:::::::INSANE suspension/wheel problem!!!!:::::

[mshahidz]

Hey guys...

First of all, here are the mods:


KW V3's with custom springs
Vorshlag Camber Plates
APEX wheels/OEM wheels.
225/40/18
255/35/18
Camber: 2.5 front, 4.5 rear



Story:

Drove 2 hrs for track event, and I took off my LMs to mount my APEX wheels.
Now I have the exact same set up as everyone else with apex wheels, 8.5/9.5 set up.
We mounted the APEX wheels, and when we tried to drive the car off, it was struggling to move. There was an insane amount of friction impeding its movement------------long story short the tires were rubbing the strut/spring.

What can be the cause of this? I mean BERK tech is running 265's up front ( with modified fenders, but still...) and my 225's are not even close to fitting.
My spring has been slightly damaged from the rubbing, and so are the height adjustment clamps....what I want to understand is wether it is a suspension install issue, or something else...I highly doubt that 2.5 degrees of camber would cause this...

Oh almost forgot, we tried to mount stock OEM wheels, and those would not even mount--we were unable to even get the holes to line up close enough for a lug to be inserted.


Thanks in advance.

[twenzel]

can you post pictures of your front suspension without the wheels mounted. it would be easy to pick out something if it appeared out of place.

[bradford]

I've got $100 that says your custom springs are too long and your tires are hitting your spring perches or the springs themselves.

And while we're at it - FOUR POINT FIVE degrees of neg camber in the rear? That's a misprint right???

[mshahidz]

Originally Posted by bradford

I've got $100 that says your custom springs are too long and your tires are hitting your spring perches or the springs themselves.

And while we're at it - FOUR POINT FIVE degrees of neg camber in the rear? That's a misprint right???

Got the custom springs from berk, sames ones that MANY people are running... I will email them to ask

The insane camber will be solved once i get slightly stiffer rear springs, i will bring it closer to -2.5.

It's not a typo, it was what I had to do to get my wheels to fit. I had to pay to play i know my tires wont last

[bradford]

What spring lengths and rates are you running, front and rear?

You don't need that much camber to get the rears to fit. When you load the suspension the tire will clear the subframe brace with only 2 degrees or maybe even less if you require less toe-in.

4.5 degrees in the back is doing you no favors. What's the point of shoehorning fatty rubber in if only 10% of it touches the ground? BTW I have 245F/275R R-comps on the same wheels in the back of my 135i.

Bottom line: You're doing it wrong, dude! Give us some more info and we'll figure out where you went wrong.

[mshahidz]

The rear camber is temporary as i am waiting to recieve my rear berk-car "spec" springs. For the aggressive fitment i have in my rear, the stock KWv3 sprinds are too soft. Untill that point, i had to run such degrees of camber to fit the wheels without them tearing my fender off...its the price i pay to fit the wheels =) consider it as being a part of a younger crowd and enjoying flush fitment. My wheels are 9.5 +30, so i did what i had to.

Regardless, that issue will be solved when i have the rears--the car will go back to a -2 - 2.5 degrees max. I have the full VMC suspension set up, and the car is at "near" perfect toe, and absolutely no adverse tire wear effects have been displatyed so far.

Anyways the APEX wheels were just bought and recieved a few weeks ago, and this was supposed to be my first time tracking, and the result was that i was unable to mount my wheels.

in short: apex wheels/OEM wheels not fitting on front struts.
i will try to take some images tomorrow.

[bradford]

"What spring lengths and rates are you running, front and rear?"

[Eyeman]

Not confusing, just TOO much camber..lol!

The confusing part of your story is you didn't show pics/stats of your BBS aggressive setup first. I'm pretty sure that you just were running more camber in the front than you think. You probably have like 3.5 up front and 4.5 in the back. There's not much room up front, especially for an 8.5inch wide wheel. Too aggressive either way will either rub the fenders or the strut.

You just need to buy the right track wheels and you probably would not have to make many adjustments. The Apex rears are very non-aggressive, the offsets are like an inch different than your LMs. I'd bet a square setup of 17x8's with et40 would work, or at least be close (Dforce or Kosei would be nice and much cheaper than your Apex setup). If you keep this much front camber you might just have to do the opposite of everyone else and use your camber plates to reduce your front camber when you go to the track..lol.

[onefastman]

Pics of that camber!!!


That is likely hella flush approved!

[larryn]

9.5" ET30?????? You got the wrong wheels, and -4.5deg in back is unbelievable dangerous to drive around with.

I mistakenly did -3.5 deg once, floored it a few times, and the ass end slithers around incredibly unpredictable.

I understand the helllaflush look you might be going for, but I would suggest you don't endanger yourself and others on the track until you can fix the fitment and rear camber issues. Btw, I betcha bradford is 100% correct in his initial assessment.

Btw, your initial post is incorrect... "Now I have the exact same set up as everyone else with apex wheels, 8.5/9.5 set up.". You have a very 1 of a kind setup.

[BerkTechnology]

Your tire is touching the spring perch. You need to raise the perch or use a shorter spring. Is the car dumped in the front? If you want a really low ride height for looks then you might want to swap that spring with something shorter or softer so you can raise it up some. The ride height we run on the race car would be considered a mild drop to many people.

[bradford]

Originally Posted by larryn

9.5" ET30?????? You got the wrong wheels

I assumed that was a typo. I don't think Apex even makes an ET30. The ET35 for the E9X could be a possibility though. (Not a well-chosen one for our cars however)

[1ntense_Rocket]

hopefully this gets resolved quickly! i feel so bad! paid for 2 track days and didn't get to run once.

[onefastman]

Ya that really sucks