Front Camber Adjustment??

[JackG]

Does a 2000 Boxster have a front suspension camber adjustment? One of my front tires is wearing on the inside edge (unlike the other one) and my alignment guy showed me that it was out of spec on camber nearly one degree, which is causing the excessive wear. We could find nothing bent, and it hasn't been wrecked.

However, his two references contradicted each other, with one saying the camber was adjustable, and the other saying it was not. We popped the cover off in the front trunk so he could look at the top of the strut, and he said that it wasn't adjustable as far as he could see, but that he doesn't see many Porsches so he could be wrong.

In my research I found one blurb about an eccentric bolt adjustment, but it wasn't clear if this was the front camber adjustment. I've also found the aftermarket camber plates for the 986, but it isn't clear if this can be used to correct my excessive camber. It seems that people use these for track applications to put *more* camber in for better handling. I need less.

Does anyone have any experience that can clear this up for me?

[CJ_Boxster]

On the front suspension there isnt a eccentric bolt.. thats only on the rear However the front DOES have camber adjustment at the top of the strut mount where you had looked... you have to loosen the 3 nuts at the top of the strut mount when the car is jacked up off the ground and you can slide the strut mount left to right to adjust the camber.

Also i would take it to another alignment shop if your guy looked at the top of the strut and didnt see the nuts for adjusting camber.

[CJ_Boxster]

Ah yes i almost forgot, its usually excessive toe in and toe out that will wear the insides and outsides of your tire quickly... too much negative camber can wear the insides too but not fast at least.

[insite]

no offense, but you need a new alignment guy. the boxster's front camber adjustment is typical of any car with McStruts; nothing special here. if he didn't know that, there may be a lot of things he doesn't know.

[JackG]

Maybe I caught him on a bad day or something. He's been doing alignments for 30 years, owns his own shop, and is well respected in the area as a good front end guy. He did admit that he rarely sees Porsches, and since his main reference said it was not adjustable, maybe he just assumed that it wasn't, or that the limited amount available with the factory setup wouldn't fix my problem. ???

Unfortunately, the only true high-performance alignment shop I'm aware of is over an hour away. Sounds like I should start making some phone calls.

[insite]

if he has the right machine and more than half a brain, he should be able to do it no prob. just make sure you give him the settings to hit; the factory specs allow too wide a variation to guarantee good handling.

for a street car, aim for -.6 deg camber up front, -1.1 deg camber in back, zero toe up front, a TINY bit of toe-in in back.

[silver arrow]

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

Ah yes i almost forgot, its usually excessive toe in and toe out that will wear the insides and outsides of your tire quickly... too much negative camber can wear the insides too but not fast at least.

+1, your toe is most likely the culprit. The improper toe will eat tires very quickly. I've run -1.5 camber on the front of my last few cars with no ill effects. If the camber is 1 deg off, then at some point you smacked a curb. Your toe is out for 2 reasons.

1. You probably knocked it out when you knocked the camber out.
2. Toe dynamicly changes as camber changes.

If you drive like a cream puff, have it reset to factory specs. If you drive aggressively, set max negative camber and 0 toe or a small amount of toe out. Add some 225 front tires and it will turn in much nicer.

[silver arrow]

Originally Posted by insite

if he has the right machine and more than half a brain, he should be able to do it no prob. just make sure you give him the settings to hit; the factory specs allow too wide a variation to guarantee good handling.

for a street car, aim for -.6 deg camber up front, -1.1 deg camber in back, zero toe up front, a TINY bit of toe-in in back.

Well, I was going for more rotation, but you are probably closer for a DD. I autocross/DD and an experienced driver. I may have been a little over zealous with my recommendation, especially in the rain I'm already counter steering the second I give it throttle. :dance:

[insite]

Originally Posted by silver arrow

Well, I was going for more rotation, but you are probably closer for a DD. I autocross/DD and an experienced driver. I may have been a little over zealous with my recommendation, especially in the rain I'm already counter steering the second I give it throttle. :dance:

hey, i'm w/ you. my car sees a lot of track time and i loathe understeer. i usually go -1.1/-2.1 camber F/R and 0 toe front, 0 toe rear unless it's a really fast track, in which case i'll add a sliver of rear toe in.....

for a street car, the numbers i provided earlier will work great & save your tires.

[JackG]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I pulled out the Bentley manual last night, and it covers camber adjustment, along with a diagram showing that there are elongated holes on the strut mounts to give you room for adjustment. Armed with this info I can get my camber problem resolved.

[John V]

If you're one degree out of spec something is bent or broken. I would take the car to a tech and have it gone over. You only get about .5-.7 degrees of adjustment out of the slots in the strut towers.

Something is wrong here.