Excess Rear Wheel Camber ????

[nkemp]

My rear wheels have a lot of camber ( about 1.5" measured top to bottom of wheel against a vertical reference. Negative camber, in at top). When on a jack with the wheels off the ground, there is little to no play when grabbing the top of the tire and pulling in/out. Even if the bushings were missing I don't think the camber would be that much. On the jack, wheels off the ground there is a little camber, about right. There is no camber adjustment so I cannot figure out where it comes into play.

I just replaced an old set of lowering springs and OEM shocks with DMCH springs/shocks. I hoped that the old set (Fred Locket's springs ... for those around long enough to remember him ... AKA the DeLorean Pilot) had "squished" a bit causing the camber. But the new set camber is the same. I currently have the top of the colored height adjustment collar to center of lower shock bolt at ~5-3/4". The wheel wells seem too low at the height but thought I'd reach out before moving on.

Adjustable lower or upper control arms could adjust the camber ... Regardless, there should not be that much camber.

- Early car ... 897
- The frame was stripped and repaired so all the components have been off.
- As I recall, the original lower control arms were replaced

Any ideas?????? Were there differences in lower control arm lengths?

[Mark D]

I do remember reading somewhere that the rear suspension links changed lengths at some point during production. I'll do some additional searching to see if I can find that thread.

I think the solution in your case may be adjustable upper links from DPI.
https://deloreanindustries.com/delor...justable-pair/

EDIT:

Couldn't find the thread talking about the differences in the rear links. It might have been on the old .com site.

You might find this thread helpful though:
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?77...-amp-Tire-Wear

[nkemp]

Thanks for the info. It looks like others have the same problem.

When I look at mine it seems worse that others. Others have their car lowered and they look great. I want to get it fixed before replacing the tires. For fun, Google "rear extreme camber" ... mine are not that bad

You comment about production run changes got me thinking. I dug out the old lower control arm (find it was a miracle in itself). I then attempted to measure the installed one and the old one. So with the warning that my measurements for the installed one (the new one) is pretty rough (hard to accurately measure it installed), the old and new trailing arms I have are the same length.

An adjustable link seems in order.

BTW ... for as many times as I've jacked up that car over the years, I should have installed levelers on the car

[David T]

I don't recall any production change in the rear suspension. Lowering the rear will cause excessive camber. The fix is to either make the lower links adjustable with some cutting and welding or buying a set of adjustable lower links. Lowering the front messes up the toe. That is adjustable. Once you can adjust the rear camber you should have a 4 wheel alignment to get everything set up right to prevent excessive tire wear. Lowering the car reduces the road clearance so you must be especially careful about potholes, raised manholes, curbs, etc. It also reduces the suspension travel. If you have ground effects or lights they can get caught and ripped off. You can have a lot of trouble getting the car onto a lift for service.

[powerline84]

Check out my build thread . Last few pages.

[nkemp]

Check out my build thread . Last few pages.

First off ... nice thread and nice work.

I'm leaning towards adjustable control arms since I don't like the squatting look. I've done some searching to see what is available. First off, there is a huge cost range for adjustable control arms in general. A pair of Honda Civic or Del Sol can be had delivered for $19. (I have NO idea of suitability, quality or applicability for the Honda or the DeLorean (if the "tab" end could be swapped for bushings and the sizes were correct, the Honda version could be an option ... but I might look into better quality ones ). Other similar versions are offered for $30 and up. I'm just amazed someone can source parts, make and ship while making it worthwhile to do so.) The trouble is that none of the premade ones give dimensions ... even when asked.

I've looked into a couple sites that can make adjustable control arms to order. The most promising site calculator balks at the 8" upper length. But I just got an email this morning from them that indicates they can make an 8" length. About $105 each.

I could shop locally for a welder (I could slag up a pair myself that might break loose at the first bump) but it is getting harder to find independent welders. Welding is a skill every family should have one or more members capable of.

[David T]

It is not just about how it looks, it affects handling and tire life too. Cutting and welding the lower control arms to make them adjustable is not all that hard but if you can't do it or get it done the vendors have them for sale. Order a set of TAB shims too so when you go for an alignment you have the correct shims.

[nkemp]

... it affects handling and tire life too.

Tire wear is the main driver for fixing this now. I want to put on new tires after I get the camber fixed. The current tires have really smooth rounded interior edges.

[Quinn]

Does anybody know if rear camber can be dialed into specification with adjustable top links alone? Or do you need to have both top and bottom adjustable links to dial it in?

[nkemp]

As I look at the suspension, an adjustable top link can adjust camber and does not affect caster. You would not need a lower adjustable link. In most lowered suspensions, it will do so by moving the top of the wheel out.

A lower adjustable control arm can also be used to adjust camber. Given that the lower control arm is not perpendicular to wheel rotation it might adjust a bit of caster as well (I don't know this for sure). But if so, it may be insignificant. You would not need an upper adjustable control arm. And in this case it adjusts camber by bringing the wheel bottom in.

Having both would also work , may be overkill, but does give more adjustability. For those who really want to dial in the suspension, adjustable uppers and lowers (plus an adjustable trailing arm) would be desirable. But for most, this is probably overkill.

That's my 2 cents worth ... which may be overpriced.