KTRs coilover camber problems

[ben_r1]

Firstly this is not a dig a Ktec, nor do i wish to start a hate thread or any arguements. I merely need to see if the problems im having a isolated to my kit or if there may even be a common fix to this.

Okay so KTRs coilover kit has the camber adjustable bolts fitted to the lower part of the strut. These were all setup with the tracking when installed. Unfortunately a month or so later and it seemed the n/s wheel was sitting with maximum camber. Upon further inspection it became apparent the hub had slipped in the strut and twisted the bolt, giving it maximum camber and throwing the steering well out. I readjusted it correctly and really tightened the bolt this time.

A couple weeks later and it had slipped again in its hub. So this time i really tightened it up with a knuckle bar and sure enough it stripped the bolt. So the car was used regardless, by now i had chewed up the T1R's inner shoulder so a new tyre was ordered along with a new bolt from ktec.

Inspecting the bolt its easy to see why it strips so easily, preventing adequete torque being applied to 'grip' the hub. The bolt has a flat end cut down its length for whatever reason, exposing the threads either end. So this time i tightened the bolt as much as i dare and that was some 3 months ago.

All seemed well until the car rode and unfortunate pothole, but by no means a violent one. This however seems enough to knock the hub back up into strut and once more my trackings been thrown out????

I know KW use the same design so im sure its not a common fault, how could this be rectified?

Thanks.

 

[Tony Hunter]

Can you not fit the standard nuts and bolts through these holes?

Got any pics?

 

[stephen chadwick]

thought camber bolts were ment to be in the top hole?

 

[Tony Hunter]

They are,where does it say otherwise? or have I missed it.

 

[stephen chadwick]

Okay so KTRs coilover kit has the camber adjustable bolts fitted to the lower part of the strut.

may be just me tho

 

[Tony Hunter]

Oh,I did miss that,never heard of that before.

 

[Greeny.]

Can you not fit the standard nuts and bolts through these holes?

Got any pics?

Nope won't fit I wanted to do this when I used to have a set.

Also its obviously the top hole as below, I assume Ben has just made a typo, pedantic much stephen?

Bloody Racelands eh?

 

[Tony Hunter]

So the standard bolts do not go through these struts,thats pants then.

 

[Greeny.]

Not through the top hole no and yes my thoughts exactly, but tbh they are like £180 new on ebay so cant expect a great deal, although the bolts they come with should still stay tight!

 

[ben_r1]

By bottom of the strut i mean as opposed to the top mount end. The bolts in question go through the top hole and a standard bolt wont fit unless its like an M10, which just isnt up to the job of holding the hub in its place.

I know they are cheap but i at least expect them to retain the setting so im not spunking £70 a month on tracking and £200 every 3 months on new tyres!

My only solution would be to tack abit of weld on the hub to hold it there but i think the struts are alloy? They certainly are not 'stainless' lol.

 

[smart clio]

Ive got the same set on my 172 and they arnt made ov alloy i think there like plated or summat

 

[Dan519]

try tightening the lower bolt more

 

[ben_r1]

try tightening the lower bolt more

Torqued up with a 1/2 air gun to the max lol, anymore it'll strip im sure.

Just forces the hub back into the strut as soon as you go over any bumpy roads.

 

[Tony Hunter]

I don't like the sound of all this.

 

[Greeny.]

By bottom of the strut i mean as opposed to the top mount end. The bolts in question go through the top hole and a standard bolt wont fit unless its like an M10, which just isnt up to the job of holding the hub in its place.

I know they are cheap but i at least expect them to retain the setting so im not spunking £70 a month on tracking and £200 every 3 months on new tyres!

My only solution would be to tack abit of weld on the hub to hold it there but i think the struts are alloy? They certainly are not 'stainless' lol.

My thoughts exactly mate, not exactly the best coilovers but they should at least stay tight...

 

[Turkish]

Without wanting to sound obnoxious this is sadly what happens when people insist on removing OEM stuff and fitting cheap s**t. If you must mod the car at least buy something decent, if your budget wont stretch to quality coilovers get a good brand of lowering springs or spring and strut kit.

