Hey guys,

I recently installed some massive 20 inch wheels (9"frnt and 11" back), and my car is lowered about an inch, and now I'm dealing with some massive negative camber issues. I've been reading and searching but I really can't decide on a definitive solution, I keep reading good things about KMAC bushing kit and also about MBARTS adjustable arms...

I would really appreciate some feedback from some users or people that have experience with either kit. Dollar for dollar it seems that KMAC it's a no-brainer but I would like some more info or experience on the Mbarts kit.

My car is running above 600hp and I am concerned the tires won't last long if I keep them the way they atm. I took the car to be aligned but it didn't do any good, car still looks like a flat footed kid

Appreciate any help

 

Front or rear? MB Arts only makes pieces for the rear suspension.

 

Rear is really bad, so rear is top priority.

Front is not so bad, but I'd appreciate a recommendation.

 

I have rear K-Macs, but have not installed them yet, so I cannot give an opinion. Sorry.

 

Damn man, that was cold....

 

Kmacs have some design flaws and didn't hold up well for me and I didn't put enough miles on the arms the to give appropriate feedback. As much as I loved the slammed look, my solution for E55 number 2 is to not lower the car anywhere near as much as the old one. My ego will just have to get used to it...

 

That's bad news

My ELM V2 lowers my car 25mm all around.

The rear tires look really bad, l have a hard time thinking that even if it is not lowered at all, I won't get massive negative camber...

 

do yourself a favor and stay far far away from MBArts. That guy is a clown

 

I tried to contact MBarts via their contact page but have had no response. That was over 2 weeks ago, so wondered if they are still in business!?

I am looking at sorting rear camber issues on my E55. Mine has the Renntech V2 module fitted, I don't have it slammed it's currently at -20mm front and -15mm rear. The fronts seem to wear even after getting the geometry set but the rears are both out of spec, particularly one of them which for some reason has more camber than the other by about 1 degree! It currently has 18" AMG III's, 8.5" / 9.5" but I am fitting some genuine 19" BBS LM's 8.5" / 9.5" in the spring and I would like to sort it before then if possible.

Are there any other alternatives out there other than MBarts and KMac? I've read bad reports about both but thought the MBarts seemed the best approach

 

To be accurate, you should say HAD design flaws. . The K-MAC kits have undergone several revisions in the last 6 months to increase clamping strength and to make them easier to install. Nobody denies that the old kits has a few issues, but the new designs are substantially better so you really should take a fresh look at what they offer now.

I see you post a comment like this EVERY time that someone asks about MBArts. I have NEVER been able to find your original posts (with photos) that explained why you've got such a beef against this shop. If you want to speak as an "authority" on this subject, then provide some information about your experiences.... Otherwise you just sound like a clown with nothing valuable to add.


MBArts is a small company... I'd guess it's a 1-man shop and might even be a "part time" gig for the owner. Response times suck.... There is no arguing that. Here is something VERY important:

There are two methods to correct camber....push the TOP of the tire out, or pull the bottom of the tire IN. For our cars with wide fitment wheels/tires pushing the top of the tire OUT is probably a bad idea. There isn't much clearance at the fender (especially when lowered).... For that reason I'd avoid the MBArts solution. The K-MAC solution pulls the tire IN at the bottom, which is probably the smarter way to go on our cars...

Full disclosure: I've got a complete set of K-MAC bushings (newest design) that I'll be installing in the spring, and a set of MBArts rear toe links. The rear toe links seem OK so far, but I'm still not 100% happy with them. Unfortunately, the only other options for an aftermarket toe link are around $1300 (twice the price of the MBArts item) and seemed like a huge ripoff.


-G

 

Thanks for the input Greg. I totally understand what you mean about the way the camber is corrected. I understood the adjustable camber arms a-la MBarts pulled the tyre in at the bottom. As said my car isn't lowered that much but even as it is now with standard offsets and standard tyres there is very little clearance to the fender so pushing out at the top is a no go!

