Hey guys, New here, but I've surfed around here plenty of times but finally had a question for anyone whos had the experience. I bought lowering springs for my 99 Integra and the springs are a 2.5" drop, but I've looked around and seen some lowering kits come with camber kits to make the alignment work right. Is this alignment kit necessary? Scale of 1-10, how badly would I want/need this alignment crap?

 

I also used to drive a 94 Thunderbird dropped about 3.5" but cutting the springs.... I know - stupid but it looked pretty cool except the camber on the tires were like: /---\

 

You will need and aligment, but depending on what your camber ends up being you will probably not need a camber kit. Put the springs on get an aligment and then go from there.

 

How often do people need alignment kits? Is it rare or pretty frequent?

 

Any time you alter the suspension of a vehicle, you should have it aligned at a wheel/tire shop. There's no "kit" needed for an alignment unless you get a camber kit (Hondas/Acuras don't have camber adjustment from the factory).

 

what you are refering to is a camber adjustment kit. since on our hondas, we cannot adjust the camber to our liking.

and like shivers said, everytime to take apart and replace something in the suspension, the camber, caster, toe settings change. that will lead to alignment and tire wear problems.

i am riding on ITR springs, which is slightly lower than my OEM non-type springs. i still use a ingalls kit in front, and shims in the rear.

IMO, a 2.5" drop is a drastic change in height. i would suggest you get a camber alignment kit, swap the springs, and take it to an alignment shop RIGHT after you put the new springs on.

 

so a camber kit is required to make the wheels true? I know on my old Thunderbird I just had to tighten or loosen a hex and it would give me a + or - camber.. Where can I get a camber kit and how much do they run for?

 

camber kits allow you to adjust the camber. :eek3:
hehe anyway... upto you if you want to get it. most people would probably say, get it, more traction,less tire wear, etc etc...i dont care, so i drove my integra around dropped for years without it h:

 

yes, on our integras, you cannot adjust the camber. there are basically 2 popular types of front camber kit, i dont know the specific names, but one is the ingalls style and the other is the skunk2 style.

the ingalls serve me fine and are a little cheaper than the skunk2. but be aware that the ingall type kits will push the upper control arm towards the fender, and if your car is lower enough and you want close to 0 camber, it just might hit against the fender.

the skunk2 kits will replace the whole upper control arm, so you dont worry about it hitting against the fender.

as for the rear, chances are you can get away with the shop adding shims (washers) and using a couple longer bolts to adjust the camber. or you can buy a replacement piece that adjust the camber.

ingalls generally go for $120 for the front, skunk2 are around $190-200? i think. check groupbuycenter.com or visit one of our sponsers.

 

With a Camber kit you can set oyur camber back to factory spec, which is close to 0 camber, 0 camber is ok, but I perfer to have more negative camber. Camber will not cause your tires to wear quickly, they may wear a bit unever, hoever I got full life out of my last set of tires with -2.0 camber all the way around, negative camber helps traction in cornering, so it is a benifical to how you car handles. When you lower a honda camber and toe change, incorrect toe is the culprit of 90% of extreme tire wear issues after lowering, because a lot of people do not get an aligment right after lowering, see thier tires wearing out, and some tells them they need a camber kit, so they spend thier money on said camber kit get and aligment and that fix's the tire wear issue and they tell everyone else that it was the camber kit that fixed the problem when it was really the aligment that did and they did not need to spend the money on the camber kit.

-cliff notes -
Don't get a camber kit, get an alignment you'll be fine.