Are adjustable control arms MANDATORY for ~ 1 inch drop (coilovers / only springs)??

[drew4392]

A well-respected tuner has strongly urged me to get control arms if they install coilovers or springs. In the past, with OE Sports, I only got an alignment which barely got the car within OEM specs. The alignment shop said they were able to adjust the subframe a little to help get specs within OEM (just on the edge).

However, the tuner says the subframe barely moves and shop could have been not entirely truthful about getting it into OEM spec. To that point, they are adamant about adjustable control arms.

I'm not very familiar with alignment technicalities. Somebody who is familiar with aligning a car with/without adjustable control arms, would you mind explaining?

I only want a ~1 inch drop. Maybe a tad lower. This build is already maxing my budget, and saving $600 on these control arms would help. Unless they are vitally important......


Thanks!

[infinkc]

no, not mandatory

[jran76]

Nope. With a drop less than 1" to 1.2", you can stay close to the upper end of the factory specs. 1" will be borderline (-1.3 to -1.4 degrees), 1.2" will be slightly over (-1.6 to -1.7 degrees).

[jauri]

i don't have adjustable control arms and i'm lowered about 1.3" on coils. pushing the factory range, but very minimally. i don't think you need it.

http://i.imgur.com/EbqCLxl.jpg

[audistealth]

Not mandatory, but it will screw up your tires with uneven wear. What is your estimated camber after drop without the arms?

[jran76]

Not mandatory, but it will screw up your tires with uneven wear. What is your estimated camber after drop without the arms?

I've run my tires at the above mentioned specs (both with and without adjustable control arms), and my tire wear is very even (without rotating my tires). While what you are saying can be true, I have found that not to be the case on this car if you can keep toe close to 0 or at the low end of the factory spec.

I think the factory spec is -0.8 to -1.6 degrees camber and 0.05 to 0.28 toe on the front, and -0.9 to -1.8 degrees camber and 0.08 to 0.25 toe in the rear. I would highly recommend the lower end of the toe settings with setups with more negative camber.

[saxon]

rotate tires, set toe and go :)

[Acejam]

Not mandatory, but it will screw up your tires with uneven wear. What is your estimated camber after drop without the arms?

Typically toe is responsible for killing tires, not camber.