TTgasman is correct on the noise. I had no problem attaining gt2 alignment specs with OEM components. I am on coilovers and set at gt2 ride height. I run -1.9 degrees camber in the rear and have perfect tire wear. I do however have the adjustable Porsche toe arms in the rear but I'm not 100% sure those are needed as I think there may be enough left in the toe eccentrics. Tire wear is negatively effected more by improper toe than too much camber.
The toe arms do not create any noise.

 

Do you have adj camber plates with your coilovers? I have stock struts and H&R springs and with OEM suspension the best camber i can get is -2.7 deg. I'm still wondering if adj toe links is all i really need to correct this as well as tire wear? From what I'm perceiving from previous posts is that i will get noise aftermarket adj toe arms?

 

-2.7 seems like a lot. I am at -1.9 deg camber and 2.7mm rear toe which is GT2 spec. I do not want nor would I be able to get to 996tt camber spec (around -1.1 deg I believe) with the OE parts. Obviously ride height will have a lot to do with how much camber you can attain. I do not have any other non OE parts besides the adjustable rear toe arms which use a Porsche part. My coilovers are H&R and are adjusted at the upper of the specified adjustment range. As reference, in the rear I measure 25.5" from the ground to the center of the fender opening and that is on 19" wheels with 315/25/19 PS2. Obviously each car may have slightly different tolerances and I may just be lucky to attain the settings I have with the stock parts. Also, if your ride height is too low than you will need the adjustable upper control arms to get within spec.

 

John, can you please send me an email for how much you want for the adjustable upper control arms shipped to M2M2X4 Canada? My post count is too low so I can't send you a PM.

Also, does anyone know if the adjustable upper control arms will allow me to bring the camber back to factory spec or is it the toe kit that everyone is mentioning the item I really need?

TIA,

Carlo
rrewq@hotmail.com

 

Yes upper arms bring it back to OEM spec but you'll get squeeks and creaks in your suspension.

What i want to know is if there are aftermarket adjustable upper arms that DONT squeek???

 

wow, good info...learning alot but also getting confused 'cause i don't know what y'all r exactly talking about....

i can't figure out from the post; whether I need just toe kit or camber kit or both ?

i am on stock rim/tires and on new tires with 4K miles, noticing inner wear more.... car goes straight so didn't bother checking alignment but .... maybe it's supposed to per reading...

lot of valid points abt spring vs. coil overs.... in terms of labor cost being same, etc...

GMG in OC is the place to go i guess for me...in loma linda/so cal....

in the meantime, i gotta clearn my MAF sensor... erratic idle, jerky 2nd gear acceleration.... since oiled air filter...

jim R
'03 TT x50 polar silver, CF, softronics, AP dv, AP exh, intake, CMS RG5

 

All adjustable control arms, drop links, or toe links will transmit a bit more harshness than the OEM hardware due to the simple reason that the OE hardware has rubber bushings in the rod ends while the adjustable hardware does not. All the adjustable components utilize spherical bearing rod ends which contain no rubber and thus do not distort under load resulting in very little suspension geometry change. The slight harshness is not apparent on smooth roads and and is generally only detectable on rough roads. Everything is a trade off.

 

Agreed with what some others are saying about this thread containing great info. I may go the H&R route later this summer and was told by my shop that they can often get the toe back to spec without adjustable toe links. Not sure if I'm convinced of this but I guess we'll see. Worst case I think I'll get the Tarret rear toe arms since many seem to be using them witout any problems.

 

Jim,

You DEFINITELY want to add spacers to your rear factory rims, as it pushes your factory rims all the way out to the fender well for the optimum look. If you need a set of spacers, I will sell you a set cheap too, as I recently took them off my '03 TT with factory chrome OEM rims, when I recently installed 19 inch rims with 315/25/19 inch tires. NOTE: I also recently had H&R springs installed on my '03 TT and it dropped the car a full inch on the front and back and it looks awesome. I am now told I should add rear drop links, that now that my car is lowered the inside of the rear tires will wear out quickly ? I was told drop links will correctly the camber ? so the tires sit correctly & flat.

JIM in Texas

 

Did you install rear toe arms on your TT ?

I ask, as I recently had H&R springs installed on my '03 TT and was told that I really should add a set of rear toe arms to my TT, because if I don't, that the inside of my 315/25/19 inch tires will wear out to quickly ?

Any advice ?

THKS and PLS advise - JIM

 

Hi Jim,
You have been misinformed as far as the drop links go. Drop links have nothing to do with correcting your camber. Drop links connect the suspension components with your sway bar. In order to correct camber on your car you will need rear adjustable upper control arms (dog bones) on your car.

 

Who's rear camber klt did you install on your TT ?

How much did you pay for it and where did you get it ?

Any advice ?

I ask, as I recently had H&R springs installed on my '03 TT and was told that I really should add a set of rear toe arms to my TT, because if I don't, that the inside of my 315/25/19 inch tires will wear out to quickly ?

THKS and PLS advise - JIM

 

Did you buy a rear toe kit ?

Who's rear camber klt have you looked at ?

Where would you buy it ?

Any advice ?

I ask, as I recently had H&R springs installed on my '03 TT and was told that I really should add a set of rear toe arms to my TT, because if I don't, that the inside of my 315/25/19 inch tires will wear out to quickly ?

THKS and PLS advise - JIM

 

Thanks !

I REALLY appreciate it, as I really don't know all the terminology.

THanks again - JIM

 

It all depends what kind of an alignment you are trying to attain. I am on coilovers and am aligned to GT2 spec running -1.9deg camber in the rear and rear 2.7mm toe (on the front I run -1.5deg camber). I can attain those settings using the the OEM control arms and the Tarret adjustable toe arms even though I'm not sure those are needed as there appears to be some more room in the stock eccentrics. This is a fairly aggressive alignment though maximized for handling and not necessarily tire wear. If you are trying to attain a stock 996tt alignment which calls for about -1.0deg camber in the rear you will definitely need adjustable control arms in the rear and possibly the toe kit depending on the amount of lowering you have. Both camber and toe (not just camber) need to be set correctly in order to have decent tire wear.

As far as the adjustable camber kit goes, I had the AP links with the spherical bearing rod ends. Some of the early units from a couple of years ago had issues with the rod ends due to a bad batch from the the supplier but that has long been corrected (essentially there are only 3 suppliers of rod ends that everyone uses, Midwest, Aurora Bearing, and QA1). AP sent me brand new rod ends for mine for free and their customer support has been top notch. Hope that helps...