KMAC "rear" camber kit for 300E W124 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

brabusmb5 · #1 12-19-2003, 01:52 AM

Hello all,

Has anyone had any experience with KMAC's rear camber kit for a 300E W124. After going through my garage, I found an unopened package with this camber kit. I guess I have an extra set of the kit. I know I had a camber kit installed but don't remember how it was done. I just replaced all four tires and I want to make sure that my rear camber doesn't eat my tires. The previous tires were wearing the inside.

Looking forward to hearing others' experience with this.

Thanks,
brabusmb5
1986 300E W124

aldedmon · #2 12-19-2003, 02:15 AM

Need Help installing KMAC rear camber bushings

brabusmb5 · #3 12-19-2003, 04:06 AM

Hello again,

For those who have installed the rear camber kit...did you notice the difference in camber....tire not wearing on the inside...
My tires are three days old and want them to last a little longer.

aldedmon · #4 12-19-2003, 12:25 PM

Yes the difference in tire wear is Substantial!!!
We from eatting tires as though I was Track racing EVERY DAY to them lasting as they were designed to. Since installing them i show -0- noticable wear. They are obviously wearing since I'm driving the thing daily but NOTICABLE is the operative

ksing44 · #5 12-20-2003, 09:10 AM

Based on the printout from my mechanic, the minimum front camber is listed as –1.33 degrees for a "Mercedes sport suspension". The rear is not specified, I suppose because it isn’t adjustable from the factory. After lowering my car with Eibach springs, the rear camber on my car was –2.7 and –2.9 before I installed the K-MAC bushing. I asked to have the rear adjusted to within the range specified for the front, when I had the K-MAC bushings installed. Now the rear camber is adjusted to –1.2 and –1.3 degrees and my front camber is –1.2 and –1.1 degrees. I also asked the mechanic to use the minimum for toe-in of 0.8 degrees, because I always wore the outside edge of the front tires. Now with the negative camber adjusted to within specifications and the toe adjusted to 0.8, my tires seem to ware in an exactly even manner. I am pleased with my current adjustments.

My car has a sporty look with the visible negative camber, it handles very well, it tracks straight, and so far my tires do not seem to be worn on the outside edge like they were when the car was stock. I have seen no indication that the tires have any kind of unusual wear pattern. In fact, the wear is so uniform I almost don’t feel like I need to rotate the tires.

As for the K-MAC bushings, my mechanic told me that they seemed to be a very well made part, compared to other such products that he has seen for other cars. You don’t need the rear toe bushings, because the rear toe is already adjustable from the factory and Mercedes used the exact same kind of part, except that it doesn’t appear to be polyurethane.

Cannoli · #6 12-27-2003, 12:15 AM

So, are you going to sell the kit?

#7 12-28-2003, 12:28 AM

I have the Kmac kit installed in my 560SEL. Different suspension but same issue that is being solved.

Luckily I had the self levelling rear suspension so before the Kmac kit I had it set so that there was only 1deg negative camber so it had a pronounced rack.

Now that the kit is in I have had the rear reset and it's nice and even now still with only 1deg of neg camber.

Matt.

brabusmb5 · #8 12-29-2003, 02:20 AM

Hello All,

I have been busy and had not gotten a chance to reply to your feedbacks.... Well anyway, I went to get an alignment done on the car and still showing some -negative camber. My rear left was adjusted a bit but the rear right was already to its max adjustment. I will be going back to the alignment shop to get the reading for the camber for the left and right rear wheels.

I needed some input from folks regarding rear camber links.. I came across the one below and wanted to know if anyone can provide some feedback. I'm sure that by putting the camber
arms, the camber can be set to -0- (balance). What do you guys think?

http://www.mrp-engineering.com/pages/4/index.htm

look at the HD Steel camber arms:
Steel adjustable rear camber link links. Polished stainless inner bushing housing. Polymer bushing with stainless steel insert. Graded 8 rod end bolt and harden and plated rod ends.

#9 12-29-2003, 02:26 AM

Why not use the kmac kit that you have?