My advice to you would be to get the new K-MAC's fitted now so I don't have to wait until spring for your thoughts

 

MBArts definitely pushes the tire out at the top. Their product is a replacement upper arm with a screw-type adjuster on it. The other problem IMHO is that you have to take the wheel off to reach the adjuster..... I'm not sure how that is supposed to work when you're on the alignment rack with the wheel sensors attached to each wheel.... Sounds like a real hassle...... adjust/install wheel/check camber/remove wheel/adjust again... etc.


-G

 

It was? How can I give feedback on something I'm not running yet?

Seriously? That's horrible.

 

What tires are you running? The set I had on the car when I bought it and the set I replaced them with wore horribly on the insides. At the beginning of this year, I paid extra and got the Michelin Pilot SuperSports. I went through a set of rear tires already, but they wore evenly. The fronts are really doing well and show no signs of uneven wear and are holding up surprisingly well. I guess that is why so many expensive fast cars are running them. I am lowered, too.

 

I can speak for mb arts as being a dissatisfied customer, search my posts

 

Kmac would be my suggestion to this point. After being lowered to 25mm all around fender to ground, and 1500 miles, no signs of tire wear yet to be said. Plus my alignment has been fixed with less camber. This is all under normal driving and no track and launching. So if your that type, I do not have experience with the kmacs under (heavy) load.

 

Thanks Greg - That's the exact opposite of what I understood, so I think that rules MBarts out for me then. Adjustment sounds like it would be a nightmare.

Does anyone know how much rear camber adjustment the K-MAC's allow?

 

From what I can see the design flaws I saw haven't been addressed. Early design flaws that others saw were that the bolt threads were too coarse and the nuts would back off. The flaws I saw were that the bushing end caps wouldn't stay centered and the bushings them selfs deformed under the load allowing the bolt to become uncentered within the bushing. None of that has been addressed in the new sets. If it wasn't for that, I could have lived with the annoying squeaks that come with urathane bushings.

The early MBArt arms had some design flaws and a few people had serious failures. Since the beginning the arms have undergone at least 3 updates and I believe the newest generation are up to the task. I received replacements sets for each update and have never had anything but great customer service and quick responses from MBArts. However, my last contact with them was easier this year so I can't speak to anything recent

 

I got pilot super sports, and the top of the wheel looks really tucked in.

 

Btw, yes...the arms push the wheel out from the top which can be remedied by changing rim offset if you're already very aggressive. The bushings pull in from the bottom which can cause their own set of problems. Without knowing how much room there is, we had concerns that there is potential of bottoming out the axle in the hub.

 

Sounds like both MBarts and K-MAC's have potential issues then. I assumed pulling the bottom in to negate the camber would be the correct way and not be a problem but.....!?

My current rear wheels are AMG's 18x9.5" ET33 and my BBS LM's are 19x9.5" ET32 so almost identical offsets (in theory the LM's will project 1mm further out). The LM's are new to me so have never been fitted on my car but with the offsets are so close they should fit OK, they are also the correct wheel (LM155) as listed on the BBS website.

 

EDIT: DO NOT ORDER THIS KIT YET.. Test car was an E350, which has different control arms...waiting for kit to arrive to verify!!


Good news... The SPC rear camber bushings for 211chassis has just been released this past friday. I.spoke with SPC earlier this year, although they have no plans for fronts, these rears are adjustable with the wheels off.

Import Auto Performance has a package deal for both rear sets and the mandatory installation bushings for only $199 free shipping. 800-672-0066, ext. 501, ask for Peter. I just ordered mine, and just to be sure I will measure my bushings this afternoon per the installation Instructions. FWIW I have no affiliation with any of these companies, just excited to finally have a reasonably priced option for our cars, plus I just put new tires on the rear and can already see the inside tread taking a beating.

 

Take lots of pics of the parts and the install!

 

Parts should be here Fri or Mon, and will install the weekend of the 28th

 

Keep us updated. What are the differences between these and the KMacs?

Btw, it looks like Import Auto Performance has these on Ebay with free shipping for $149!