I hope this has not been covered too much to this point but ive search "top mounts" and "camber plates", but those being such vague words I am struggling some.. i have a few specific questions regarding front camber plates as i research my coilover project. budget will require i collect parts for a few months prior to the install which allows for plenty of research. ive read that replacing the front strut bushing is a must so im looking into options here. questions in no particular order--
if you do go to CO do much of the OE top mount parts get eliminated? such as the strut top bearing and other bits sandwiched in that stack? if i was to stay with the OE camber plates and install monoball (by elephant) inserts what camber might i expect to be obtained? this would save a few bucks compared to say the tarret camberplate set up, but id hate to limit camber opportunities for a $150 or so a side.

lastly, are the front and rear top plates interchangeable? ive read the rear OE busing last a significantly longer than the fronts, but wondered just the same.
car will be a canyon carver and a few track days a year, but would like to get this right the 1st time.


jb

 

a tad more. I have already installed the tarret SS trans, and the wevo SS motor mounts since ive gotten the car around the 1st of the year.

 

Here's what I've learned, anyone feel free to correct me.
Front and rear are not interchangeable.
If you're keeping oem top mount, replace the front top mounts and bearings and reuse all the other bits.
Some coilovers come with Monoball top mounts, they don't require reusing any old parts, so coilovers plus different monoball likely don't require any old parts.
Oem top mounts are a little softer for street.
Monoball top mounts are stiff for track.

 

most 'standard' coilovers for 6TT re-use existing top-mounts.
If you are interested in upgrade to coilovers, you should go aftermarket monoball top-mounts...GT2/3 have this stock (cannot use on a 6TT with AWD suspension)
Fronts are different from rears. All have rubber rear mounts, except Motorsports cars.

 

+1 for what Rob and Jean said...

The standard coilovers like PSS10 and H&R coilovers reuse the stock upper parts. I installed H&R co's on my car. I seriously considered going with the Elephant or Tarret front upper plates. The reasons I ended up not going with them are:

1) I wanted a fairly low (GT2 or so) ride height and I believe the Tarret versions would have raised the car about 1/4". My understanding is the Elephant versions will not alter ride height.

2) The Tarret versions add an additional -1 camber automatically which is fine if you are going for high neg camber but I wanted approx GT2 camber settings (approx -1.1 front and -1.7 rear). I think the Elephant versions do not add any neg camber rather they just increase the range.

3) This is where I went back and forth for a while and the enthusiast in me really wanted to do the aftermarket plates but the reality that my car is a street car (which I really hope to maybe take to a DE or two at some point) got the best of me. I understand that the increased feedback/noise with doing the upper plates is very minimal but I am really sensitive to this type of thing so I went the safe way. I went with new oem upper bearings as well as the oem top hats. There is zero noise/feedback from this but the car still feels amazing with the new suspension.

I also added rear adjustable toe links and lock out plates on the stock rear toe adjusters (it is said that the stock adjusters can slip under heavy load). I was able to acheive the GT2 like alignment and ride height that I was after and the increase in performance is pretty amazing.

Good luck whichever way you go

 

great insight here thus far!


in post 20 in this thread https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...bearing-2.html


it shows the bearing stack in the parts diagram with the top bearing highlighted in red, part #11. to clarify when going to a coil over set up does much below the part 11 remain for reinstall. looking to see if the bearing discussed in this thread will be in play upon reassembly. the CO set ive ordered has not arrived yet so I have not been able to look over the instructions. I am going with the PSS10's so I should prolly hunt around for the install instructions from billstein later today to get my questions more pointed.


thank you guys for the knowledge.


jb

 

JB,

You will need the bearing that is labeled 11 in that diagram...you will actually be reusing all the parts in that diagram except for #13 because the shocks come with their own nut. I did H&R coilovers but my understanding the PSS10's go together the same way.

I would highly recommend buying new bearings (#11) and new top hats (#12). Although if you are not in a rush you can wait until you pull the top hats and can have a look at them to see if they need replacement. I suggest replacing them either way just because they are old and nice new bushings can only help.

Just to add... Above is assuming you want to stay with OEM top hats and not go aftermarket