[Shotimes] Front End Negative Camber Issues

[Alan Fanning]

I have a stock '95 ATX with 83k on it that is in great condition but suffers
from the following front alignment problem.

As received by me from the prior owner about a year ago, the front alignment
with OEM springs was measured as:

Total Toe: +0.03

Lt Camber: -1.7
Rt Camber: -1.2

Lt Caster: +4.0
Rt Caster: +4.0

With the strut tower welds removed, the alignment tech was able to achieve
the following spec's based on my request to follow the SHOtimes FAQ specs as
closely as he could:

Total Toe: +0.09
Lt Toe:     +.04
Rt Toe:     +.04

Lt Camber: -1.1
Rt Camber: -0.7

Lt Caster: +4.0
Rt Caster: +4.1

I noticed a slight pull to the steering wheel afterward, but don't recall at
this point to which side it pulled (normally the wife drives it, so I didn't
find this out for a while).

After putting about 2k miles on the car I noticed that the left front tire
was showing premature wear on the inside edge and finally returned the car
to the shop for diagnosis. After admitting I was the guy that had previously
requested the "weird" alignment settings, and pointing out that I was there
to try to solve the problem, not establish blame, the camber was found to
have changed slightly to the following values:

Lt Camber: -1.2
Rt Camber: -0.5

Note that the left camber was noticeably higher all along and that despite
having cut the strut tower welds there is no more positive adjustment to be
had on the left side. Also, assuming no drift in the alignment machine's
calibration, the left/right variation in camber is increasing.

My diagnosis is that the subframe needs to be aligned to allow a reduction
in the left camber at the expense of a higher right side camber. An average
of about -0.85 degrees appears to be the best that can be hoped for without
further modification of the strut tower slots. It may be that the subframe
bolts alsp currently need a good torquing to keep the subframe from shifting
around.

Do I have the story straight so far?

Finally, in one of the old SHO Registrys, Doug Lewis recommends cutting half
a coil off the ATX front struts to firm the front end up a little bit. This
would also drop the front end a little, which I think would further
exacerbate the negative camber problem I'm experiencing. Right?

What do people do to resolve severe front negative camber problems on these
cars?

Thanks.

    Alan