber kit. Tires sitting at -2.4* and so far okay. Knock on wood!

mindonmatter

LOL, camber isn't rocket science. I would have to be pretty stupid to confuse camber with toe. Not only does the tread wear clearly indicate that camber is out, the negative camber is clearly visible to the naked eye. Are you suggesting that TOE would be changed by lowering?? Yeah, okay. Simple physics and geometry are at work here. The outside edge of my tire is barely touching the ground.

Since you are "almost 100%" and willing to "guarantee" that I don't need a camber kit, I guess you will pay my bill once I post my alignment specs? I will have an alignment done next week after new parts are installed. Then, you can put your money where your mouth is. If it's a toe problem, I will eat my words. If it's a camber problem, you pay my bill. In life, I've learned to avoid people that use such strong language, because they normally disappear when it's time to live up to the "guarantee".

I will post a pic once the sun comes up and can get some light. It will be worth a thousand words. If you see the pic and still think "toe" is the problem, then you have no business replying and can go ahead and just send me a check.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Do you have your current alignment specs after you installed the Eibachs?

You've obviously got excess camber, especially since you can visually see the tire up from the road, but your toe could also be out causing much accelerated wear. Excess negative camber will cause pronounced wear on the inner tread but that combined w/ excess toe will shred the tires much quicker since the tire is "fighting" it's way down the road rather than rolling without resistance.

mindonmatter

Hello blnewt,
Thanks for the reply. I have tried finding my current alignment sheet, but no where to be found. I remember them telling me that everything was in spec except camber, which couldn't be adjusted. I can't remember if they even had to adjust the toe, but I don't know why they would.

It's a possibility that toe has fallen out of specs. That would be strange, but certainly possible. However, as you said, I can clearly see that camber is an issue.

Thanks.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

mindonmatter, I'm not sure on the physics of it all but I do know that when I lowered my G (lower than Eibachs on springs) the toe became an issue. The only way toe was able to get back in spec was adding a rear toe bolt kit that allows a wider range of adjustment at the lower control arm (aka spring bucket). I've also read that toe isn't static throughout the suspension arc, in other words it changes from being at no load to full compression. Maybe someone that's better versed in suspension geometry can chime in, but from all I've read there is a dynamic relation between camber & toe. The fact that I needed additional "help" to get my toe in spec when I dropped clarified it for me (although as you can tell I'm still a bit confused, lol).

SilverBullet

iTrader: (1)

For those with coils, how low are you? I am on Tanabe coils and my height right now from ground to fender is 26". I have a rear camber kit and no front kit. I have had a terrible time aligning my car as nearly every time the front wheel would come back off-centered. I bought new tires and right now about 5k miles later my front tires are cupping and causing a vibration at highway speed. I found a new alignment shop and they told me that they wont bother to do an alignment without front and rear kits. They told me anyone that told me they could is just taking my money.

acm25

iTrader: (1)

Just to add my experience, I'm running the Eibach Pro-Kit on my '10 G37x and I also needed both front and rear camber kits to get alignment within reasonable spec.
I was getting bad, uneven wear in the fronts without the kit.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

I'm at 26.25" F&R on coils and I have the full F&R kit w/ toe bolts, at 26" I'm fairly certain you'll need the front arms to get camber below -2.5 degrees. Not sure about the cupping issue you're having, sounds like a toe issue or under inflation. I would invest in the front kit and then get it re aligned, I think you'll be much better off. FWIW my camber is now at -1.1, and well under spec w/ just a slight toe-in, and have perfect treadwear at all 4 corners.

It really does seem to be a crapshoot regarding getting in spec w/ Eibachs, some seem to have no problem while others it's a big issue trying to get close to spec. This might be a good thread for those that have Eibachs and no camber/toe kits w/ NO problems to post up their alignment data.

canucklehead

iTrader: (9)

i think guys with the X see more lowering going with the eibachs which might explain why camber kits are more common on the X.

i didn't need a kit, got back in spec with no camber kit when i was on eibachs. so did 3 other S sedan owners that i know. the only X owner i know that lowered on eibachs did need a camber kit to get back in spec.

taek

iTrader: (3)

i installed my Eibachs about 2 years ago..(30kmiles) and without the camber kit, the wearing is pretty even... it took my mechanic 2~3hours to get the camber within the spec..

so my conclusion from my experience without any physics or science crap, YOU DON'T NEED FRONT CAMBER KIT. you just need to find the right mechanic who can get it right.

mindonmatter

Yeah, just ignore physics. A good mechanic will just bend it into alignment. Don't worry that there is no camber adjustment, lol.

Enjoy guys. I didn't really mean for this to be some sort of debate. To me, it's not debatable. Just a fair warning. Take it or leave it. Peace.

Gio37

iTrader: (1)

Installed the Eibach pro kit with SPC f/b camber kits a few months ago....a lot of comments about needing and not needing a camber kit. I guess I dont want to take a chance with my tires.......you also have to make sure your alignment is correct.