I need help!

[Pro-cookie]

For a while now I’ve been trying to work out wether to go for wider wheels or spacers. With the current climate I decided to go the least expensive route and decided spacers, so set about measuring how wide I could go. On complete flat ground with handbrake off I measured the front both sides equal and I can get 10mm spacers. I measured the back but found a discrepancy! One side sits 8mm further out than the other! It’s a standard car on the standard Audi sport wheels. No accident damage in the past so why such a huge difference? I decided to back the car out and roll it back in to make sure suspension is levelled and it made no difference. I’ve measured from the wheel itself and true wall and each give the same discrepancy of 8mm. What’s happening guys. is it normal to have such a difference? The fronts are identical each side.
thanks in advance guys.

 

[Ricky Burrows]

I put 5mm spacers on the rear of my b7 and the O/S is perfectly fine but the N/S although looks similar it rubs on the inner arch round hard corners or with a car full, i can only assume its camber ill have to check my wheel alignment and see if there's an obvious camber difference, either way camber will solve it rubbing in my case that is.

My Mercedes was the same one side sat out a slight bit more than the other MSL in Birmingham said its normal for that shape Mercedes i just cambered that to stop the slight rubbing, so a slight difference in wheel width each side seems normal, in my experience it is anyway.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Where are you taking measurements from ?
If your rear camber is out on one side it may account for the difference but depends on at what point you have been taking measurements top or bottom of the wheel/tyre.
I had a similar issue a few years ago, my nearside rear was rubbing the arch liner but offside was fine , after doing some checking from the top of the wheel/rim edge it confirmed the camber was out on the nearside by 6mm , a bit of fuffing around and with a level, socket set and jack etc it was back in check, no probs since.

 

[Charlie Farley]

It is not that uncommon on B7's to be honest but only rears its head when one starts adding spacers or wider rims /offsets.

 

[Pro-cookie]

Yeah it’s only the rear that has the problem. Haven’t bought spacers yet as I wanted the measurements so I knew what to get. I’ve had the wheels aligned at the beginning of the year, would they not have sorted that? How do I do camber on rear? I thought you could only adjust front camber?
I’m measuring from tyre shoulder and the tip of the wheel itself thinking the shoulder might be out on the tyre.

 

[Charlie Farley]

The best way to do at home etc , setup a known upright point, measure from the rim outer edge at the highest point of the wheel (top) .
do both sides, ignore the tyre sidewall as you want the rim edge as it's a fixed point.
If you have a different reading, well a big difference more than a few mm then your camber is too far outwards , possibly your subframe may have been misaligned at some point but start with the camber as it will be noticible when comparing the two sides.

 

[Charlie Farley]

The rears have camber adjustment, the front does not unless you fit adjustable arms, which unless you're doing bonkers mods is not required.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I suspect you have more positive camber one side than the other.

 

[Charlie Farley]

8mm more positive camber sounds a lot at the rim but at the camber adjuster, it's only a small adjustment.

 

[Pro-cookie]

Will I need to jack up the car to do it? And what would I need as in spanner size? I’ll have a crack at it next weekend.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Before you rush at it, well if you want to do it yourself that is, get some penetrating fluid (proper stuff) and soak the concentric adjuster and the nut/bolt .
If they have not been touched for a while they can be seized and take some shifting, so get some fluid on them over the course of a few days.
Once they are moveable without excessive force proceed to next stage.

 

[Pro-cookie]

When I say jack up the car I mean does the wheel need to be completely off the ground or is it better to have it sat on the deck?

 

[Charlie Farley]

you need the car flat and level under its own weight to get the best results but it not that easy to get at that way.

On ramps is best as you can get under the rear and get at the adjuster.
I used a slower method but it costs me nothing.
Used trolley jack on the side in question.
Took a base reading to start with, jacked up that corner and removed the wheel .
made a slight adjustment to the concentric adjuster, nipped it up , refitted the wheel with two bolts and lowered it down to take a first adjusted reading.
I had to do it three times to get the readings the same on both nearside and offside but it worked out very well , took about 30 mins.

I've had my car four wheel alignment checked a few time since and its been spot on for the rears, front's cant be adjusted for camber.

 

[Charlie Farley]

This is the concentric camber adjustment point.

Top bolt indicated by red arrow.

 

[Pro-cookie]

Ok I’ll give it a shot. I’ll probably watch a vid on YouTube just to make sure I’m getting the right part.

 

[Pro-cookie]

This is the concentric camber adjustment point.

Top bolt indicated by red arrow.

View attachment 211924

Oh spot on no need to watch a video after all. Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it thank you.

 

[Charlie Farley]

It easy to recognise , top arm with that concentric fitting.

 

[Pro-cookie]

So I literally loosen the bolt and pull or push the wheel in or out?

 

[Charlie Farley]

A word of warning, before you loosen that adjuster be sure to make a visible punch mark on both the plate and adjuster , it will serve as an original setting point should things become problematic and you get too far out of alignment.

Take it in small increments is the best way so if you need to go back you have that data point, always have a backup point to go back to .

best of luck.

 

[Charlie Farley]

So I literally loosen the bolt and pull or push the wheel in or out?

loosen the nut just enough to move and then turn the bolt, that will in turn move the camber adjuster, which way you turn the bolt will control + or - camber, don't just grab the wheel and yank it around, you don't need massive adjustments.
The adjuster will do the work provided it's not seized.

 

[Charlie Farley]

There are DIY camber adjustment tools on amazon and fleabay which can help the DIY mechanic with setting rear camber, prices vary and effectiveness depends on various factors.
My DIY route worked very well, not a workshop manual method agreed but it did the job .

 

[Pro-cookie]

Nice one spot on Rob. Much appreciated.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Give it a go chap.

best of luck.

 

[Pro-cookie]

I’ll keep you posted, hopefully I’ll attempt that on Saturday.

 

[Charlie Farley]