Diy strut rods

[aaron1]

I have been cruising the archives on several forums about DIY Camber strut rods. There seems to be conflicting info on whether you should lower the inner mounting bracket.

Norvil said that he modded his bracket and lowered the holes 1-1/2 inches. This would make the strut rods parallel with the 1/2 shafts when sitting at normal ride height. He had some photos posted.

Two others said that you want to sandwich two pieces of 1/4 aluminum plate between the mounting bracket and the diff. One said that this would be the best mod you could make!

Herb Adams book said lower it 3/8 of an inch.

And another person said "Absolutely do not lower the bracket, because then you will have zero camber change". ?:confused;help

Unless I misread ....:W

Also what if you are using the factory rear y-pipe? there is a heat shield that bolts to the bottom of the bracket. by lowering bracket would this interfeer with exhaust piping?

Thank You for your help!

Aaron1

 

[6880 Mike]

What is supposed to be the advantage of lowering the strut rod bracket?

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Gives the bench racers something to debate. Waste of time for a street driven car IMHO.

 

[Hib Halverson]

A bad feature of the production '63-'82 rear suspension is a lot of camber change as the wheels move up or down and this becomes a serious problem on a car with wide tires. On acceleration, the rear end squats, the wheels gain negative camber and tire contact patch is reduced. This makes for less traction-exactly what you don't need if you have wide tires and lots of power.

Vette Brakes and Products' 'Smart Struts' kit uses a strut rod mounting bracket having revised positions for the rods' inner pick-up points that are lower than those of either of the three, stock brackets. The new pick-up points are adjustable through a limited range and alter suspension geometry such that camber change is either reduced or eliminated. The stock, '63-'67 rear suspension has 3.5° of camber change in 2.5 inches of compression. The '68-'82, which uses a different rod mounting bracket, is a little better with 2.5°. Smart Struts can be adjusted for between 0 and 1.25° camber change in 2.5-in. of travel, a significant improvement. Smart Strut kit can be ordered several ways. The ones I have on my C3 use struts with spherical bearing rod ends. I've had Smart Struts on my C3 for about 18 years and I'm glad I made the change.

It is true that brackets with strut rod pick-up point lower than the OE 68-82 positions, may interfere with the exhaust. On my 71, I had to have the exhaust changed a bit because of the Smart Struts' different bracket.

 

[6880 Mike]

Thanks Hib. I learned something.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Thanks Hib. I learned something.

You're welcome, Mike. Glad to be of service.

 

[aaron1]

x2 Thanks!