Camber Shimming?

[Vicinity]

I've found that there's an actual camber shim (horseshoe shape) used to add negative camber (I think, top of the wheel pulled in). Is the shim necessary or can the job be done just as well with washers?

[dipren443]

This is generally done with shims as you don't normally want to pull the bolt out during alignment.

[Vicinity]

Ah, something so simple, didn't even think of it.

Well, is there any cheaper options than the DSE kit? http://www.ss396.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=camaro6769&Product_Code=DSE031713&Category_Code=DETROITSPEEDFRONTSUSPENSION

$85 bucks seems super steep.

[MIKE67]

Any autoparts store should have individual shims. Those make it simple to dial in more camber by adding or removing a single piece.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2012/06/shims-1.jpg

[Rod]

the DSE shims are nice and i have seen many others, just use the autoparts store ones like above and i carry them with me to the track so I can add a little shim if needed and then remove them for the drive home

[Henesian]

The DSE's add to both bolts. Sometimes, you may want to shim it one way or the other and not both at the same time.

[UMI Tech]

We used the dual style quite often in oval track. Once caster was set we wouldn't change the differential of shims front vs rear on each cross shaft. That preserved the caster. The a-arm was such that you always needed approx 1/4" nominal of the dual style as a baseline. This allowed an addition or subtraction of the dual shim while still preserving the caster. The camber was usually set via tire temps.

[MonzaRacer]

http://napaonline.com/Catalog/Result.aspx?N=27850 search for :
Steering & Suspension
Alignment Parts - Front
Camber & Caster Shim - Front Susp
Been doing alignments for decades, an assortment is always handy. From 1/64 to 1/8 if possible some styles only go down to 1/32
IF you have local guy who will do it or want to spend cash for two alignments get race "pack" installed mig weld them together with bead on each side of tabs on them(if made that way), then have new set put in for street set up and weld them together.
THEN after toe is set each time make a 3/8 rod and thread it, use a long nut that is used to hook all thread together, add in some jam nuts, and pins that can hang same distance from frame(I make threaded holes for these to hang from" that sits inside of rim lip or on rim lip and that wheels touch (not tires, rubber gives too much) these can be bent anyway you need to to clear parts.
Set wheel straight, if you dont care about straight wheel at track only adjust one side, OR adjust both sides same amount. The newer billet adjusters from Ride tech or other companies can be indexed and allow you to pull in or push out your toe for street or race.
I have done this for many people. You can also try it with car raised for rear steer cars, but most do on ground, adj, roll back and forth little, recheck, unless you have some sort of turn table.
Ill try to post pics of the set up I did for some ACR Neon racers.

[Henesian]

Easy.
Front Bolt: Adds more camber than caster.
Rear Bolt: Adds more caster than camber.
Both: Adds evenly(I think).
Both depend on the initial offset of the control arms and the length of the control arm of course.

But note that:
More positive caster bias on the passenger side makes the car pull to the left(More rear shims on passenger side than drivers side)
More positive caster bias on the drivers side makes the car pull right(More rear shims on driver's side than passenger side)
More negative camber bias on the driver's side makes the car pull left(More front shims on driver's side than passenger side)
More negative camber bias on the passenger's side makes the car pull right(More front shims on passenger side than driver's side)

I'm pretty sure that's how it is.