Camber Plates vs. Camber Adjustment Bolts

I am asking this question from a technical stand point and not from a "what's your opinion" stand point. That being said, I am interested in learning from individual experiences with both/either.

A little background: My 2007 GT is lowered 1.5" all the way around (FRPP Lowering Springs). I suffer from seriously negative camber in the front (as to be expected). I am planning to take everything apart in the upcoming weeks in an attempt to fix this issue and potentially head off some future problems. I already have extended length ball joints, a bumpsteer kit, and a set of camber adjustment bolts. I am looking to potentially purchase a set of camber plates.
  • First of all, is one more preferred than the other?
    • Is one solution easier to use/more stable/more user friendly than the other?

  • Can the two be used in conjunction with one another?
    • Would their be any added benefit of using both, or would they counteract/introduce too much adjustability/add a weak link to the system?

  • Finally, at the risk of sounding too greenhorned, how exactly would one adjust the camber plates on one's own? I am assuming that it isn't as easy as the product description might make it out to be
 
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Yeah, I tried going with nothing after the drop.... and 6k miles later had inside tire wear.
But you should be good with only the Camber bolts.
Heres mine with negative Camber before the bolts.
newwheels8-11008.jpg
 
It hard to tell from the photo, but mine looks a whole lot worse. I chewed through my first set of front tires in just under 10K miles. I am really worried that the adjustment bolts wouldn't be enough adjustment. I can't foresee the need to ever go positive but neutral or at the least less negative would be preferred.
 
Yeah, I just went ahead and ordered them. I, too, have the Eibach Camber Adjustment Bolts (came with the springs). I just read up on them and they allow for +/- 1.75 degrees of adjustment. According to the super accurate iPhone level app (if it's good enough for Powerblock's Hot Rod TV, it should be good enough for me, right?) I have between -2.3 (P) and -2.7 (D) degrees. The camber plates that I ordered allow for only 1.8 degrees of adjustment.

Either way, I won't be able to achieve a neutral camber. That is unless I can reliably combine the effects of both the plates and bolts, which is what I was really hoping some of the more tech-savvy members would chime in on.
 
I believe factory spec is 0-1.5 degree of negative camber. You don't want absolutely neutral camber. The car will wonder all over the road and follow the groves in the road. And handle like :poo: too. A little bit of negative camber is good for a car, but you have to keep it in check.
 
I believe factory spec is 0-1.5 degree of negative camber. You don't want absolutely neutral camber. The car will wonder all over the road and follow the groves in the road. And handle like **** too. A little bit of negative camber is good for a car, but you have to keep it in check.

I know I'm not the best at expressing what I was trying to say. I realize that I don't actually want to achieve 0 degrees for driving, I am just worried about being maxed out on the adjustment just to achieve that factory spec. I seems smart to try and leave a little room for adjustment down the road. But maybe it will be fine with just the plates.
 
Camber has little to do with a car wanting to wander easily ... has more to do with caster angle. Think about the front wheels of a grocery cart ... wobbling continuously because of a vertical caster angle ... yet lean those casters forward a few degrees and the cart's weight alone will cause them to take a setting straight ahead.
 
I went with Maximum Motorsports Caster Camber plates. No issues at all with the alignment.

Hello Scott2- I Have a 2008 Roush (basically the same suspension as the GT) with bad tire wear on the inside due to 2-degrees of negative camber. Decided to buy the MM camber/caster plates after reading many positive thread on these. Will probably install next weekend, but wanted to ask how long it took you to install and if there were any words of wisdom from someone that has already done this modification. Thanks, -steve
 
Hello Scott2- I Have a 2008 Roush (basically the same suspension as the GT) with bad tire wear on the inside due to 2-degrees of negative camber. Decided to buy the MM camber/caster plates after reading many positive thread on these. Will probably install next weekend, but wanted to ask how long it took you to install and if there were any words of wisdom from someone that has already done this modification. Thanks, -steve

Steve, nothing complicated about the install as it is just like changing springs. I often find it seems like it takes longer to get my car up on jack stands than it actually takes to complete most mods (lowered with BMR K-Member). Once you have the struts and springs out it is basically swapping the strut/spring top plate for the MM caster/camber plate. The MM instructions are very detailed and you should have no difficulty at all with the install. Here are a couple of pictures starting with the bare strut.

Strut with jounce bumper installed:

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Spring installed:

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Dust cover installed:

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Spring insulator installed:

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MM bottom plate:

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MM top plate installed with elastics ready for sliding into position on the car:

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Installed:

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