Swapping front strut hats to get more camber - pros and cons?

[Maxhouse97]

Thinking of doing this with my stock suspension as a way to get more camber - any downsides to this mod? I read something about a strut pad potentially reducing suspension travel … Is this true? Anything else at risk?

Thinking of doing this prior to the upcoming track season and spending my money on safety equipment rather than buying a coil over suspension. My main concern is getting more front camber to reduce under steer, otherwise I have no qualms with my stock suspension.

[Estoril]

What is your current front camber max limit - and are you having an understeer problem now?

[r4dr]

Have you pulled the pins to max out the stock top hats in their "proper" orientation?

[S14]

I have swapped stock hats attached to ohlins coilovers and I'm happy enough with the results

[r4dr]

I have swapped stock hats attached to ohlins overs and I'm happy enough with the results coil

That’s clean as hell. What did you final alignment numbers look like?

[bigjae46]

I don't see a downside.

[Epsilon]

My swapped top hats with Ohlins maxed at -1.8 camber.

[eacmen]

As long as the top hats are in good condition I see no issues. Inspect bearings and if they’re good then send it!

Just be careful, you’ll need spring compressors with the stock struts.

Also a Good time to inspect the dampers with the spring removed.

[FBloggs]

If you're doing it for track, you'll wear out the outside tread of your tires in short order.
The additional neg camber will initially get you a responsive front end, but the the tires will quickly overheat as the camber and the macstrut behavior makes the body roll more acute.
The body roll pulls the outside tires on to their outer treads, negates the extra camber, and shrinks the contact patch.
Depending on your experience, I think you'll get good response for your warm up lap and 1.5 laps after, then the outsides of your tires will overheat.
You need more roll resistance to take advantage of the extra neg camber.

Ok for autox but will disappoint you on the track.
The same behavior happens when you run R comps on stock suspension.

[Maxhouse97]

Yes pins are out, I am maxing out at -1.5 degrees. While understeer is not excessive, it is present.

Does everyone agree with the above? Feels like the takeaway is not to bother with more camber on a stock suspension due to the lack of roll resistance. Not sure FBloggs if you are saying I need a full coil over, stiffer springs, or upgraded sways. I do have a Hotchkins front sway bar.

[Estoril]

Yes pins are out, I am maxing out at -1.5 degrees. While understeer is not excessive, it is present.

Does everyone agree with the above? Feels like the takeaway is not to bother with more camber on a stock suspension due to the lack of roll resistance. Not sure FBloggs if you are saying I need a full coil over, stiffer springs, or upgraded sways. I do have a Hotchkins front sway bar.

Before I would attribute a need for more negative camber - I would do a contact probe temperature measurement across the tire face in the hot pits. Determine where you are actually working the tire in the 3 zones. Understeer has more than one potential cause. Which tires and what cold and hot pressures are you managing to?

[S14]

My swapped top hats with Ohlins maxed at -1.8 camber.

Are you sure you installed them correctly? The arrow's stamped on the top should be pointing at the other sides headlight.

[S14]

That’s clean as hell. What did you final alignment numbers look like?

my left strut was able to reach -3. deg, but the left side only gets to -2.5 because I think my car might be a little tweaked up front so I pulled back the left side to match the max the right could reach.

[S14]

Yes pins are out, I am maxing out at -1.5 degrees. While understeer is not excessive, it is present.

Does everyone agree with the above? Feels like the takeaway is not to bother with more camber on a stock suspension due to the lack of roll resistance. Not sure FBloggs if you are saying I need a full coil over, stiffer springs, or upgraded sways. I do have a Hotchkins front sway bar.

I don't agree with what FBloggs says

[FBloggs]

The front bar will definitely help fight the roll at the front.
It will help keep your tire contact patch closer to optimum when cornering hard for short corners.
This is a required mod in stock class autox .
If you really frequent the track though, you'll find that you'll need to stiffen and lower the suspension so that the car has better tire management for more prolonged grip for the longer off-camber type corners you encounter on road courses.
swapping hats sharpens the front end for turn in and short corners as in street and autox.

Years ago, I took an e36 m3 with front camber shims and r-comps to Road America, with a friend who had an E30 m3 with H&R coil over kit and same but smaller R-comps.
Once we got to the Carousell, a long somewhat off cambered right hander, he was gone...

You're at the top of the slippery slope once you start to bias the suspension geometry towards cornering prowess.