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MG MGF Technical - Front Camber Adjusters

Are there any commercial suppliers of an adjustable lower front A-arm for the MGF to enable the camber to be altered? I note that MS does a rear one.

TIA..........David
David

Short answer to that one: no.

It *may* be possible to make one by drilling out the rivets that hold the lower ball joint, elongate the holes, and bolt the assembly back together again. However, no one has done this, and to my way of thinking, there is probably good reason why not!!!

Why are you interested in a camber compensator David?
Rob Bell

Not being cheeky here but why do you think that there is a good reason why this cannot be done ?
S Laithwaite

Well, I'd be worried about the stability of the joint if the location holes were enlarged. The last thing you'd want is for the retaining bolt torque to 'relax' and the camber angle to shift, or worse, the A-frame weakened to the point that the mounting would snap.

No whether these are genuine fears or not, I have no idea. You might want to chat to someone like Roy Ford at Tech-speed who if he didn't know the answer himself, would know someone who would...
Rob Bell

Am I talking rubbish here but could you alter the camber via the upper arm ?

Incidently with the ride height varying quite a bit thru temp, it might not be a bad idea to see how much the camber alters due to this. I have a vague feeling that it is probably not worth while trying to fit adjustable camber due to the height variation. Or I could be talking c*:p.

Anyone for springs ?

S Laithwaite

>>Am I talking rubbish here but could you alter the camber via the upper arm ?<<

Not really, not without making a custom upper arm.

>>Incidently with the ride height varying quite a bit thru temp, it might not be a bad idea to see how much the camber alters due to this. I have a vague feeling that it is probably not worth while trying to fit adjustable camber due to the height variation. Or I could be talking c*:p.<<

Let's assume a temperature variation of 20ºC. Assuming that the suspension move 0.4mm per degree centigrade, then that is an 8mm variation in ride height.

Dropping the suspension by 25mm results in <0.5º alteration of camber.

The camber variation in accordance to temperature is, in other words, very modest indeed.

Tyre wear on the MGF has little to do with camber. On the front wheels it has a lot more to do with the toe-angle - and this too changes with alterations of ride height - see http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/tracking.htm for details on John Englaro's measures of 'bump steer' - how toe-angle alters with suspension height.
Essentially, the 0º10' toe-OUT on the front wheels is rather too extreme. It puts alot of load on the inner edges of the tyre. To avoid this, wind off some of that toe-out. Hence the BBS settings of either 0º or +0º05' toe IN for the front wheels.

>>Anyone for springs ?<<

No thanks :o) Flawed as hydragas may be, it is nonetheless a brilliant design that has superb bump absorption characteristics, ant-roll, and pitch resistance.

Besides, if you want springs, buy the excellent TF :o)
Rob Bell

I knew I was talking c$%p. Thanks for the knowledge anyway.
S Laithwaite

It is possible to alter the camber as this is done on the cup cars, I have several modified top arms if anybody is interested these have the hole offset to std for various degrees of camber req'd, probably not suitable for road use;-). The bottom arm can be modified as RB has suggested and this has also been done for track use, if done correctly then it shouldn't be a cause for concern. The problem is getting it done correctly.
Mike.
mike

This thread was discussed between 07/07/2003 and 08/07/2003

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