"How to": Slot BC Coilovers on Protege5/MP3/MSP/ES

[o.g.sk8er]

if you do find you went over a little, simply back it off a bit to clear the strut.
you can benefit from both mods. rotate the strut hat, and minimal slot. but there will be a limit at +25.

 

[boostedprotege]

Yeah I been checkin everything n there's not a lot of room to work with but I think I should be good with what I want for now. But as far as dialing in the hat on strut I'm a bit confused as to what the difference is betweent 0* camber and 30*caster anand 30* camber 0* caster etc.. think you can elaborate a bit on that for me?

 

[o.g.sk8er]

Caster is the forward and rearward tilt of the steering center from true vertical when viewed from a side angle.
This line is through the upper and lower steering knuckle. Caster is ALWAYS viewed from the side of the vehicle.
If the center line is more towards the rear, then you have positive caster. Negative caster if more towards the front. This is just a basic run down of caster.
heres a diagram to help explain caster a bit better.

I know you didnt really ask for an explanation of caster, but it should help understand what your doing and the effects.
As far as those numbers go, 0* camber is the wheel straight up and down. the 30* caster doesnt have a referance as to - or + so its not 100% clear, but positive caster is preffered. 0* caster is pretty much when the upper and lower knuckles are straight up and down.

 

[boostedprotege]

aww yeah actually that made it pretty clear.. so ideally i do not want the cast at 0*(upper and lower are even) i want positive caster where the lower ball joint is pulled forward which i believe our set up is already right?? and i def want the 0* camber which should be what they are at now.. so slotting bout a 1/4-1/2" should get me to where i want it till i order the coilovers by summer.. cool man thanx for helpin me out

 

[o.g.sk8er]

cool man. the bad thing about our cars though is there is no way to adjust the caster. you will gain a bit when you rotate the strut hats, but not that much. I've seen some people turn the camber plates around to get caster, then slot the struts for camber. not so sure about doing that though.
also, be careful man. slot just a little at a time, then measure. its a pain, but you dont want to over do it.

 

[boostedprotege]

Yeah no worries I'm gonna take my time and do lil aby lil amd put the wheel on and off as many times as I need to to make sure its all good. Not gonna that a big chunk outta the strut amd end up goin way to r far

 

[Protege03ak46]

Personally, I am a fan of negative caster. Has poor returnability but feels better in the corners...

 

[boostedprotege]

I'm doin this mainly for form not function. The car will jist be a daily cruiser although I am boosting it lol. The car won't be raced or driven aggressively at all. so slow wide a turns are cool wit me.. down south we swang in them lanes lol

 

[o.g.sk8er]

really adam? very interesting.

yea boosted, you'll be fine for what doing. nothing wrong with cruisin around. i have my moments of cruiser, then sometimes dr jekyll come out and i go rip up a local canyon. lol

 

[boostedprotege]

ok i lied i might get a lil pedal happy just cuz i will be runnin boost but probably just to **** with the honda kids around here lol but that will be on a straight

 

[Protege03ak46]

Than positive caster is your friend! Will make the wheels wanna track in a strait line. Since the wheel is positioned behind the strut mount it pulls the wheel rather than pushing it like negative caster. Negative caster makes the steering dicey at high speeds but in the corners it tends to go where I want it to go and does it with little effort. Caster also effects camber while turning, but I won't go Into that....

 

[boostedprotege]

i plan on settin the strut mount to setting C for both sides and according to the diagram thats 0* camber and 30* caster so i think i should be good