I had the Eibach kit and new tires installed on my roadster, and the shop said they had no way to adjust the CAMBER. This is noticeable on the rears by just looking at it from behind the car.

Can the camber not be adjusted at all, or should I take it to a MB specialist?

Thanks.

 

There are some "Crash" bolts you can buy to adjust the front camber, but the OEM set-up does not allow for much rear camber adjustment. There is a camber / caster adjustment kit you can purchase online from a company in Australia. Do a search for SLK320 camber / caster adjustment kit. It's pricey though, if memory serves me, somewhere around $500.

 

I didn't have this measured before the Eibach kit was installed. I guess the lowering has caused the camber to change? What have other folks with this kit done in this respect?

 

Your camber probably hasn't changed too much to be an issue. The Eibach springs only drop the car between 1 to 1.5". and altered your camber to about -1.20 degrees. Negative camber is a good thing on a sports car. It slightly shortens your tire life (inside tread will wear quicker) but you won't be burning through tires every 5,000 miles, if that's what you're thinking...

I actually had to install the camber kit to adjust mine out (more negative) because the drop from the Eibach springs didn't add enough. You want somewhere between -1.20 to -2.0 for the both the front and rear.

What were the camber #'s that your alignment guy showed on your printout when he aligned your car?

 

After alignment, camber on the fronts is -0.9 and the rears are -2.1.

I just burned through the factory contis in 11k miles, so I'm more sensitive now to having everything set up correctly.

Does the weight of passengers make the camber more or less negative?

 

Here are the factory specified ranges for camber based on the OEM. Camber adjustments are based on your driving style. Do some research on camber adjustment from the "Tire Rack Tech Center" online and make your own determination what kind of handling characteristics you require for your driving style.

If you need to adjust the front camber buy the crash bolts from http://www.chryslerpartsdirect.com for a whole $8.00

DC Spec.
Front: -1.5 to -0.9
Rear: -1.6 to -0.6

 

I'm more concerned about tire wear than performance. The fronts are on the fringe, and the rears are noticeably out of spec. I've contacted a Mercedes mechanic to look at it. Are the bolts only for the front, or can the rear be similarly adjusted?

Thanks for your help!

 

Here's what you need if you're racing the car... If it's just to get spec alignment back, I can't help.

http://kmac.3x3design.com/cms/

 

Well, I took the car to a local MB mechanic, and he says he also has no way to adjust the rear camber. I think at this point I will go ahead and drive out these tires and see how long they last. I kept my old springs, so I can have them re-installed if I decide to.

Clearly, lowering the car affects the geometry by creating negative camber. What have other folks done who installed the Eibach kit for street driving? I presume you must know what your post-alignment camber was, the same as me. Any tire-wear results with -2° or more of rear camber?

On a side note, since my previous tires wore out so fast on the outside of the tire, maybe having a little negative camber will balance it out. I can always hope so, anyway.

 

Here's an update on my experience with the Eibach kit, Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, and Rotex brake pads on the front.

First, the Rotex pads are great. I can't say the front wheels don't need to be cleaned, but the amount of muck on them is at least 95% less. As others have said, the fronts now get dirty about the same as the rears.

Second, the tires look fantastic, and I can't say anything negative about them. There is no noticeable noise from them. I drive exclusively in a suburban area with straight roads, so I can't say much about the performance. We have gotten more rain lately, and I certainly feel confident with these tires in the rain, as that is their performance strength.

What's more important to me about the tires is the wear, and that depends on the alignment and inflation. My factory Contis wore out after 11k miles, and I was constantly putting air in them to keep the warning light from coming on. I was told by the installer of the new tires that they wore out because of "driving style", not alignment or inflation level.

Well, with these new tires, the warning light has not come on once, and I've not had to adjust the pressure at all. I was thinking the pressure sensors were too sensitive and that was the cause of the trouble, but it seems that it was the tires. I'm hopeful that I can get good wear out of the Eagles, and that brings me to the Eibach springs and alignment.

The lowering makes the car look awesome. Definitely a home run in terms of looks, which was my primary reason for getting the Eibach kit. As far as ride, the stock Crossfire is not exactly immune to bumps, and as you would expect you feel more bumps with the Eibach springs. Don't let the marketing gimmicks of 'improved ride' fool you. Cornering performance may be better, but the ride is made somewhat harsher.

The bigger issue is the negative rear camber. I hadn't given this subject much attention before, but now that I look around, I see negative camber in most cars with IRS. I would still say that mine is in the high range, though. HDDP has pitched a kit for the rear camber, which I know nothing about, but the local MB tech told me the only thing to do is have the control arms modified.

It doesn't seem that the camber angle is a big enough problem to go to such lengths. In terms of handling, it should help to keep the rear end from fishtailing (as if I do that). It's only likely to be an issue with tire wear, and it will take time before I can evaluate the results.

So, overall, I would say I'm very happy with the Eibach kit, Eagle tires, and Rotex pads, and I will let you know if the camber angle causes any problems.

 

Happy to hear you like the new set-up... Don't worry about the back camber, it is probably only in the range of -1.75 degrees...

 

From reading this post it sounds like the rear camber is not adjustable?
If so does anyone know if the IRS has the ability to change the Toe angle?? This would be better than changing the camber IMO. just curious.
I am getting a lot of outside wear on the rear wheels, so I'm thinking if I Toe out that would give the car a flatter foot print during cornering.

 

I don't have the numbers handy, but the camber for both rears is at least -2.0. It's pretty far out of spec.

 

FYI, my factory Contis wore out more on the outside. That was with the stock springs also.

 

have you lowered your spring height with an Eibach kit?

 

Yes, and that's the source of the excessive camber in the rear. I'm hoping that since the stock setup wore the tires out on the outside, having more negative camber may serve to balance out the tire wear. There's slightly more camber in the front, but it's right on the edge of the spec.