[biff]

come the first of the year, i am going to be purchasing coil overs. probably from motivational engineering...
with these, am i going to need to get camber plates (of course, if i need to, it will be gc's)?
i do not do any autocross, just a daily driver... i guess what i am getting at, is-- that i don't need to be adjusting this every weekend.
will an alignment shop be able to properly align my front end with the drop, and no plates???

thanx from a newbie.

 

[HKS20DET]

depends on how low you plan on going.

 

[98sr20ve]

You can always slot the struts for free. Go to www.se-r.net for a writeup.

 

[Dan_93SER]

No, you don't need them, especially if you don't autocross. An alignment shop should be able to get you within spec as long as you don't drop it like 5 inches or something.

Sounds like the dilemma I was in. I have the Moti coilovers on my B13 SE-R, and had the GC camber plates ready to install. But after seeing how my car performed so well on the track without them, I decided I didn't want to deal with the compromises they'd bring on a daily driven car. When my SE-R is no longer my daily driver, I might get some camber plates.

Here's the conversation:

http://www.aracnet.com/~brianphi/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000373.html

 

[biff]

awesome... just what i needed to hear... i appreciate the info!

 

[98sr20ve]

and had the GC camber plates ready to install. But after seeing how my car performed so well on the track without them, I decided I didn't want to deal with the compromises they'd bring on a daily driven car.

I have the GC camber plates and see no reason to not use them on a daily driver. Unless the plate is rubbing/hitting on the inside of the frame (due to poor adjustment) they make no noise beyond what most suspension mods make. They do make the steering more direct, eliminate the squish of the stock busings, give more travel, allow easy setup of camber, and allow caster adjustment. They need to be installed properly. You must make sure the silver top hat for the spring does not contact the frame of the car. That is what causes the excess noise with the GC Camber Plates. If your plates are making clanking noise all the time they are not installed properly. They do transmit more general road noise just like any solid bushing does. This is a race item that requires carefull instalation.

 

[Dan_93SER]

I have the GC camber plates and see no reason to not use them on a daily driver.

I can give you lots of reasons why they didn't go onto my daily driver. Here are 6 of them:

1) I can adjust camber at the hub with my Moti coilovers

2) I have no need for caster adjustability yet.

3) My car isn't very low, so I don't need the extra suspension travel.

4) I don't want any more road noise.

5) My setup achieves what I feel is the perfect compromise between stock comfort and high-performance driving ability, given my personal needs and preferences

6) I don't need them.

Like you said, they are a race item. My car isn't a race car yet, and I was extremely pleased with how the car performed even without the plates, so I didn't feel the benefits outweighed the costs. When I'm ready to move the bar further towards performance, I'll revisit the issue, and very likely install the plates.

But right now, I'm happy with what I have (wish I could say that more often). That's a pretty good reason isn't it?

 

[98sr20ve]

My point is that GC Camber plates have minor comprimises not a big issue if you put them on properly. You make it sound like they are not suitable for daily driving. I was clarifying that for many people they would be perfectly acceptable for a daily driver. Never underestimate the beauty of extra travel. It is very nice to have even if you only drop your car 1 inch or so. I wrote all that to help others understand how to properly install the GC plates into a daily driver. I am glad you are happy with your car. For the record none or us NEED anything we put on our cars. Its all for fun.

 

[Geo]

If I'm not mistaken, the struts that Mike uses to make his coilovers are already slotted and have a "box" around the bolt hole to capture the eccentric head on the bolt. I'm not 100% certain. It really depends upon what he is using for cores.

Perhaps Mike can shed some light on this.

 

[Dan_93SER]

My point is that GC Camber plates have minor comprimises not a big issue if you put them on properly. You make it sound like they are not suitable for daily driving.

Hmm, I don't think I tried to make it sound like they were unsuitable for daily driving. But if it sounded that way, it's not what I meant. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who'd find them perfectly acceptable for daily use. All I was doing was giving reasons why I didn't want to use them, when you said you couldn't think of a single reason. Just trying to help out!

Also, keep in mind, what isn't a "big issue" for you may be a big issue for others.

Anyway, the original question was whether or not he needed the plates to get his alignment into spec after installing the Motis, was it not? The answer is no, you don't need them.

 

[Dan_93SER]

If I'm not mistaken, the struts that Mike uses to make his coilovers are already slotted and have a "box" around the bolt hole to capture the eccentric head on the bolt. I'm not 100% certain. It really depends upon what he is using for cores.

That is what I have on mine Geo. I compared mine with pictures of Monroe struts, and I believe that is what Mike used as cores for mine.