Besides the construction material and the design, the wheel alignment plays a crucial role in the lifespan of the tires. And when it comes to aligning your wheel, you should consider the camber. It basically refers to the off-vertical tilt of the wheel.
Now, if you have lifted the car up a little, you might have found the alignment a bit off. And if you know what positive camber is, you might be thinking about how to fix positive camber after lift.
Well, you’ll get to learn the fix here. We’ll give you different options for the fix so that you can choose the method that suits you best.
Zero, Positive, and Negative Camber
Before we get into the methods, let’s talk a little about positive and negative camber. You can see the tire and wheel profile by looking at the vehicle from the rear or front. If the tire is completely vertical in relation to the surface that it is on, you have a zero camber or 0-degree camber.
On the other hand, when the tire and wheel assembly is tilting towards the vehicle, you have negative camber. And when the wheel is tilting away from the vehicle, you have positive camber. Generally, positive camber is pretty common on cars that have been just lifted.
How To Adjust Camber
The issues regarding camber will generally show up along with tire wear and handling problems. Usually, vehicles without any lift will feature a little negative camber. But after the lift, the positive camber will make the car pull to the side that the camber is tilting. However, you can fix it by going through one of these methods:
Method 1: Washer bolts and Cam bolts
Eccentric washer bolts and cam bolts are pretty similar. And you can use the off-center bolt to push and push the suspension component. In other words, you can adjust the eccentric washer bolts and cam bolts to push the suspension component out or pull it in.
These bolts may be used for moving the lower or upper control arms for multi-link and double-wishbone independent suspensions. And they might also be used to adjust the steering knuckle or lower control arm on McPherson strut suspensions.
Method 2: Turn-buckle joints
Usually, you will find the turn-buckle joints on the rear multi-link suspensions. However, sometimes the front wishbone suspensions will have them as well. Generally, in front suspensions, you will find the shim adjustments. But these can be for any application.
Nonetheless, you can rely on aftermarket offset shims to correct the solid axles on the rear suspensions. They will make the entire hub and wheel bearing assembly a little offset.
Furthermore, you can get some aftermarket ball joints that have an eccentric mount. Those are great for making adjustments on the camber.
Method 3: Adjustable caster/camber plates or shock mounts
If none of the two methods that we have gone through is for you, you can get the adjustable caster/camber plates or shock mounts. As you might have guessed, these are all aftermarket items. That means you will need to work on the OEM shock mount to fit them in place.
On that note, many users gained more control over the camber angles by installing the adjustable camber plates and cutting the OEM shock mount. They can precisely tune the camber angle after the lift. That makes this method suitable for motorists who want to tune their ride and racers who want a better cornering.
Finally, the great thing about this method is that these parts are easy to adjust. You can modify them in minutes. That means you can set a racing angle when you are on track and change it back to the regular angle when you are on your way home.
Final Words
After learning how to fix positive camber after lift, you will not need to worry about getting poor traction and handling on your vehicle. And you can choose either of the three methods we have gone through. All will result in you getting a zero camber.
