Camber Caster Plates Install (1982-1992 Camaro/Firebird)

Camber/caster plate install on a 1992 camaro RS
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[@3rdGenGuy]

After further examination of the stock strut mounts, I found major issues with the factory originals. the original rubber was 75% ripped and were about to fail! Meaning they were close to shooting the strut out of my towers! This swap was initially for handling, but it drastically IMPROVED ride comfort the stock mount had a lot of play in them, a solid mount puts that play into the shock; therefore improving ride quality and handling.

[@rafalkowalski5062]

Hi i have to replace mine but i bought original new with rubber. (My car is not going to track or race, only light weekend usage) should then i use the caster and camber that you provided????

[@davidwiley652]

Mine were the same way. Luckily my car is not a daily. Else the struts probably would have grenade throughly hood because I would have never known to check those mounts. You said the dust covers didn’t fit but it look like you used them when you reinstalled everything. Were those some different ones? Because I’m using the same mounts and I want to be able the have dust covers.

[@3rdGenGuy]

@@davidwiley652 stock dust covers don't work. there are universal dust covers that might work.

[@G-reg313]

Thank you for this video! I just purchased my set last night for $211.00 You made this video idiot proof. Keep up the good work!

[@3rdGenGuy]

I make videos for my job and the key point is making it idiot proof.

[@evilokc]

im replacing my factory caster plates with founders performance caster plates today. thanks for the video. it gave me a quick over view.

[@braddaddio3963]

Great video, to the point, no frills, wrench sizes is a great touch. Just subscribed thanks!

[@Cbze]

Much MUCH better video than the one you made on the shock replacement. All the parts were actually in this video. Nice work!

[@3rdGenGuy]

I'm still learning

[@MrSpartanPaul]

There’s tons of Caster adjustment provided by GM. Look at the slots in the body under the strut mount.

[@3rdGenGuy]

I wouldn't say "tons" you get maybe 1 degree of adjustment with stock mounts. these J&M mounts have about a 10 degree range

[@namesake7139]

Great video and to the point!!! Instant subscriber

[@PNWBLUEBARON]

I’m curious when you tighten down the strut tower nut. Was your shock hydraulic spinning? I seem to only be able to get a few threads on it. I’m wondering if I got the wrong shocks from my auto parts or maybe need that proper tool for tightening

[@3rdGenGuy]

if the strut nuts don't spin on, it's possible the new struts have a different thread. they should go on enough to get get a small wrench on the shaft.

[@johndoe-zd9lb]

i used your video as well nicely done....too anyone using the umi caster camber plates, there is a small sleeve that you insert from the top after the shock is up in the caster hole....only difference from these plates. with the umi plates you can NOT use the dust boots on these either. where did those alignment figures come from? (note: the unentitled note pad shown @3:21 with the specs for toe total does not specify in or out for the: street, hard street, and drag racing use)

[@davidlubin7389]

Fantastic video! Can I get the product number for these caster plates/strut tower braces you detailed? Also, how tight do you torque the three bracket bolts?

[@3rdGenGuy]

Those mounts are from Founders performance. UMI also sells a copy of those mounts and Detroit speed has a trick set that lets you change alignment settings on the fly, but they cost 2x.

[@James-WM]

I have to ask; are you an engineer of some type? Great video as always.

[@3rdGenGuy]

not an engineer, but i work with them on the daily. so their mindset and thought process wears off on me.

[@James-WM]

@@3rdGenGuy makes sense. 👍

[@antoniojones1548]

Thanks! Great. Vid!

[@allenconrad8843]

what is the dust cover you used in this application if the original ones didn't work?

[@3rdGenGuy]

You don't reuse the stock strut cover/boots. they are pointless, they do nothing.

[@allenconrad8843]

@@3rdGenGuy So I should leave them uncovered. Just wondering what you used or did?

[@DjEDGain]

nice

[@Arc_Man_707]

Great video man! I was wondering were you got the alignment specs you mention in your video?

