Putting Gtr Track Setup Back To Stock

[Robert Knight]

Hi all, I had my 33GTR up on a hoist the other day to replace all the fluids and noticed that not only were my back tyres wearing more on the inside which I knew already, but the fronts were also,the car was an import and has been mildly customised like rear wiper gone no boot lock, custom painted, tein suspension all round, Volk cv pro wheels ,white gauges,and full stainless exhaust system,so I think the guy who owned it in Japan probably used it on the track sometimes and set up the camber for high speed cornering,I am needing to know whether stock GTR'S came out with their wheels set pretty square or with preset camber and whether there will be enough adjustment to get the camber out of the wheels to give me even tyre wear if the camber and castor is even stock that's on the car now,Does anyone know a reliable GTR familiar company in Melbourne that could sus out whether the components are stock or aftermarket adjustables and could rectify the camber,and if necessary source the right parts to do the job,Cheers Greypearl.

[GTSBoy]

Have a look for one of a few possible things.

1) Completely stock upper and lower arms front and rear with no evidence of adjustable poly-urethane bushes anywhere. This is stock and offers almost no adjustment anywhere.

2) Completely stock upper and lower arms front and rear with evidence of adjustable polyurethane bushes at the inner or outer (or both) ends of the arms. This offers a little bit of adjustment and might save your bacon.

3) Adjustable length aftermarket upper and/or lower arms at the front or rear. These will be bloody obvious and stand out like dogs' balls. These will offer lots of adjustment.

4) Any combination of the above!

FYI, adjustable poly bushes are usually given away by a couple of things. Polyurethane is normally one of several bright colours, like red or yellow. The adjustable part is usually given away by large diameter bolt heads and washers that appear to not be centred on the bolt hole.

[gtr jet]

Also, how low is the car? If it's on the ground you may get excessive camber where.

Pedders in Port Melbourne does my suspension work but centreline in Thomastown might be closer to you.

[Robert Knight]

Thanks for the replies guys,I couldn't see anything obvious adjustment wise and the car is regulation height about 100mm and about 50mm under the front splitter at the lowest point,the Tein suspension is showing about 60mm of thread,what are the options for adjustable arms that are legal?? and approximate costs I've read Cusco and Whiteline but don't know pricing,I really want to steer away from generic suspension places like Pedders and find somewhere that specialises in GTR work if possible don't know about Centreline.Cheers Greypearl.

[GTSBoy]

Any adjustable length arm that has rubber or urethane bushes is going to be legal. It is only the rose joints on the majority of adjustable arms that are illegal. Having said that, if you get defected for adjustable arms (with bushes) then you will still have an argument on your hands to get it cleared.

There are precious few that fall into the legal category. Hardrace is one that comes to mind.

Whiteline adjustable urethane bushes will likely be enough adjustment to get your camber back into a reasonable range.

[gtr jet]

Pedders in South Melbourne isn't a generic one. They specialize in track cars, hence the reason I go there.

As GTSBoy has said, the Whiteline adjustable bushes will probably sort your issues which I pretty sure you can obtain from Repco, or just grab them off eBay.

I'd be taking it somewhere to get looked at before buying anything though.

[KiwiRS4T]

You need to look for adjustable parts. Then get an alignment preferably from a place that can fit the bits needed to achieve your desired set-up if they are not already on the car. Otherwise you will need to buy and fit the parts yourself and immediately get another alignment.

[R31Nismoid]

It might not just be a camber issue. Incorrect toe could also be causing the tyre wear.

I mean after how many km's are we talking? 5k, 30k? Higher the kms the less of a problem it is as essentially wear over longer kms means it's just a minor adjustment.

The best option is take it to a knowledgeable suspension place and start from there IMO. Get the alignment checked and take it from there. Won't hurt to have a look and see what adjustable parts (if any) the car has first, but any decent suspension place will be able to tell you that as part of a alignment inspection anyway

[Leroy Peterson]

+1 to Centreline Suspension.

they almost do more race/rally cars than everyday registered cars.

[Robert Knight]

Thanks Guys,I have taken your advice on board and am taking the car to Centreline tomorrow for an assessment the guy said they have easy access to whatever adjustable parts I may need that's what I was after a one stop shop,my main concern now is the rear camber as the guy told me that removing the camber may cause interference with the guards,the car is running 245x18x9.5 Volk cv pro wheels not sure how far off stock offset they are??cheers greypearl.

