[02rsxpilot]

Installed my plates yesterday, mostly using this guide, but wanted to add a few notes for future DIYers.

First, this DIY approaches the install by trying to get the top of the strut out from the fender so you can access the top hat and install the camber plate. The problem? Getting that much clearance was extremely difficult (borderline impossible) on stock M-Sport suspension. If you are determined to go this route, I highly recommend hammering out the studs at the top while they are still poking out through the shock towers. This reduces the amount of clearance you need by 3/8s inch or so. Plan on compressing your spring as much as your tool will allow. After much struggle, we eventually got the strut out beneath the fender liner but still could not get it to clear the fender itself. Forced to consider other options (take strut out completely, etc...), it became clear that none of this was really necessary!

How we did it (NO SPRING COMPRESSOR NEEDED!):
After detaching the headlight rod and sway bar link as per the instructions above, undo the nuts on the strut tower and use a hammer to carefully bang out the studs while they are still sticking through the holes. (Side note: These buggers will fall out but don't always make it to the ground. I recommend making sure you've found all six of them before you bolt everything back up and start driving. They won't fall anywhere where they'll cause a problem, but I only found five and it bugs me that I might have one still rattling around.)

Lower the jack supporting the hub to allow the strut to drop down as far as it will go. It won't clear it's little space in the shock tower, but at this point, we had plenty of room to slip the camber plate into the gap and on top of the strut, and lightly (you will torque them down in a second) installed the bolts that secure it one at a time by rotating the top around.

At that point raise the jack on the hub a few pumps so that you can get an allen wrench down through the strut tower to hold the bolt in place while you torque it down from below with a crescent wrench or socket (top tip: since you need the long side of the allen wrench to reach the bolts, use a pair of pliers or vice grip to add leverage to the short end of the allen wrench so you can torque the bolts down better). Rotate the top around so you can access each bolt until they are all tight.

Now your camber plate is securely mounted to your strut and you just have to bolt it back up to the shock tower. Orient the camber plate correctly, raise the jack to slide them into their slots, re-install the self-locking nuts and make sure you snug it down with the bolts slid as far towards the middle of the car as possible (assuming you are trying to max camber).

Proceed reattaching sway bar end links and headlight rod. Pop wheels back on and drop the car down. Torque lugs and job done!

Because of the multiple angle/access point issues, this was definitely a two man job to do it this way, but we did the driver's side in probably 30-45 minutes, whereas we were an hour at least into the passenger side before we realized there was no way we could get that strut all the way out of the fender.

Having done it once now, I'd budget about 90 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.