[@3rdGenGuy]

3rdgen.org the specs are from a camaro performance handing book from the mid 2000s I can vouch for the "hard street" alignment. It worked extremely well. it acually makes the tires last longer than the factory alignment

[@antoniojones1548]

Also, did you expiernce better handling?

[@3rdGenGuy]

hell ya. the stock rubber mounts are garbage even when new. they are basically 1in thick rubber donuts that rubber flexes and causes your front alignment to change mid turn these solid mounts have ZERO deflection on top of that, any movement up or down is eliminated, so your car rides better. any movement is now put into the Strut it helps the struts do their job better

[@MnEmProductions2024]

Would you advise against using not using the Koni-supplied washer under the strut nut with these mounts? I dont have much thread left after installing with my Koni yellows.

[@3rdGenGuy]

My KOni RACE DA struts don't have washers and i hammer on my car's suspension far more than most.

[@checkitTV]

I’m trying to replace the strut tower base due to rust. Is this possible? Any help with a link as to what it’s called or a replacement part?

[@3rdGenGuy]

I assume you mean the sheet metal right? if it's rusted, you will have to cut a good one off a junkyard 3rd gen and have someone weld it on to yours. not an easy job to remove the cancerous spots.

[@stclairstclair]

Checkit TV , Go to a boneyard and have them cut out what ever sides you need cut larger then your rust area and talk to any good body shop, Rusted shock towers plague many different vehicles for ever, You could consider buying a harbor freight mig welder do it your self as having one will pay for itself easily if you're handy.

[@checkitTV]

3rd Gen Guy I took it to a welder and it took him 3.5 hours to complete the job. He removed all the cancerous sheet metal and welded some new metal to it. It rides so much better than it had in the past. It looked awful and he did a great job. He charged me $280 well worth it! Thanks for replying to my post! Thanks for your video!

[@checkitTV]

stclairstclair I took it to a welder and he did the job for $280. It rides so clean now. I don’t think I could of done it myself but you never know . I can do mechanical work, just not welding. Although I will learn how to this year. Thanks for your reply!

[@stclairstclair]

@@checkitTV Oh very nice, Ive done that with rusted out frame rails and rear control arm mounts, Nice price you got.

[@tommypizzo1677]

Can't you do all this with the car sitting on the ground though? Why remove the wheel, Jack the car to jackstands, and then load the a arm with a jack? I'm guessing that there is a reason. Very curious since I have to do this soon

[@3rdGenGuy]

if the weight of the car is under the strut, it will make getting it aligned with the new mount impossible unless you have HULK strength. you have to drop the a-arm 2-3in to get the strut out of the mount, and you have to align the strut with the new mount. without a strut tower mount, the Strut shaft will slam to the left or right with 500+lbs behind it.

[@scoobsshrooms109]

Can I do this on my 4th gen with the same mount in the video. There’s barely anything of these things for 4th gens

[@3rdGenGuy]

4th gens use a completely different front suspension setup. so this is 84-92 only.

[@scoobsshrooms109]

@@3rdGenGuy ok thanks

[@ernieking2664]

Anybody else see that loose tie rod end?😮

[@3rdGenGuy]

other repairs were being done at the same time.

[@stevenzagony6187]

You didn't say what to do when the original dust covers don't work, mine don't. Do I get special ones? can't install struts without any.

[@3rdGenGuy]

you don't have to run dust shields. but there are "Coilover" socks that also work as a universal thing. I personally don't run any dust shield son my $450 Koni 8611 struts

[@stevenzagony6187]

@@3rdGenGuy I'm running Koni 8741's

[@DavidSantos-mf8bl]

Would this help on my 89 Camaro rs that has too much negative camber it's hitting the wheel wall too much I can't really do u turns at all

[@3rdGenGuy]

sounds like your front suspension needs some TLC. camber caster plates will help you get there, but wont help blown bushings or old springs.

[@SLAUGHTYBAUDFAUST]

i don't know a whole lot about suspension set ups. Why is the caster numbers different from left to right tires for street and hard street?

[@3rdGenGuy]

Driver weight is the reason; as far as my knowledge goes. racing teams will usually faVOR the right or left depending on how many right or left turns a track has. but that's for pro racing

[@joeschmoe8345]

@@3rdGenGuy It's actually for road crown. The pitch in road for water to run off.

