imported_loudsubz

Took me so damn long today to get the fronts back in since I had no clue how to tilt the wheel assembly back into place, we feared we broke something, but after taking a break and reading that you gotta be patient and listen for a click we did and then finally got it back in.

Anyone else have similar experiences on the 7th gen civics or RSX?

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

I've done a few MacPhearsons, so I knew what to look for to begin with. First one I did was a 99 Mk3 Golf VR6 on Jamex springs... haha, we totally fuct the alignment on it but it was aligned the next day anyways when it got new rubber. Next was a Protege on Eibach, WRX on Progress, a RSX on Eibach, and finally my Saturn on Eibach.

imported_loudsubz

B: is it true you need an alignment right after height alteration on the macpherson setup vs other civic setups?

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

YES YES YES... I'm sure you noticed that the strut has two lower bolts that attach it to the hub... the lower of the two bolts has some adjustment on it. You can put both bolts in, hand tighten them, then you take the top of the hub and can move it around as you please. It affects camber only. Toe is set by the tie rods, and caster is non-adjustable. On the WRX it's so pimp, it has a cam bolt that's marked for total user adjustability for camber, so you can dial in your own camber. On other cars however, it's anyone's guess how it goes. What you need to do is use a marker to mark where the strut was, and when you put the strut back in, to attempt to get it as close to your marked line as you can, and then drive to your alignment shop.

If you take a look as your lower the jack and the wheel begins to contact the ground, you'll see the tire starts to fold under itself... this is why MacPhearson susps are generally **** by design... you will notice a wishbone setup WILL NOT do this. Same thing happens at extreme loading in corners. MacPhearsons were NOT meant to handle, though they can be coaxed to do pretty well still.