Yes, Saturday is good.

 

I still have the camber bolts for sale if anyone wants to save a few bucks..

 

Put them up in the "Classified" section - that's where things for sale go. (*You really should install them; you'll need them in later on when your HHR needs the camber adjusted...eventually.)

 

If anyone needs their camber "adjusted", it is because it got whacked in an accident or something's worn out. There's a reason why there is no facility for adjustment to begin with.

And if you put the adjusting bolts in when you installed your lowering springs, well.... you just "whacked" your camber. There is no camber change with lowering. Just leave the factory bolts in there folks.

You will need to get the toe set. Lowering will give you about 0.5 deg. toe out, where the factory spec is for about 0.2 toe in.

This is all due to the suspension geometry and what changes and what does not with lowering.

BTW, if you lower your car, you need to remember to line up the headlights! With most of the springs offered, they'll be aimed too high after lowering.

 

Exactly Joe. It can't be adjusted without a kit though. Best to put it in for "free" while doing the drop, rather than paying to have it installed during an alignment later on...the bolts have to be removed anyway.

 

You didn't get an "A" in geometery did you?

As the suspension lowers the camber goes negative. This is by design to increase -chamber when entering corners. The fact that toe in needed to be changed should have been a clue. Eitherway when you lower you HHR Camber will go negative. Not installing camber bolts or slotting the struts will leave the car with more - chamber than before it was lowered. This isn't all bad. I will improve cornering at the sacrifice of tire wear. Everything has a trade off.

It is possible if your car was on the + side of the factory spec it may now fall in the - side of the spec. All I can tell you is that my HHR has never been in an accident, hit a curb or anything like that and the Camber most definatly went negative after lowering to the point it was out of spec.

Better pocket the money you saved on camber bolts...you'll need it to replace your tires. I can almost garrentee the wear won't be covered under tire warrenty if you lower you HHR

 

So far everyone that I know that has used goldlines, and got it aligned, did not need the camber adjusted only the toe. I did not install the camber bolts and I took it to an alignment shop with almost twenty years of experience. It may be different with springtech springs.

Ng

 

Shouldn't the spring techs are about 1/2" less than Goldline. Like I said you can get it aligned, it will have more -camber when finished. This camber may be less than some other cars factory specs (Have you ever looked at a VW Getta). That still doesn't change the fact that camber will go negative when the suspension runs through it's downward travel. The ONLY way camber is not affected when lowering a car is if you have equall length upper and lower controls arms. The HHR doen't even have an upper control arm.

I'm not saying you can't get it aligned without the camber bolts...I just don't want others members to believe a false statement like "Lowering has no affect on camber", and more -camber has no side affects.

 

The front is about the same as the goldlines. it's the rear that is about a 1/2" less.

 

I'd say a LOT more than 1/2" difference.

Here are rear comparison shots of all 3 brands:



The top one is someone from the forum's (I think Navy Flyer?)

The middle one is Kenny's

The bottom one is mine.

When I shot pics of Kenny's with the Eibach's last week, Kenny remarked that parked side-by-side, his looked stock compared to mine with the Gold-Lines.

There are quite a difference between all three brands.