[@tidan1]

Did you notice the bearing in the plate doesn't turn like the factory ones? After installing C/C plates my steering is much harder. Any suggestions?

[@3rdGenGuy]

A new Mono ball strut mount is gonna be a little stiff at first. if it's still stiff after 200 miles or so, spray some WD40 or graphite lube into the mono ball. Also, is the Strut top nut you used smaller than the Mono ball? using too large of a nut can keep the mono ball from turning and moving correctly. if your caster angle changed a lot, that can cause steering to feel heavy.

[@tidan1]

@@3rdGenGuy Thanks! I used the nut that came with the koni struts, it doesn't appear to be binding or touching anything other than the top of the spherical ball. I also omitted the stock dust cover as it wouldn't fit with the new plates. Does the spherical bearing on yours rotate when you turn the wheels or does the shaft remain stationary and the strut body turn?

[@3rdGenGuy]

@@tidan1 if i lube them up, the mono ball will turn with the steering. if I forget to spray lubricant in them every few moths, they get sticky and wont turn as well.

[@Flippen87]

What step did that bumper grow a new badge??

[@3rdGenGuy]

just an old photo when it was repainted

[@jonsixxx6569]

so if the car is lowered can you still use the street settings???

[@3rdGenGuy]

doesn't matter what ride height you are at, pick an alignment that meets your needs. your car could be SLAMMED or at stock height for the mild or hard street alignment. if you want the "Full Race" alignment you will probably need to be at least 2in lower than stock to get -1.75 or -2.0 degree of camber.

[@-007-2]

you forgot to plug in your under hood light 🤦‍♂️ not sure why you even unplugged it in the first place. should have just taken the negative terminal off the battery if you were concerned about battery drain.

[@JMSdragonman15]

Do you have to take it in for an alignment everytime you want to change from a track to street or vise versa ride? or is there any way to acurately adjust these yourself?

[@3rdGenGuy]

I do my own alignments, so i can change it when i want. ive used the hard street alignment for 6 months and it's perfectly streetable. in fact, the factory alignment wears out tires faster than the mild street one. Detroit speed has solid mounts that have notches, so you can save alignments and go back to them easily. but those mounts are like $500

[@JMSdragonman15]

ok thanks for the info. Do you have a link for the different alignment specs for our cars?

[@3rdGenGuy]

3:21 are the specs you will find on the 3rd gen forums.

[@JMSdragonman15]

sorry I missed that and just seen it when rewatching.

[@theapplianceguru]

Lol why do you always disconnect the engine bay light?

[@3rdGenGuy]

I usually disconnect the battery these days. the bat is old and will die if connected for to long.

[@Thirdgen83]

Bet the ride is harsh with the solid mounts.

[@3rdGenGuy]

The ride quality is acually better than stock mounts. it was a weird surprise. UMI explained to me that the stock mounts have over 3/4in of play when driving around these SOlid mounts transmit that 3/4 of travel into the struts so the dampeners acually do their job better.

[@Thirdgen83]

Interesting. What's your opinion of polyurethane lower A-arm bushings in a thirdgen?

[@3rdGenGuy]

Your options are 1. factory rubber 2. solid Del-A-Lum ones i ran with the Poly ones for 5,000 miles or so and they are generally shit. they have deflection like stock rubber while squeaking like crazy the solid mounts have the same ride quality, with ZERO deflection the SOlid bushings handled a lot better at the Autocross Poly also won't last as long as a solid bushing. some guys on 3rdgen.org said they had been running the Del-A-Lum bushing for over 20- years without issue www.globalwest.net/camaro-del-a-lum-lower-control-arm-bushing-1983-1984-1985-1986-1987-1988-1989-1990-1991-1992-global-.html

[@sneakydude9261]

After changing my centerlink and tie rods my wheels tends to buckle on full lock. It’s like it’s skipping will these fix my issue ?

[@3rdGenGuy]

what do you mean by buckle? can you describe it?

