Jim:
Since you have a "classic" body (no fender flares) you're tires are more "normal" in size, meaning 165 - 195's.
That said, a camber compensator would make more of a difference in cornering "feel" than if you were running wider rubber.
Why? Because it holds the contact patch of the tire flatter onto the road and prevents excessive flex (meaning that the in/outside edges of the tire where they meet the asphalt try to curve up in corners). Narrower tires will flex more (especially if they're 60 series) so the compensator will hold them in place a little more.
The "feel" you'll get will be a tighter ride in the rear, with a little less wallowing around when moving the steering wheel back and forth. In harder cornering the car will feel more flat, and the rear will feel a bit less weighted. It will definitely feel different from today's ride, but you'll get used to it VERY quickly!
I should caution that to get the maximum effect, you should also be running a decent front anti-sway bar as well - 1/2" or thicker
Thanks, Gordon, I will definitely put this info to use (I learn something EVERY TIME I visit this site). I already have the 1/2" front stabilizer, just haven't got around to dialing the rear suspension.
Jim, I haven't installed one yet. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of one until I read this post. It seems it will better the camber of the rear wheels...How much will it affect the height of the rear. And is there really any other issue with the camber other than tire wear? Reason I ask is that these tires are so inexpensive, it might be worth the wear to keep the look I want.
I don't think the camber compensator changes the rear ride height at all; it just makes swingaxle cars more stable when cornering.
To repeat what I wrote way up above;
In general, a camber compensator, properly installed, should raise the rear height of a lowered car about 1".
Think about how the swing axle geometry works (draw a diagram, if it helps) and you'll see why this is so. As the wheels are brought more toward vertical (not cambered out at the bottom) the body has to go up.
In general, a camber compensator, properly installed, should raise the rear height of a lowered car about 1".
Think about how the swing axle geometry works (draw a diagram, if it helps) and you'll see why this is so. As the wheels are brought more toward vertical (not cambered out at the bottom) the body has to go up.
Gord; I didn't find any difference in rear ride height when I installed mine.
Hey! Break it up you guys....
I KNOW my CBPerf unit raised my car, maybe Ricardo's EMPI model doesn't do this..
I KNOW my CBPerf unit raised my car, maybe Ricardo's EMPI model doesn't do this..
Naaahh, we're cool, Ernie. Ricardo and I both have a lot of experience from the past and we sometimes have seen different results from the same approach.
Ricardo: I guess the simple answer is that not all camber compensators are created equal, and yours probably doesn't raise the rear body height;
Some are shaped in a flat "U" where the ends are 6" - 8" higher than the center section when at rest, like the Bugpack 6563-10 http://www.johnsbugshop.com/bpsuspen.pdf and allow you to "pre-load" the rear axles on a non-lowered car. I've seen several different versions of bends in different bars.
Others are almost perfectly flat across, such as the CB Performance 2819 http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=463 which relies on a stiffer spring rate (and probably a thicker bar) to provide the same camber compensating effect. Those bars might pull the body up a skosh, depending on how much it's been lowered in the back before the compensator was installed.
That's the key, too; if the car hasn't been grossly lowered, the camber compensator won't pull it up, since the axles are already mostly level. If, on the other hand, the bumpers are scraping the weeds, then the compensator will react against the axles being angled upward (they go up as the car is lowered) and try to pull them back down by forcing the body/transmission/center-mount up.
Both versions try to keep both axles in line with each other when the car is cornering hard and, in the case of swing axle geometry, to keep the rear wheels from tucking under and rolling the car.
I suspect that the CB version might offer a softer normal ride, while showing the same (or maybe even better) compensation characteristics under hard cornering.
Most of my experience was with early EMPI bars and those from Bugpack (the bent ones) on VW sedans and I've only seen a friend playing with the flat version - he was toying with different length hangers (clamps) on the ends on a lowered car to pre-load it, but I don't know how he made out (it was a long time ago, too).
Ricardo: I guess the simple answer is that not all camber compensators are created equal, and yours probably doesn't raise the rear body height;
Some are shaped in a flat "U" where the ends are 6" - 8" higher than the center section when at rest, like the Bugpack 6563-10 http://www.johnsbugshop.com/bpsuspen.pdf and allow you to "pre-load" the rear axles on a non-lowered car. I've seen several different versions of bends in different bars.
Others are almost perfectly flat across, such as the CB Performance 2819 http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=463 which relies on a stiffer spring rate (and probably a thicker bar) to provide the same camber compensating effect. Those bars might pull the body up a skosh, depending on how much it's been lowered in the back before the compensator was installed.
That's the key, too; if the car hasn't been grossly lowered, the camber compensator won't pull it up, since the axles are already mostly level. If, on the other hand, the bumpers are scraping the weeds, then the compensator will react against the axles being angled upward (they go up as the car is lowered) and try to pull them back down by forcing the body/transmission/center-mount up.
Both versions try to keep both axles in line with each other when the car is cornering hard and, in the case of swing axle geometry, to keep the rear wheels from tucking under and rolling the car.
I suspect that the CB version might offer a softer normal ride, while showing the same (or maybe even better) compensation characteristics under hard cornering.
Most of my experience was with early EMPI bars and those from Bugpack (the bent ones) on VW sedans and I've only seen a friend playing with the flat version - he was toying with different length hangers (clamps) on the ends on a lowered car to pre-load it, but I don't know how he made out (it was a long time ago, too).
The original camber compensator came on the '59-'61? 356 Porsche Super-90. It used softer torsion bars in the rear and the compensating spring was preloaded to bring the ride height back up to factory settings for camber. The idea was to transfer some cornering loads with the softer rear susension to the front suspension to offset oversteer. It worked somewhat as I remember. Depending on the shape and preload would determine if the current springs change the height or not.
Terry
Terry