DIY camber adjustment (new method)

[ColoWRXer]

I know there are a lot of methods out there for doing this, but I thought of something and wanted to see if anyone knowledgeable would chime in...

My thought was that the stock camber bolts on the WRX (atleast on my 05) have little notches on the flange of the bolt, presumably to be able to keep track of the bolt's position while adjusting camber, and these, along with a simple bubble level, could be used to set a fairly accurate camber.

Here's my thought.....first, loosen the camber bolt and the one below it. Next, lay the level vertically along the spokes of your wheel, or the rim on the inside of the wheel if the level is the perfect length. Then turn the camber bolt until you get the bubble perfectly in the center. This should put your wheel at 0 camber, right?

Here's the part I'm wondering about....if there was someone out there that happened to know if each groove on the camber bolt corresponds to some degree of camber (say 1 notch equalls 1 degree), then it would be simple to set camber. If 1 notch DID equal 1 degree (I have no idea if this is true, but probably not) then you would be able to level the wheel to 0 camber and then turn your camber bolt by 2 grooves (for example) in the appropriate direction and voila! you have 2 degrees of negative camber.

This seems easier than the other methods I've read about, so please let me know if there are any serious flaws in my thinking. And if anyone did happen to know whether the grooves in the camber bolt corresponded to some increment of adjustment that would be great.

Just throwing it out there. Thanks.

[mosc]

Well first off, each car is a little different. To get an exact camber, each individual car would need to be aligned and adjusted. Dialing in an exact camber takes some trial and error. Next, the stock bolts just don't allow for much negative camber. Most people get about a degree, maybe a degree and a half. -2 degrees of camber generally requires aftermarket camber bolts and other suspension mods to allow for more adjustment than stock permits.

[ColoWRXer]

Thanks mosc. I know my numbers were exagerated, I was just trying to give an example. the camber bolts probably have 10 marks on them and no one in the world will be getting 10 degrees negative camber.

I actually bring this all up because I just installed coilovers which have camber plates and need to be alligned. I'd much rather spend some quality time getting to know my car than pay someone who doesn't care about my car $50 to do a half-assed job. I'd like to squeeze a degree and a half out of my camber bolts (last I remember getting alligned on a rack I think they got almost -2 on the fronts) before I mess with the camber plates. I'm not looking to do much more than -1.5 in front and -.5 in rear. I was just hoping to find a simpler way than busting out string and boards and the miriad of other gadgets people have built to do alignments. I have had success adjusting toe by just eyeballing it. Last time I had it alligned on a rack I had already adjusted it to within .5 degrees of 0 just by eyeballing. It's not perfect but it's pretty close for not using any tools.

[mosc]

Find a GOOD alignment guy and pay them to do it properly. Getting within a tenth is just a question of effort.