Matt.

ksing44 · #10 12-29-2003, 09:01 AM

It sounds like you already have the K-MAC kit installed since you were able to adjust the rear camber. You are concerned, however, because you think that you still have too much negative camber and the K-MAC kit does not allow any further adjustment. I have to say that you are the first person I have read about that has this problem. Certainly you need to find out how much rear camber you have after the adjustment. Some negative camber is desirable and with the camber adjusted to –1 you should not eat your tires.

As I wrote in my previous post, my camber was adjusted from almost -3 to about –1 with the K-MAC kit and I have no problems with my tires. If you really can’t get any more adjustment from the K-MAC bushings and your camber is more negative than –1.33, I suppose you could double up with the adjustable camber arms that you found. Many people are using the adjustable links and I think I would have selected them over the K-MAC kit if I had known about them. I am not an expert and actually I have very little knowledge about suspension tuning, but to me the adjustable camber arms just seem like a better solution. I would love to hear from some suspension experts and people that have used the adjustable camber links to understand if they are truly better than the K-MAC kit.

All of the suspension parts look very nice at the site you found and I may try some of the components when I change to bigger swaybars. I like the aluminum rear sway bar end links (instead of plastic OEM) and the heavy duty front swat bar mount. I may even be tempted to get the HD Steel Camber Arms just to use some day if I ever have a problem with my K-MAC kit.

MTI · #11 12-29-2003, 05:22 PM

I hope that I'm not misreading this, but if you're attempting to adjust to "Zero" camber, you're doing your suspension a disservice, since you want to dial in some negative camber for handling purposes. Unless you're only running 1/4 mile drag runs, you need some neg camber in the rear.

ksing44 · #12 12-31-2003, 06:33 AM

Hello brabusmb5,

I am sure that you do not want "0" negative camber. You should shoot for "–1".

Be sure to use the link to read more about the K-MAC bushings and the adjustable camber arms.

K-MAC bushings vs. Adjustable camber arms

brabusmb5 · #13 01-02-2004, 04:18 PM

Hello All,

I hope everyone had a happy holiday. Thanks to all the replies. I truly appreciate every suggestion taken by everyone here. I have some updates to tell you guys about. I went back to the alignment shop and asked what my camber measurements were.

For the rear left my camber reading after adjusting camber bushings(K-mac) turned out to be -1.4 degrees.

For the rear right my camber after adjusting camber bushings(K-mac)turned out to be somewhere in between -1.5 and -2.

The alignment guy told me that it was the max that he could adjust the bushings. He also said not to sweat the camber...just make sure to stay on top of the tire rotation. He said since the tires are 215/45/17s they are low profiles and have 35 to 40 thousand miles max to them.

On that note... I will forgo the idea of replacing my control arms for the adjustable ones.

What do you guys think....good idea..... saved me some $$$$..

Brabusmb5

ksing44 · #14 01-02-2004, 06:12 PM

As I am confident you read in my previous post, the minimum front camber is listed as –1.33 degrees for a "Mercedes sport suspension". You are not far from that specification, so I am sure that you will be OK. In addition, when I first had the problem with my suspension, I looked far and wide to get camber recommendations and the consensus was that anything more positive than –2 was fine. You are good to go. Good luck with your car.

brabusmb5 · #15 01-21-2004, 04:42 AM

Would anyone be interested in a rear KMAC camber bushing set ($220.00 and I will take care of shipping) for the following Mercedes body types:107,108,109,111,113,114,115,116,123,126 '68-'91 # 501826 H.
If you read my previous post, I had bought a set but was given an extra kit. I think the guy that sold it to me thought I needed four bushing instead of two (for the rears). I installed it on my 300E and I went from a -2 plus camber to -1.4.

It is unused and comes with two bushings and an extraction kit. The package has been previously opened by a shop that I took my car to. They wanted to see the bushings. Don't worry original bushing has been resealed. I can guarantee you that it has not been used or installed. If interested I can send pics.

The bushings cost $320.00 plus $18.00 shipping (total of $338.00)through KMAC. Checkout K-MACs website. http://www.k-mac.com.au/ to get more info.

Thanks,

brabusmb5
1986 300E