so this is mainly about front aftermarket adjustable arms which unfortunately most camber arms dont offer caster adjustment. after being under the car so many times while trying to visualize possible ways to fix caster without currently buying more parts, i thought of something that might be viable and figured if someone else may have thought of it already so i should just ask.

i have 350evo camber arms and notice the ball joint is off center towards the front of the car, im not sure if this is the same for other aftermarket arms but if it is.... has tried switching the arms left to right to try n fix the extreme caster gain on lowering?

 

nobody lowered notice extreme caster gain when lowering? it is quite visible from the side view.....

 

Are you sure you have the arms on the correct sides?

I'm running 350evo arms as well and I don't have any issues with caster....I don't think? I'll have to take another look now that you mention it

Here is a side shot

 

i put them in the way the .doc directions show. i wonder if it makes a difference that im much lower than most of the g/z's i see...

 

Snap a pic of the arms. There is a straight side and a slightly angled side to the arms. The angled side should be facing the front of the car.

 

pretty sure i have it correct.... this is the passenger side

 

That looks correct. What you really want to be looking at is how the upper ball joint (where the suspension arm and evo arm meet) and lower ball joint are positioned to one another. The lower ball joint should be out ahead more of the upper one. That will give you a positive caster and allow the car to track straight

 

im not sure i understand what you mean. If positive caster is having the top ball joint connecting the top arm to the hub more forward than the bottom one, than i need less positive caster. my front wheels sit closer to the front of the car than the rear so i need to find a way to have less positive caster. my front tires rub at low speeds when i turn but if im cornering hard enough to compress the outside front wheel, it doesnt rub at all.

would i need to swap to spl arms for caster adjustment? according to the website the spl arms can only adjust +1 to -2 or was it +1 to -2.5 deg camber? either way, i need about as much neg camber as the 350evo arms can get (-1 to -3), any less than that and my front tires will rub

 

Positive caster is when the top ball joint is moved toward the back of the car and the lower ball joint is positioned ahead of it so you actually need more positive caster.

Watch this video, he does a better job of explaining it than I do
http://www.ehow.com/video_2327628_ca...g-system_.html

Have you gotten an alignment to see what you are at exactly? I'm a bit puzzled at why your caster would be off by as much as you are describing. Can you post a pic of the wheel on the car? Like I said, I have the same arms and I'm dropped quit a bit and I don't have the same issue you are describing.

IIRC, SPL arms do not have any caster adjustment. SPC does but if you are dropped 2" or more, stay away from SPC arms.

 

If you have bad caster, your compression rod may need replacing.. Infinti did issue a revised rod.

 

I also have the 350evo arms. i had bad caster on the passenger side only which rubbed my fender to hell while my driver's side had no issue. It's an compression rod flaw.

I bought another compression rod and lined it up with my original one and the bend was completely off. I replaced the compression rod arm and now my passenger caster is within OEM spec. POS infiniti

edit: one more thing, I tried arms with caster adjustment (spl) and it did not fix the problem.

 

Thanks David, that helps alot. I didn't think it was the position of the arms but something else going bad, just wasn't sure what.

steeb, I have a set of used compression rods if you're interested. I recommend you have the bushings replaced though. That is why I replaced them in the first place (did this before they started selling the bushings for them).

 

wow, thanks everyone. this is quite interesting information.

g35papa - i had an alignment done but by hand on a rack. i only got my toe zero'd out, i didnt ask for caster check or current specs so i dont know what my caster is at.

jibber jabbers - about the revised compression rod arm, is the revised design different from the one on the 2004 model or is it a revised bushing?

accordfreak - wow, how did you manage to bend that arm?? my issue sounds exactly as your description but i do rub on the drivers side but not nearly as bad. the passenger side rubs enough to pull in my fender.... =(

is it obvious by just looking at the compression arm to see the damage or toasted bushing? if my compression arm bushings are done would it be better to get new compression arms or spl compression arm bushings with my current arms or new compression arms with spl bushings?

 

the arm wasn't bent. It's how it was made. It was replaced once for warranty work due to the car drifting to the right.

What i would do (it's what i did), is take off your passenger compression rod bring it to the dealership and compare it to a brand new one to see if the angle of the arm is the same.