Once the camber has been adjusted with plates, should the ride improve
significantly? I have been working with this boat like ride at speeds and
am hoping that fixing the camber will address this problem.

 

it should clear up the ride a little bit... primarily because it will be straightening out the wheels and they won't have to work as hard to do the same thing.

i know you've been over this before but what exactly is done to the suspension... possibly consider a bit lower?

 

H&R race and KYB AGX struts - Thanks

 

and have you had the car aligned as well...is there rocking and shimmy's in the steering wheel at high speeds... or is it just a big body roll feeling?

 

Big body toll probem especially at speed. No alignment since camber
plates put it. That will be the first thing I'll do. I'm also rebuilding the
engine. This body roll problem is dangerous. Do you know how to get rid
of it and could it just be the cambet probem?

Thanks

 

Camber won't do a damn thing for body roll.

Appropriately matched shocks and springs will.

Given that the car is going to be driven by a new driver... and that the car should be set up to reflect that skill level, I would stiffen the shock damping to remedy your body roll problem.*

If the car is stll bobbing up and down on the AGX shocks, turn them up to their firmest setting (front and rear) and see if that helps. Shocks (aka dampers) and springs are designed to work together, so that the damper is capable of isolating the movement of the spring.

If the car is still squatting on acceleration and diving forward on braking, the dampers aren't firm enough for the springs.

* Side note: Stiffer anti-roll bars will also help alleviate body roll during cornering maneuvers, but since the car is going to be used by a new driver, I would keep the stock bars installed.

The transition into oversteer can be very abrupt with a stiff rear anti-roll bar; a novice driver can find him or herself in a heap of trouble if they're not accustomed to that trait.

With stock anti-roll bars and appropriately tuned dampers, the car will still tend to understeer at the limit of adhesion. It's a lot easier for a new driver to compensate for understeer than it is for them to catch the tail of an over-steering FWD.

 

Thanks Dave. My mechanic is going thru the suspension now and will
adjust the camber and struts to alleviate the horrible body roll. I'm
wondering if there is anything else in the suspension that may be worn out
that could possibly be contributing to this problem. The car has 160,000
miles and I don't believe the previous owner took very good care of the car.
Do you believe that the H&R springs and KYB AGX combo are adequate?
I'm not wanting to give the car to my son unil this body roll issue has been
resolved. Just a reminder, I'm having skunk 2 camber plates installed up front.

Thanks,

 

I can't really evaluate that set of springs and shocks via the web. But based on our previous chats, I every reason to believe that they're a good match... once they are dialed in.

If the shocks are on full soft right now, then I'm not surprised by the body roll. Just as an FYI, adjusting the shock damping strength is simply the matter of a turning a knob on the base of the shock. It's easy enough to do on your own.
---

Forgive me for asking this... I've forgotten. What year is the car?
I thought it was a 95... :thinking:

 

Your right. There's a dial on top of the strut that has 4 settings and also
one on the side of the struts with 16 settings. I'm sure we'll get to the
bottom of it and am looking forward to the engine rebuild. FYI the camber
was -2.65 on each side.

Thanks,

 

:eek4:
So the car was way out of spec even before the new shocks and springs went on.
That's nearly a full degree beyond the maximum OEM limit.

Hopefully, your tires aren't torn to hell.. :eek3:

(By comparison, I run apx. -1.25°Ft, -1.10°Rr. )