Front coilover problem

[Jay]

Right i have recently fitted some budget front coilovers to the front of my nova.

They have the bottom camber adjusters on, i had to use 10mm spacers from halfords to have the wheels sitting level i.e. 0 degrees straight otherwise the top of the tyre would catch on the coil spring without spacers, so now my spacers are on i have no way of getting the wheel central to the hub and i am gettin vibration, any ideas what to do or can i over come this problem in any way.

Would it just be a case of getting spigot rings, although i would have still no way of getting the wheel central as the spacers are universal.

Any help will be very greatfull. Jay :)

[burgo]

how about a stud conversion?

[Jay]

Conversion to what? i have had to use mercedes wheel bolts as they are longer.

[burgo]

convert it to stud and nuts as this chap has

http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99590&page=3

[Jay]

Is that the only way, i would rather go for a more cheaper/easier way.

[burgo]

its not that expensive and you cant get much easier, plus its guaranteed to work

[Stuart]

you can get shorter springs to lift the platform/spring above the tyre.... no need for a spacer then.

[burgo]

you can get shorter springs to lift the platform/spring above the tyre.... no need for a spacer then.true but thats not as cheap as studs

[Jay]

true but thats not as cheap as studs

Do you no where i can get the stud conversion from?

[burgo]

http://www.motorsportparts.co.uk/nova.htm
http://www.mayesmotorsport.co.uk/userimages/procart16.htm

theres a couple but theres loads of places that do them

[Stuart]

about the same price as studs lol.

plus putting 10mm spacers on because youve slammed the car too far on a suspension kit is a really crap way round the simple issue.

[Jay]

about the same price as studs lol.

plus putting 10mm spacers on because youve slammed the car too far on a suspension kit is a really crap way round the simple issue.

You got any better idea, you think i should just buy i decent coilover kit?

[Stuart]

how "low" have you set it? what size wheels are you running (and what offset)

I bet a shorter spring (of the same rate) would solve the problem (and you can then do away with the spacers)

oh and the spacer WONT alter the camber ;)

[burgo]

depends what you call decent ?. i had the same problem with my spax kit

[Jay]

how "low" have you set it? what size wheels are you running (and what offset)

I bet a shorter spring (of the same rate) would solve the problem (and you can then do away with the spacers)

oh and the spacer WONT alter the camber ;)

I ment i have to use spacers to alter the camber back to 0 degrees other wise it would catch the top of the tyre without spacers.

I am running 15" cav gsi wheels with 195 45 15 and the obvious offset of 49, i have around 30mm left on the bottom of the strut. Pic below of how car sits.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e46/jays_nova/S1050279.jpg

[burgo]

that aint that low

[Jay]

I no its just perfect for me i have a lot of road bumps in my area and any lower the tyres catch on the arches.

[Stuart]

trust me, the spacers HAVE NOT altered your camber... unless you have tapered spacers lol.

what you have done is moved the centre line of the wheel otu by 10mm meaning the whole wheel moves out to avoid the springs.


Personally I'd get shorter springs.

[burgo]

no stu he has altered the camber with the coil overs and it was the spacers that allowed him to do this

[Stuart]

no, the spacers moved the wheel away from the coilover.....

DIFFERENT thing to adjusting the actual angle the wheel sits at (which he claims to have done also)

[burgo]

stu the bolt holes on the coil over allow the camber adjustment. the spacer moved the wheel away from the coil over to allow him to adjust it using the bolt holes on the coil overs

[Jay]

Stu u dont understand, i fitted the coilovers first of all with no camber adjusted when i got it on the deck the tyre was catching on the spring even with a bit of positive camber so i had to get spacers and even it out.

[Stuart]

I ment i have to use spacers to alter the camber back to 0 degrees other wise it would catch the top of the tyre without spacers.




;) thats not altering the camber, for the final time ;)


imho shorter springs would do the job..... I prefer to not use spacers etc but hey its your party

[Jay]

I have helper springs in there, do you think i could just take them out and wind the spring up?

[Stuart]

yep. helpers arent really needed unless you enjoy going airbourne

[Jay]

yep. helpers arent really needed unless you enjoy going airbourne

Ok ill try that, thanks for the help stu and burgo. :D

[Adam]

Alls the spacer has done is lower the wheel offset(in theory) pushing it away from the coilover spring(as stu said)

So aye, try removing the helper spring.

[Jay]

Yea i had to do that to drive it, i don't like the idea of spacers. I will remove the helper spring tommorrow, cheers guys.

[Clean 2.0 nova]

what suspension are you using? I had a very similar problem with some fairly expensive cobra suspension. Even after removing the helper springs that aren't needed (as long as this remaining spring doesn't get loose when the strut is fully extended). Needles to say I binned it (or rather took it back as not fit for purpose) and put some spax on which was a bit better.

As far as your initial question is concerned the wheel wobble is due to the wheel not locating on the hub centre properly. I had a thread about this a while ago where I was rubbished for my claims that wheel bolts alone would not centralise the wheel. Your case in point proves my theory - but I'm sure someone will butt in. I wanted spacers on the rear so I selected the largest possible spacer possible that would still allow the wheel to locate on the flange - this in my case was 7mm but will differ slightly on each car / wheel combo.

see http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84360
+
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94564

[Stuart]

lol @ the kitkat wrapper statement.... Do you sell spacers per chance? lol Or you are very insecure about your argument regarding how wheels are held in place.

[Clean 2.0 nova]

I'm not even going to start an argument again - I'll rise above and (in my little world) I know i'm right, after all my wheels have never fallen of yet:thumb:

Iain.

P.S. Selling a range of spacers in pairs for £10 each.

[Stuart]

now there is a surprise. People only tend to rubbish physics and engineering when they are selling something.

so then, would you run with finger tight wheel bolts to prove you are right?

[Clean 2.0 nova]

Ill use the bolts to hold the wheel on, and the friction this creates with the wheel against the disk COUPLED with the flange to keep it centred. Physics over. How come the original poster is now experiencing wheel wobble unless there are other underlying reasons?

[Adam]

Spigot rings etc only really help when fitting the wheel, in keeping everything lined up... My current brake discs have no spigots, i have to hold the disc level whilst fitting the wheel to keep the holes lined up lol
But i get no vibration/movement at all once the wheel bolts are tight.

Considering most spigot rings are plastic, you cant really be expecting to have a lot of load put on them.......
Because theres 4 wheel bolts, once the bolts are tightened(into the tapered wheel insert) the wheel cannot physically move....

[Clean 2.0 nova]

Agree with you adam, I understand the flange locating will keep the wheel central until the wheel bolts are tightened which then hold it in that position.

[Jay]

Solved the problem today thanks lads, i had to take the helper springs out, took the spacers off, adjusted the tracking now its spot on, thanks alot. :thumb: Jay