Ermish Caster/camber plates

[Just Joel]

Just ordered a set of caster/camber plates from Troy based on his word that the added caster is gods gift to cornering. Due to the fact that I have to mangle the strut towers in order to install them (I'm not to worried about the cutting part) is the caster worth the extra hassle and the look verses more conventional non caster designs? My wagon is no race car but I do expect it to corner and handle as such ;) Let me know what you think...

 

 

Side note, haven’t been able to find a lot of information about the Ermish camber plates so do any of you have any experience using them? Durability and quality?

 

Thanks

Joel

[JDM510]

the guys a race driver so i think i would take his word over most of ours.. i speak for my self and any others who feel the same way...

 

 

on a side note as clean as my car is i would NOT cut the car to install those.. just my 2 cents.

[hang_510]

...added caster is gods gift to cornering.

 

My wagon is no race car but I do expect it to corner and handle as such ;)

its a g00n and will handle as such! :mellow:

i didnt use the 'added caster' plates, since its a wagon :cool: they are on the sedan though!

 

 

upgrade the TC rod bushings as well!

[72240z]

I know Ermish has a good rep and far be it from me to doubt it but....

 

What a seemingly odd and ugly way to go about camber plates. Five nut mount with a two nut slide, kind of reversed there lol. Have to cut, then why bolt? Inferior pillow ball, compared to needle anyway. :-X

 

To each their own I'm sure they do their job fine.

[Just Joel]

its a g00n and will handle as such! :mellow:

i didnt use the 'added caster' plates, since its a wagon :cool: they are on the sedan though!

 

 

upgrade the TC rod bushings as well!

 

Yeah, I know... that was a crap attempt to relay sarcasm over the internet ;) And also why I'm thinking they may be a bit over kill for my application. The same point could also encourage the use of extra caster due to the fact that I'm already overcoming the short falls of the rear end.

 

I ordered his conical TC bushing which he said allowed vertical articulation while reducing flex.

 

Thanks

Joel

[Just Joel]

the guys a race driver so i think i would take his word over most of ours.. i speak for my self and any others who feel the same way...

 

 

on a side note as clean as my car is i would NOT cut the car to install those.. just my 2 cents.

 

And I'm not doubting his opinion, just seeing what a few other real world users thought before I went at it with the plasma. My car is not a very clean example of a 510 but I hope one day it might be but at the same time, it’s going to be a %100 driver. If I need to sacrifice a few clean points for performance, I'm alright with that, I just want to make sure they are worth it.

 

Thanks

Joel

[Just Joel]

I know Ermish has a good rep and far be it from me to doubt it but....

 

What a seemingly odd and ugly way to go about camber plates. Five nut mount with a two nut slide, kind of reversed there lol. Have to cut, then why bolt? Inferior pillow ball, compared to needle anyway. :-X

 

To each their own I'm sure they do their job fine.

 

Pillow ball?

 

Thanks

Joel

[72240z]

The kind of bearing thats being used.

[thisismatt]

The kind of bearing thats being used.

Errm...they all use a spherical bearing up the top, how else is the strut rod going to articulate with suspension travel? Needle bearings are used between the top hat and the spherical bearing.

[Just Joel]

BTW my install would be MUCH cleaner than the picture example... I have the means and the skill. I just want to make sure that they work as well as they sound and overall the idea is in the right place. I'm a truck/buggy guy and I'm used to making vehicles taller, not shorter, so the idea of a camber plate is new to me but I do understand the importance of caster/camber. If these won’t do what I need then I'll consider other options but if I can take care of two problems in one purchase it would seem a good buy to me. Like mentioned before, this is a wagon and will ultimately handle as such regardless of whether I like it or not. ;) So tell me what you think or know about ether Troys camber plates in general or this particular design.

 

Thanks

Joel

[Just Joel]

The kind of bearing thats being used.

 

Gotcha, I always referred to those as uniballs...

 

Thanks

Joel

[Just Joel]

Errm...they all use a spherical bearing up the top, how else is the strut rod going to articulate with suspension travel? Needle bearings are used between the top hat and the spherical bearing.

 

I asked Troy about this and he mentioned there is provisions for a second bearing like the top hat needle bearing design from T3. I'm a little foggy on the details but that’s yet another thing I'm hoping someone might be able to shed some light on for me.

 

Thanks

Joel

[thisismatt]

I asked Troy about this and he mentioned there is provisions for a second bearing like the top hat needle bearing design from T3. I'm a little foggy on the details but that’s yet another thing I'm hoping someone might be able to shed some light on for me.

