Massive Camber Misalignment - 1999 Audi A3 8L 1.8T Quattro [180] - Please Help

[Mikey3000]

Hello everyone,

This is hopefully my first post of many on this forum.

I am currently in the process of building a 1999 Audi A3 8L 1.8T Quattro [180].

This is quite a serious project for me and so far my focus has been on making sure that I have the best possible foundations.

I have a brand new water pump and cambelt, new Bosch battery, new radiator, new Pagid discs and pads all round and now I have moved to the suspension which is where I am need of some help.

I had my geometry measured the other day and it turns out that my camber is quite significantly misaligned.

The readings are as follows

Front Axle

Left Hand -02°07' Right Hand +00°05'


Rear Axle

Left Hand -02°20 Right Hand -01°05

Logic dictates to me that one, or more likely several, of the suspension components is badly bent. The help I am seeking is really where do I begin. What are the parts of the suspension setup most susceptible to bending or damage.

I have read around quite a lot on the subject but the information I seem to be uncovering is relating to covering up the problem with things like camber shims. Ideally, I would like to resolve the problem by replacing the problem parts.

Any help or guidance that anyone can provide would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[jojo]

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe the fronts are not adjustable for camber, so you will need to undo your lower subframe, and get it more central? I stand to be corrected on this.

The rears, being a quattro, should be the same as an S3, so you will need adjustable camber bars, try and pm s3dave for a set of custom jobbies, or do a search for more info.

 

[Mikey3000]

Thanks JoJo,

that's given me a bit of a starting point.

So far, I have found these for the rear Forge Motorsport FMAUTB2 Adjustable Rear Tie Bars / Control Arms - £330.60 : The premier online mail order VAG suspension and performance specialists. We offer a wide range of all the best branded suspension and performance parts for all VAG vehicle and these for the front Venom Motorsport Performance Car Parts - EBC Brakes, Black Diamond Brakes, FK Suspension, Eibach Suspension, Weitec Suspension, Supersport Suspension.

My current plan of action is to get the Audi specialist I use to go over the suspension with a fine tooth comb to check for any broken, worn or generally battered components, remove and replace them, and then have the above fitted and the car wheel four wheel aligned. Does this sound as though I'm going in the right direction (no pun intended)?

Cheers,

Mike

 

[jojo]

Hi Mike, contact the guy below for adjustable tie bars, they are custom made, and under £200 posted!

View Profile: s3dave - Audi-Sport.net

Regarding the fronts, for the price of those, it might be more worthwhile to source some S3 hubs, struts and lower arms to make the front camber adjustable? A few members have gone down this route for their A3s.