I've been designing and making some camber adjustable top mounts for my Astra over the last month. This type of top mount was not available for my car so that it why I made them. The parts are made from high-tensile steel rather than aluminium to keep the thickness down and because I could get the materials for nothing!
Today, I got the final parts, which I had to source out as I don't have a CNC machining station.
I've begun a trial assembly, so here are some pics;
The components.
Bearing housing.
Bearing spacer on strut.
Assembled parts on strut.
They just need to be plated now and the adjustment screws swapped for shorter ones. Then I can assemble the struts and fit them up!
Stef
Last edited by Stefan on Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
These are used to allow the suspension geometry to be changed and they also remove one area of compliance from the suspension (the normal rubber shear spring top mount).
The benifits are that you can change settings to suit your application; for the street, on a lowered car, you can adjust the camber back to stock to reduce tyre wear. For circuit use you can dial in more negative camber for more grip during the turn. At the drags you can set the wheels straight up for maximum straight line grip. Chassis response is much improved with the car feeling 'tighter'.
The downsides are harsher ride and if your car is stock it may damage the strut tower (this does depend on your spring rate and shock setting). It is advisable with these that you stitch weld the strut tower to the inner wing and chassis rail (or at the very least fit a strut brace). Depending on how rough the roads/circuits are the life of the bearing will be reduced accordingly. ie. if you drive on rough roads or use it for rallying you may need to replace the bearings every six months.
Stef
Vauxhall Astra.
T3 60trim, Intercooler, Mopar Super 60 Injectors, SDS Stand Alone EFI, Cast T3 Manifold With External Wastegate + More...
I've edited my first post so you can now see the pics again (the old uploader I was using has gone offline).
Here's a pic of the top mounts plated and on the car...