[gtr jet]

I doubt you'd have any drama with guard clearance running those rims unless they are zero offset.

Keep us posted with how you go.

[Robert Knight]

will do

[Robert Knight]

Further to our discussions on the cars camber issues I took the car to Centreline today in Lipton Drive Thomastown,for an assessment turns out that I had Tein all round as I suspected and the boots and bump stops were knackered but they are still working ok actually I think quite a nice ride the front wheels had 2.5 degrees and rears a bit over that so they didn't have much on and offered me some solutions and fitted 2 sets a side front and 2 kits rear of super pro castor and camber adjustable nylothane bushes don't know that brand, that got cambers back to .5 degree front and back give or take a few minutes so I was pretty happy with that as apparently stock 33 GTR'S are set solid at 1 degree so first problem solved then all the things I still need to get done,Tyres although near new tread wise except where the camber had worn them had worn into the case a bit and Glen suggested I had been running too low air pressure at 30psi which is what he found them at although I have always set them for 34 depending who's gun is correct he suggests low profile tyres of the width we run need between 36 to 40 to avoid case wear on new tyres so I will take that on board,according to the speedo which may or may not be true as white gauges have been fitted when I don't know is 92000kms so they found the front cv boots cracked on one side but not much grease coming out which generally means it's all gone already and has been cleaned off by someone and the cv joint runs dry the boots are not merely asthetic but hold the grease where it needs to be and front upper/ inner control arm bushes need replacing soon though I thought that's what we did today ,anyway the tein suspension has probably seen better days after approx 15 yrs so Chris suggested it would be smarter to upgrade to a new set of GC one's as pulling the Teins apart and fitting new boots and Bumpstops would cost a fair chunk anyway so when I do it there will be a cheap set of Teins to sell as I said they still ride nice but being a perfectionist is a curse,job so far cost $1100.00 to fix camber and he quoted me $2300. to pull front cv's apart clean assess damage if any,regrease and re-boot them and the full set front and back GC coilovers of course if the cv cages are worn from lack of grease I will be up for new parts so the sooner i get that done the better,Cheers Greypearl.

[GTSBoy]

Wow. That's just about one sentence.

Um, first thing that comes to mind is that you will want to put a little of that camber back into it. 0.5 is OK at the rear, although 0.75 would be better. 1 at the front is going to be a lot better than 0.5 though.

Second thing is that cheap coilovers are a crime. Proper suspension or GTFO. Contact SydneyKid about some Bilsteins and springs. Custom revalved Bilsteins and good springs will set you back <$2k and outperform any and all coilovers up to about double that price.

[gtr jet]

Seems like the camber wasn't the real issue in the wearing of the tyres then as 2.5 degrees isn't that serious. I wouldn't have gone as far back as 0.5 though. As GTSBoy said, around 1 degree would have been better.

Also 30psi is pretty low and so is 34. You need to run at least 36 if not 38 psi.

Superpro make great quality bushes and are just as good as whiteline.

[Leroy Peterson]

Yeah centreline are big on their BCs but should also have no problem getting Bilsteins. I very happily run BC's, but ill let GTR owners with opinions shed some light on that one.

[Robert Knight]

Thanks for the info guys I would still like some more opinions on the pros and cons of what Centreline are recommending for coilovers and what the forum thinks Cheers Greypearl.

[GTSBoy]

All right. Cheap coilovers are bad value.

[KiwiRS4T]

Please use sentences and paragraphs.

Stream of consciousness style is very hard to read.

2.5 deg front camber is too much but 0.5 a bit low. I use 1.5deg but I don't know if you can get any more with adjustable bushes. If not I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. If you have adjustable castor arms make sure you have got at least 6 deg castor which will help keep you on line at speed.

How do you know your Tein suspension has been in for 15 years? If they are a quality item they would be worth reconditioning. If not get some Bilsteins and Eibach springs.

[Robert Knight]

Mainly I was saying that the Teins could have been in that long but Centreline told me that the bumpstops and rubber boots are knackered and will attract a fair cost to repair anyway so an upgrade makes sense,I am definitely seeking knowledge on the pros and cons of BC'S VS Bilsteins though so I can make an informed decision any viewpoints appreciated , also if someone can teach me how to separate sentences you and I will appreciate it, I was not born in the computer generation ,sorry,Thanks Greypearl.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Robert Knight