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What do you think of these custom upper control arms?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 2:00 pm
by JoshMcg
My car doesn't have adjustable camber in the front so a member of the forums created these adjustable upper control arms.

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I would like to be able dial in some negative camber because right now the car has 0 degrees, but I am worried about the possibility of these adjustable arms losing their settings. Do you think these would hold their settings once they are tightened in place?

Here are some pictures of the g20 front suspension for reference.

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http://n2.iimmgg.com/images/gr/c2bc932f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... 1de8d7.jpg

Re: What do you think of these custom upper control arms?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 2:24 pm
by Loren
Wow, they really thought outside of the box when they designed that suspension, didn't they?

I just skimmed this article:
http://www.se-r.net/about/g20/scc/oct98/tb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To me, it raises the question: What is the dynamic camber under cornering?

It seems possible that you just might not need a lot of static negative camber with that design. With a typical strut front suspension, you're fighting a very poor camber curve. If you have zero camber at rest, you probably won't have much more than -1 degree at maximum compression... and some will even go positive! But, your suspension is sort of a hybrid 3-link variant of a double-wishbone suspension. Specifically a "SLA" or short-arm/long-arm double-wishbone. The upper arm being shorter provides for greater negative camber as the suspension compresses. It seems like they put so much design effort into this, and the Infinity is sort of intended to be a sporty-handling car, that it should have a pretty good camber curve.

So, what's the scoop? Are you excessively wearing the outside edges of your tires? If so, by how much, and can you account for some of it with "overdriving"?

One of my favorite things to do when analyzing something like this is to get a good photographer to take some close-up photos of the car in action that will show the angle of the body, the angle of the tire, and the actual contact patch of the tire. That will tell you a lot about what's REALLY going on.

Re: What do you think of these custom upper control arms?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 2:48 pm
by JoshMcg
They used a very similar suspension design on the 300zx and the r32 skyline so I'm sure a lot of thought went into it. The 300zx and skyline both have a lot of options for aftermarket adjustable upper arms, but the g20 doesn't have nearly the aftermarket support that they have.

As for pictures, I don't have many with a proper angle. Maybe I could setup my go-pro camera at the next event to videotape just the angle of the wheel and tire throughout the run. Here is one picture I was able to find, maybe you can make something of it.

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I do get more outside tire wear than inside, although I am not sure it is excessive. Last time I replaced my tires there was noticeably less tread left on the outside edges compared to the inside edges. My driving is far from perfect and like you said, some of this could be from overdriving.

Re: What do you think of these custom upper control arms?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 2:50 pm
by treekiller
get a $40 Pyrometer Pictures only tell a small part of the story.

Your Lucky in every other country but here the Primera P11 was a popular touring car so you don't have to look for for proven racing components. a 5 min search found.

super pro makes the following eccentrics for your stock arms

SPF3446K Front Control Arm Lower-Inner Rear Eccentric view
SPF3447K Front Control Arm Lower-Inner Rear Eccentric view
SPF3445K Front Control Arm Lower-Inner Rear Kit view
SPF1381K Front Control Arm Upper-Inner or Outer......... Eccentric Bushing view

Re: What do you think of these custom upper control arms?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 3:47 pm
by JoshMcg
Yeah, I knew about that option as well, but they seem to be even more prone to losing their setting.

[img]http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q268 ... nipple.jpg[/img]

Re: What do you think of these custom upper control arms?

Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 10:01 pm
by nc4me
I run the superpro's up front. No loss of setting.

I say get the pyrometer and pics and if you do need a slight bit of camber adjustment go with the cheaper option. Even in the picture of the new arms it looks like they are using eccentric bushings (like the superpros). So if you're worried about a change in settings you should be concerned about both options.