 

Thanks

Joel

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to infer that any given set of camber plates came with needle bearing top hats, just that all camber plates of this style have a spherical bearing for the actual strut rod mount/joint.

[Just Joel]

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to infer that any given set of camber plates came with needle bearing top hats, just that all camber plates of this style have a spherical bearing for the actual strut rod mount/joint.

 

Sure enough, I get what your saying...

 

I'm beginning to think I may have chosen the wrong brand for the camber plates here. I'm having a hard time finding any other users or reviews on the parts let alone this particular design.

 

Thanks

Joel

[thisismatt]

I don't think there's anything wrong with them. They look a lot like the Design Products Racing plates, seen here:

 

http://designproductsracing.com/510_FrontSuspension.html

 

Everyone uses something different...I think it's just a matter of what they find the cheapest at the time they buy. Needle bearings in the top hats is a plus for sure, though. Also, some have adjustable caster, not just "built-in" caster like the ermish ones...but really, you'll probably just set it once and forget it.

 

Hell, I got mine in a weird trade for some Honda wheels to a guy that just happened to used to have a 510 and had the plates leftover. Mine are another style altogether, as seen here (not my car, but same camber/caster plates):

[Just Joel]

Interesting design... Can anyone see any concern in a two bolt verses a four bolt adjustment design?

 

Thanks

Joel

[butcherboyjc]

Did you look into these:

There for the 510 and no cutting is required and there is caster and camber adjustments. I also saw a 510 that used another set from Ground Control I believe with a 4 bolt design, I saw a picture on the realm I believe there these:

I will post a pic of the car, I have to look for it. I'm about to buy some also so I'm currently researching different options.

[butcherboyjc]

This is the image I saw on the realm here I didnt read through the whole thread yet and dont have a membership there to post a question about them, maybe someone here might know. They look like the 4 bolt design camber caster plate that ground control offers.

 

 

[Just Joel]

This is first time I've seen the adjustable type other than the post a few before you. It would seem that when installed like the picture, it’s a set it and leave it type of application (same as the Ermish set) as you would have to once again cut a crap load before they would actually have enough room to adjust. If you’re willing to make the room for the plate, as much caster as possible would be preferable seeing as you would only manage a few degrees anyway fully adjusted? This is where I'm foggy as to whether or not it’s actually worth it… would I be better off adjusting caster down bellow and not worrying about the top or would I be able to achieve enough caster to not worry about the lower arms. Did they say how much caster they were able to achieve with the adjustable setup?

 

Thanks

Joel

[hang_510]

Everyone uses something different...I think it's just a matter of what they find the cheapest at the time they buy.

 

Also, some have adjustable caster, not just "built-in" caster like the ermish ones...but really, you'll probably just set it once and forget it.

not sure what brand on the sedan, but its off center for caster and has adj tc rods.

its been adjusted numerous times by me (& before me??? :o ) and have had no worries w/just 2 nuts. :unsure:

 

 

 

the g00n is getting the T3 plates, no caster, no adj tc rods. itll handle better than before! ;)

no cutting, a little trim here/there.

[72240z]

Jesus you get a job and threads go pages before you get back lol. Ya my end was cleared up already. I don't think there is anything wrong with them (non track use) I'm just curious/surprised he would go that route along with the other things mentioned.

[Just Joel]

not sure what brand on the sedan, but its off center for caster and has adj tc rods.

its been adjusted numerous times by me (& before me??? :o ) and have had no worries w/just 2 nuts. :unsure:

 

 

 

the g00n is getting the T3 plates, no caster, no adj tc rods. itll handle better than before! ;)

no cutting, a little trim here/there.

 

Sounds good... I'm not concerned so much with how it looks or the difficulties with cutting, but I want to make sure that they will accomplish more than just looking odd. I know it’s probably more over kill than anything being its only a wagon but if I'm going to the trouble and expense of buying and installing camber plates, it would only seem that any advantages options I can choose would only help. I'm not doing any adjustable control or TC arms down bellow so this will be the only form of caster I can manage for the poor thing. If caster is less than helpful, then I won't bother. But if I stand to gain some handling over traditional setups, then I'm in ;)

 

Thanks

Joel

[thisismatt]

Definitely will improve handling and straight line tracking.

[Just Joel]

And that’s what I'm hoping... I don't know just how much caster I'll achieve but overall, in theory, they should work well. I just wish there were a few out there running this particular brand and type so I could get some firsthand knowledge of features and quality. Guess I'll post up when I find out ;)

 

Thanks

Joel

[racerx]

Is this procedure necessary if you install coil overs?