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I installed my KW V1 coilovers and lowered the front about 10mm and the back approx 5-8mm so very mild drop. In my country we need a certification carried out for height adjustable suspension. I managed to fail at the first step which is simply having the camber within spec but only for the rear right.
Before coilovers (rear camber only)
2014
Left -1.45 Right -1.50
2015
Left -1.30 Right -1.40
After coilovers (today)
Left -1.32 Right -2.11
So I lowered the car which to my knowledge should increase negative camber slightly and the left stayed the same (not unexpected since it is so mild a drop) but the right increased an enormous amount.
What is the correct spec for our cars? Each report is different, -0.77 to -1.77, -1.0 to -2.0, -0.57 +/- 0.5.
What should I check? There is no accident etc that could explain a bend in the pretty thick lower control arms. I guess the bushes in that arm could well be toast.
I will get another report first thing tomorrow to confirm. There are certainly ways around the legal aspects, ie if I go back to one of the earlier shops and get the report with -1.0 to -2.0 it can legally be up to 0.5 more negative camber than "stock". Of course I would like to inspect and confirm it is safe and nothing needs replacing too. Thanks for any advice.
The upper arm was adjustable? or the lower? What brand was it?
I might just have to get some new lower and upper arms. I can't justify spending what kmac want for the adjustable bushings. I must have ruined the rubber trying to reinsert the bolts. It would have to be fairly dry/cracked/perished by this age and I may have helped it disintegrate a little on the one side.
I see the bushes are available separately but I don't have a press so might have to pay the mercedes tax for the whole arms.
Do you have any recommendations? I found http://mbartsperformance.com/MBA-209-ARCA.html Is it worth replacing any of the other links? I admit it has been a while since I have had the rear wheels off and I need to reacquaint myself with the stock anatomy.
Yes, whys that? Just had them cleaned and coated last week. I might look at the MB Arts links, terrible exchange rate at the moment for international purchasing
the reason is because there is a little arm that attached to the camber arms for the headlight leveling. So if you have them you need to make a little bracket to attach it. I used and old sway bar clamp i had laying around. Just wanted to make you aware of that.
Those arms look good. They look very similar to mine. I've seen some that look cheaply made for $150, but i would avoid them
Last edited by gixxerboy; Feb 26, 2016 at 03:28 PM.
I have a little lever that attaches to the front swaybar. I presumed that was for the headlights. I wasn't aware of anything in the rear suspension for this? My front camber is less than 1 degree so I wasn't going to change anything here.
Took the wheel off and had a good look and some photos. I couldn't detect any obvious movement in the hub due to worn bushes. Sorry for some noob questions. It is the red arrow? And the camber arm is the blue arrow? It looks like it would adjust toe more than camber?
I tried to find an annotated diagram on the internet and gave up trawling through WIS. Would you mind please telling me what the various links are called.
I am a bit confused, you said it is not the upper arm? This is the one everyone seems to be replacing to adjust the camber only. Not near the headlight adjustment lever which appears to be a toe arm?
I'm sorry you are correct. I actually have adjustable arms at both locations. I had which did which backwards in my head. You are correct the headlight lever is for the tow arm and the top are is the camber.
Thanks for clarifying. The MB arts guys does not appear to have a good reputation on here so I might look elsewhere. How do you like yours? Are they solid or tube?
I decided to go with the same top speed ones. They look like they have heim joints but hopefully the rubber boot will keep crap out and stop them degrading and then squeaking. I found some pictures on here of what the mb arts ones look like after one year, dreadful and top speed have excellent communication. They confirmed solid steel construction so perfect for daily driving through potholes.
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