Ground control race camber plate question

[nextelbuddy]

My suspension is a TCKline assembled DA setup with Ground control Race top hats.

i have them installed in what I have been told is the correct orientation. the Underside has the C bracket for Caster pointed front/back of the car. the Topside shows the hex adjustment screws with numbers going inward toward the engine bay.

i have the top hats camber adjusted almost at the MAX Minimum camber adjustment as in they are pulled almost all the way outward toward the fender not toward the engine bay for max negative camber.

with this setup my alignment is showing i'm still at -3.5 degrees of negative camber on the alignment results sheet and the tops of my wheels are tilted much more inward than I prefer. i want more like -2, -2.5 degrees but I cant get close to that.

is this pretty normal for the Ground control race plates? do they have a natural built in negative camber already?

[Tbonem3]

It looks wrong to me. It looks like it's 90 degree off. You have caster adjustment going parallel to windshield wipers which is incorrect. Caster is front to back. Camber is side to side. Camber adjustment with common plates is adjusted by loosening the 3 nuts and sliding the whole assembly inward or outward. Those 4 cap head bolts are for caster which is set before the plate is installed. Once installed, you usually can't reach all of the caster bolts, you can only adjust camber.

[Tbonem3]

This is what it should look like (TMS, but very similar) See how my caster adjustment is vertical and the "TURNER" name is perpendicular or can be read from the front? Your "GROUND CONTROL" name should be turned 90 degress

[jayjaya29]

I agree with TBone. Those set screws are for caster adjustment. The strut mounting studs (and corresponding slots) are how the camber is adjusted.

[nextelbuddy]

It looks wrong to me. It looks like it's 90 degree off. You have caster adjustment going parallel to windshield wipers which is incorrect. Caster is front to back. Camber is side to side. Camber adjustment with common plates is adjusted by loosening the 3 nuts and sliding the whole assembly inward or outward. Those 4 cap head bolts are for caster which is set before the plate is installed. Once installed, you usually can't reach all of the caster bolts, you can only adjust camber.

thanks for the info. I couldn't find instructions that described the orientation and what adjusted what and I was receiving conflicting info from different people saying yes its right and no its wrong.

what you stated makes and ill get that fixed soon. thanks!

[nextelbuddy]

This is what it should look like (TMS, but very similar) See how my caster adjustment is vertical and the "TURNER" name is perpendicular or can be read from the front? Your "GROUND CONTROL" name should be turned 90 degress

So I understand what you're saying but then somebody else sent me a picture of the top of the ground control race plate for the E46 M3 and it has an arrow on the plate that says driver front which would indicate that I have the plates installed correctly if you're following the arrow

So I guess maybe I just need to email ground control and see what they say

It looks like the hex screws on the top are for camber. If we look at the arrow on the plate itself and the bolts on bottom are for caster

[bmwfnatic]

No experience with GC.

I think your confusion comes from pictures of crappy coilovers like BC or worse, who seemingly have designed their camber plates to be adjusted like that.

[bmwfnatic]

If they are these then Tbone is definitely right, you can see the slots around the 3 studs which are for adjusting the camber.

You can see part of the camber slot in your picture, surely need to rotate them 90deg.

[nextelbuddy]

If they are these then Tbone is definitely right, you can see the slots around the 3 studs which are for adjusting the camber.

You can see part of the camber slot in your picture, surely need to rotate them 90deg.

Are we sure that people aren't getting confused? Thinking that the bottom slots are for camber?

Is there documentation out there that says the top bolts are for caster and the bottom slots and bolts are for camber

Because the top of the plates have a little arrow that says driver side front and if you install it like that which is how I have it installed. That would mean that they intended the top bolts to be camber and the bottom bolts to be caster

[bmwfnatic]

Maybe, but if that’s the case it seems they designed them differently from their street plates as well.

[George Hill]

Are the GC M and Non-M different? This is a Non-M Race plate on a Non-M with 3.5-4*

[fattycharged]

The GC race plates are installed correctly as you have them OP.

They are not aligned the same as GC street plates, I’ve run both, and yours are correctly installed.


Sent from my pocket calculator

[fattycharged]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tbonem3]

I just looked at both the GC race and the Street aka Sport plates and while they look a little different (street has no caster adjustment), they both look like camber is adjusted in the same manner as every other reputable plate I've ever seen.

You adjust camber by sliding the assembly inward and outward of the tower. That action/movement would be horizontal or sideways or perpendicular to the midline of the vehicle. See how long the slots are on the 3 mounting points (nuts)? That's for camber. Caster adjustment is done by those 3 or 4 cap hex bolts.

Furthermore, the orientation you see below is what you should see if you stand at the front of your car/engine and look straight at the windshield. Notice the GC name is horizontal.

Street plate has markings for camber adjustment as there is no caster adjustment. The marking on the race plate are caster, in degrees, farther back from stock.

[Tbonem3]

The GC race plates are installed correctly as you have them OP.

Most certainly not. As installed, he can only loosen the 3 nuts and get caster adjustment (but it's not actually caster adjustment - it's supposed to be camber). That makes no sense. It really makes no sense when you ponder how he's supposed to adjust camber as they're installed presently. You can't even access the 4th cap bolt (hidden or do they only include 3 lol) so how are you going to loosen the assembly to adjust camber, if this installation is correct? Again, makes no sense.

Here are more photos of correct plate installation. Again, the inner slotted area is for caster - they always have a screw with allen key head and that action is front to back. Camber adjustment is side to side.