[@sneakydude9261]

When your turn the wheels more than halfway it feels like the front wheels are rubbing and the car slows down

[@3rdGenGuy]

well, that seems like a weird problem to have. did you install the tie rods in the correct orientation? if you look directly at the centerlink, the inner tie rods should be behind the centrelink. so you see the castle nuts

[@waynegreen6789]

@@sneakydude9261 got your wheels on wrong check your offset...i had 1 rear on my front and if i hit the breaks rim got stuck up tie rod end and wouldnt move until i let off

[@RonSavage01]

Why disconnect under hood light?

[@3rdGenGuy]

it'll drain your battery if left on.

[@RonSavage01]

Do you need an alignment after doing this?

[@3rdGenGuy]

yes absolutely, use the alignment specs in that video. a shop will put the crazy bad stock alignment on your car if you don't specify.

[@scottb_02]

Awesome you reply to three year old vids, love your work

[@Thirdgen83]

How do you adjust the camber?

[@3rdGenGuy]

my moving the Mounts Inboard or outboard. (left or right)

[@Thirdgen83]

@@3rdGenGuy How hard is it to move the mounts? Can you just loosen the 3 nuts and move them?

[@philsourbeer1746]

i've gone nuts trying to find a source to purchase this item, for my 1982 Firebird one owner, 2000.000+ mile fun driver. HELP!

[@3rdGenGuy]

hotpart.com/product/camarofirebird-82-92-caster-camber-plates-black-jm-products-made-in-the-usa/ they also drastically improve ride quality as well. i went with the aggressive street alignment as well.

[@dirtbikedepdep4423]

founders performance is cheaper $$$ same product fyi

[@philsourbeer1746]

Thanks Dirt, I'm 80 and still working on my 82 Firebird. Phil

[@philsourbeer1746]

Update: The J&M Caster/Camber plates are installed , and Powerfrax No-Slip Differential installed.. Both were great additions. Phil Sourbeer

[@scottb_02]

Phil Sourbeer thanks for the update!

[@MichaelWilson-hp2xg]

If you are NOT RACING... There is NO NEED FOR THIS MODIFICATION. I drove an F-BODY for 10 years.....for a total of 250,000 miles before I sold the vehicle and NEVER have I had a problem in my alignment. Granted, preventive maintenance played a BIG part in this. This modification is for RACE TUNING. So, the ENGINEERS who designed the Third Gen Suspension got it right. FACT if you are not racing and drive you Third Gen regularly ON THE STREET 99.95% of the time and CHANGE Caster and CAMBER....... YOU WILL LEARN THE HARD WAY. My advice is take a Race tuning class and learn the basics. That's what I did and I drove happily ever after.

[@3rdGenGuy]

that's a cool story bro i'll remember that when i'm hitting the autocross this season with my superior strut mounts and alignment. ----- a guy who works with engineers and knows how stupid they acually are.

[@Cbze]

lmfaooo

[@multinjok]

I don't think it is about stupidity, its more about makin it as cheap as possible.

[@Cbze]

I just changed mine on my 90 camaro, the rubber bushing inside the housing where the strut boots sit, we're degraded / worn badly. Also the bearings that spin with the strut were worn out, they barely tunred. Much better feeling after replacement. I didn't even get an alignment done and there's like no pull and I did not adjust them to the specs in this videi, because I'm not racing it. It's my daily driver

[@TheMrkaninja]

@Michael Wilson So you didn't do this modification, and have nothing to back up your opinion. Cool story bro indeed.

[@jameshall4385]

That was a very informative video, but one of the driest one I have ever seen.

[@3rdGenGuy]

that's how i roll. i dont givew a fuc about "dry" all i care about is if the viewer got the info they needed in an efficient amount of time.

[@magicalchair]

*dubstep intro with spinning flame logo* "hey whaddup guys, it's ya boi Third Gen Guy here, comin atcha with another sick video! Before I begin I just want to thank my sponsor Rockstar Energy Drinks! I drink one of these bad boys every time I make a new sick vid, they really are the best. Let's get started and dont forget, if you enjoy this sick vid, like, subscribe, and leave a comment if ya got any sick questions!!!!"