 

[stephen chadwick]

could you not remove them grind off the U shaped piece of metal on the top bolt hole and drill the holes to std size, and use a propper set of camber bolts?

 

[Hodgins]

my camber bolts threaded like yours and i refused to pay £25 per replacement bolt from ktec for a cheap set of coilovers, what i did was take my bolt i didnt strip the threads on to a local hardware supplier who matched the bolt exactly (apart from the camber part obviously) and gave me exact sized washers the same size as the offset one thats part of the original camber bolt,

with the washers fitting very snug in the |_| on the coilover i just put the normal bolt through and tighted it up normally and run the coilovers with little to no camber

the bolts are leaps and bounds ahead of the ktec ones in terms of quality and cost me less than a fiver for both sides, no problems for months

 

[barnesautos]

my camber bolts threaded like yours and i refused to pay £25 per replacement bolt from ktec for a cheap set of coilovers, what i did was take my bolt i didnt strip the threads on to a local hardware supplier who matched the bolt exactly (apart from the camber part obviously) and gave me exact sized washers the same size as the offset one thats part of the original camber bolt,

with the washers fitting very snug in the |_| on the coilover i just put the normal bolt through and tighted it up normally and run the coilovers with little to no camber

the bolts are leaps and bounds ahead of the ktec ones in terms of quality and cost me less than a fiver for both sides, no problems for months

Like it , like it, its a bit of a bummer when now you cannot fit standard bolts. I agree with Turkish, a decent set of coilovers and adjust the camber from the top mount : Happy Days

 

[JackJack]

could you not remove them grind off the U shaped piece of metal on the top bolt hole and drill the holes to std size, and use a propper set of camber bolts?

iirc someone has done this before.

 

[ben_r1]

So this is just a design fault? Really one which could be considered quite dangerous as it effectively means part of the sususpension/steering is insecure.

I would fit better items but for the 182 it's either cheap £200 s**t or £800 stainless, adjustable spec items. There's no middle ground!

 

[Jimbo_924]

Don't know too much about how these are put together, but perhaps some of the loctite used for effectively permanently fixing sleves and such applied to the excentric section that goes through the knuckle. And/Or a set of spring washers between the face of the bolt/net and the coilover to help maintain the clamping load when you go over a bump. Hope those ideas help!

 

[Jimbo_924]

net = nut, sorry!

 

[ben_r1]

Thanks for your input Jimbo. However I don't think loctite will hold the weight of the car going over bumps. I will certainly give it a go though, it may just offer that last bit of purchase on the hub to keep it secure.

 

[Scott S]

Mine aren't from KTR, but my coilovers are a not too distant relation to the KTR ones.

I bought Eibach Camber bolts (from Jam Sport) and used them as the ones that came with the kit stripped the chocolate type threads when I tightened them up the second time (after staying tight for about two months the first time).

They have been ok since.

http://www.jam-sport.co.uk/home/ren...renault-clio-172-182-eibach-camber-bolts.html

 

[Rookie88]

Hi I know I’m reviving a very old thread 😂 but I have the same issue with these camber bolts! The car already had a set of ktr coilovers on when I purchased it, the camber was at full negative adjustment so I went to agile the camber and toe so it didn’t chew out the front tyres in a week! But the threads had been stripped by previous owner, I purchased some more bolts from ktec fitted and aligned perfectly! I read this thread before I purchased a new set and thought to my self 🤔 all these years down the line surly there okay now right?! So I made sure I torqued them up to only 80nm which my I add ktec recommend but now Iv been informed by ktec that “80nm is only a guid but be carful not to over tighten as these can strip quite easily” low and behold they just kept going around! Is there any other adjustable camber bolts on the market that will fit these coilovers and tighten with out stripping the threads and hold the strut to the hub without the hub moving every time you go over a bump!?? Thanks

 

[Kev@KAM]

I do not know who makes the KTEC ones but I've not had any quality issues brought to light with Eibach bolts or Powerflex
Powerflex. Its however not a great way of doing things as an elongated hole is more durable.