fiestaturbo.com

[CarismaDave]

All,

As I'm sure you know I had 17's on my FRST and as I'm now replacing the wheels I want to make sure that the camber is sorted before I put my new ones on so I don't go through tyres needlessly.

The thing is that trying to get a definitve answer as to how to sort it always seems a complete ar$e! As far as I 'understand' the spindle carriers (i.e. what the CV joint, lower arm, suspension and track rod goes into) are all the same on all the models of Mk.3 fez including FRST. I think I remember someone saying that on a FRST the lower arms are different i.e. slightly longer? I can't believe that it's tracking alone that are leaning the rims in so much. Anyone got any ideas? As far as I know the running gear on my Fez was probably XR2i as the donor was an XR2i with RS engine so I'm really confused...unless he changed the lower arms to RS ones...thus giving the problem.

Any ideas would be appreciated

Dave

[285Andy]

my tyres ran bald on the inside edge just before the tyre became illegal on overall tread depth.
you got LSD Dave? (not drugs! ) not that im pointing the finger at that

[PF Dave]

It wont be the LSD.

If its decked that in it self changes your suspension geometry and the lower you go to a degree the more negative camber you get (good for racing not so good for tyre life)

Why not get some adjustable bottom arms amde up so you set everything exactly how you want it suspension wise then adjust it so you have clearance a bit of camber but not too much then lock it all off?

[CarismaDave]

I do have an LSD...well actually an ATB but as said I'm not sure that is the problem.

I am going to get myself some lower adjustable arms but I was under the impression that that alone wasn't the problem? Perhaps it's a comb of that, lowering and tracking. It's just really annoying and I go through tyres in 1.5k miles!!

Dave

[snake]

lol tis normal cos it puts the camber at stoopid angle, i`ve got a set of i.howell lower arms, but need to run the car to see what they are like, if its just to hard i`m probably just gonna make my own up with uprated bushes or ford bushes possibly, sommat i`ve gotta look into yet..

[MadcatCraig]

mine too go bald on the inside !

the lower arms stick further out

the arms on the steerign rack are also longer on the FRST and the lock to lock is shorter.

when u fit bigger wheels and lower it this is wot happens ! also kills wheel bearings quicker as ive found out !

i replaced my 1.1 hubs lower arms and steering rack with FRST items and apart form wheels ou a bit further and steering better have noticed no difference !

[Jur]

wanted to change the front subframe including lower arms, shocks, springs, hubs etc of a (UK) FRST to my (European) fiesta 1.8i S.

Put the things on, put the wheels on.. send it back to earth .. and....

It looked like it could't stand on it's feet .. the camber was WAY off..

Put back the standard lower arms .. and there was no problem ..

btw.. the FRST lower arms can be identified by 3 bolts in stead of 2 rivets at the wheel side.

Still my question remains.. WHY does a FRST stand straight.. and with the same subframe, hubs, shocks, lower arms etc.. the fiesta 1.8i S (same setup as the XR2i) doesn't do!!! ????

[Project]

Did u change the rack?

The FRST lower arms are a little longer in order to make the front track 20mm wider. Unfortunately, Ford did this the easy way by extending the lower arms with the end result that, although the FRST has excellent grip in corners, it handles straight lines and tyre wear with a little less grace.

The Fiesta Zetec (esp Mk3 and Mk3.5 RS1800) suspension set-up seems to be the best compromise of handling qualities.

[Jur]

What part is that ??
/me is Dutch .. althoug my tech English is not bad.. i don't know what you mean by this..

Did u change the rack?

[zetec69]

There's a pair of adjustable camber bolts available now. Not sure who makes them tho and if they're any good-saw them in one of the mags. Anyone shed any light on this?

[CarismaDave]

The steering rack I have is from the 1.1 thus I guess that it is the lower arms that he changed....if I got lower adjustables based on an XR2i this should sort it?! I'm only after good tyre wear and straight lines!! Don't think I'll be too keen on cornering too much with the power of this new engine!

Dave

[Project]

Jur - the steering rack

Dave - I mentioned rack as you have to retrack the car after changing the lower arms. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious Might it be worth trying RS1800 lower arms instead?

[M Brian]

using 16v xr2i arms with xr2i 8v ball joints brings the camber back in.

but you have to shorten the rack slightly or the wheels toe in too far (cut about 5mm off the ends)

this set up felt quite good on my xr2i 16v - but i have since changed to the ford spec parts for the xr2i/rs1800 with three bolt fixings.

there are three/four types to my knowledge
xr2i 16v arms - 2 pin ball joints - the ball joint angles to the rear of the car
xr2i 8v arms - 2 pin ball joints - the ball joint is straight and doesn't angle
xr2i/16v/si/RS? - 3 pin ball joints - the 3 pins are angled backwards like the 2i 16v arms - but maybe not as much as orginal ones.
and there maybe a std fiesta type - but i think these may be the same as xr2i 8v ones.

HTHs

[volvia99]

H&R sells some kind of adjusters to set your camber to the right angle. Check out their european site for more information.

[zetec69]

That's what I was on about above. Thought it might be H & R that made 'em!

[cubby240]

Ask Keith from Performance Ford about his new adjustable lower arms

They are the way forward for sure.

[PF Dave]

either that or eccentric top mounts like I am doing!

[Project]

Eccentric top mounts would be an awful lot easier to work with since you could adjust the camber with the weight on the roadwheels, but they would on ly have limited adjustability.

Hmmm.... interesting.

[CarismaDave]

Choices choices but what to do!!!! Just found my new steering wheel tho...hmmm nice

Dave