Reasonable price camber plates install?

[e82n54]

My local shop wants to charge $350 to install front camber plates and wheel alignment.

1 hour labor $100 x 2 sides = $200 total labor
4 wheel alignment = $150

Is this reasonable? Sounds a little pricey to me.

[Focusedintntions]

The time quoted sounds reasonable...personally i think the labor rates are a bit high unless this is a dealership...

[DriveHard]

In warranty time ( the equivlant job replacing strut mounts ) the job pays 3.2 Hours Without the alignment !!!!

It doesnt sound too bad

[pixelblue]

Good deal! That's how much I paid

[bogart]

The alignment should only be about $100. Why are you getting an alignment? Hopefully not for camber plates... The labor rate is really high. I would say total $250 would be a lot more reasonable. I had control arms, coilovers, and camber plates installed for $280!!! I had an alignment done at a Toyota dealership for $100.

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted by bogart

The alignment should only be about $100. Why are you getting an alignment? Hopefully not for camber plates... The labor rate is really high. I would say total $250 would be a lot more reasonable. I had control arms, coilovers, and camber plates installed for $280!!! I had an alignment done at a Toyota dealership for $100.

why would you say / recommend that he not need an alignment after installing camber plates ?????? Thats the whole purpose of the plates !! its to dial in the negative camber that he wants / needs and address the toe that changes automatically with camber changes..

I 100000% recommend teh alignment after camber plate install..

The amount for the alignment / labor is greatly affected by location...

[e82n54]

Wow, you guys are quick. Thanks for the info. I thought if the suspension is dismantled I should get an alignment. Not necessary?

Also, Harold at HP Autowerks recommends adjusting the camber for street vs. track. I know pixelblue says set it and forget it, but Harold makes it sound pretty easy. I was thinking slight toe in with street camber setting, then when I adjust to max camber I will have slight toe out. That's another reason I expect to have an alignment. What do you guys think?

[bogart]

I said that he won't need an alignment, because the change in camber that he is adding is not significant enough to change the toe to the point that he would need an alignment to fix toe. If anything, it will make it slightly toe-out, which is a good thing. Now, if he is lowering the car on springs or coilovers or adding M3 control arms, an alignment is absolutely necessary. Camber plates can be adjusted on the fly, depending on which ones you get, so there is no need to get an alignment if just doing camber plates. Uninstalling front struts to change out camber plates and reinstalling them will not change the geometry. I mean, go ahead and get an alignment if that makes you more comfortable, but it's a waste of $150 unless you are doing other things to the suspension at the same time.

Harold at HPA is very knowledgeable. They have done pretty much every suspension mod available for the 1-series. He is right, camber is very easy to change on the fly, especially with Vorshlag plates (probably takes 10 minutes). Everyone has their own opinion though, and some people like pixelblue and myself base their opinions on what we are running on our own cars. I set my camber and toe aggressively and just leave it no matter if I am on the street or track. I do this because it gives me a lot of grip, actually ends up being better for tire wear, and makes the car very easy to drive.

Either way, this is my daily driving setup (I drive my car approx. 25-50 miles per day):

Front Camber: -3*
Rear Camber: -2.5*
Front Toe: 1/4" out
Rear Toe: 3/16" in
Front Caster: As much as you can get (I got about 9 degrees positive caster (toward driver))

This is my setup. Tire wear for daily driving is perfect, and the car is great on the highway. No tire noise. Feels great into and out of turns. Amazing setup, very stable!

[Lubo]

Originally Posted by bogart

I said that he won't need an alignment, because the change in camber that he is adding is not significant enough to change the toe to the point that he would need an alignment to fix toe. If anything, it will make it slightly toe-out, which is a good thing. Now, if he is lowering the car on springs or coilovers or adding M3 control arms, an alignment is absolutely necessary. Camber plates can be adjusted on the fly, depending on which ones you get, so there is no need to get an alignment if just doing camber plates. Uninstalling front struts to change out camber plates and reinstalling them will not change the geometry. I mean, go ahead and get an alignment if that makes you more comfortable, but it's a waste of $150 unless you are doing other things to the suspension at the same time.

Harold at HPA is very knowledgeable. They have done pretty much every suspension mod available for the 1-series. He is right, camber is very easy to change on the fly, especially with Vorshlag plates (probably takes 10 minutes). Everyone has their own opinion though, and some people like pixelblue and myself base their opinions on what we are running on our own cars. I set my camber and toe aggressively and just leave it no matter if I am on the street or track. I do this because it gives me a lot of grip, actually ends up being better for tire wear, and makes the car very easy to drive.

Either way, this is my daily driving setup (I drive my car approx. 25-50 miles per day):

Front Camber: -3*
Rear Camber: -2.5*
Front Toe: 1/4" out
Rear Toe: 3/16" in
Front Caster: As much as you can get (I got about 9 degrees positive caster (toward driver))

This is my setup. Tire wear for daily driving is perfect, and the car is great on the highway. No tire noise. Feels great into and out of turns. Amazing setup, very stable!

I got the vorshlag plates as well. Installed with OEM spring and shock. My toe was all out of whack after installation. I am running similar 3/16" toe out in front and -2.5* as that is all we were able to get on driver side. Passenger side went all the way to 2.7* While you are at it set rear camber to maximum as well and around 1/8" toe in since you are paying for 4 wheel alignment.