HOW TO: Fit Adjustable camber/toe EZ-Shims to the rear beam / stub axle.

Next up was adding some rear camber. Having asked and received advice, I felt the camber shims were worth trying.
You need to know the starting camber / toe and the desired target before proceeding.

I had the car put on an alignment rig after setting it up myself with string and an iphone camber app. It was close enough


I wanted to add 1 degree of rear camber to take it to -2.5 Degrees and leave the rear toe alone.

Remove wheel and rear caliper, secure the caliper out of the way


Remove cap, nut and wheel bearing.


Remove Disc and expose stub axle retaining bolts.


Keeping things together when doing jobs like this helps when reassembling.


The 10mm High tensile retaining bolts can be a bugger to remove and a six sided socket means less chance fo slipping and rounding the head.


Wire brush beam face.


Using the supplied table with the EZ-Shims, you choose the amount of toe and camber you wish to add / remove. I wanted to only increase the amount of negative camber, leaving the toe alone.
Align the outer numbers to match the correct box on the table and then place the shims on the supplied template, marking the required boxes to remove.


Snip the thin parts to cut the plastic


Long nosed pliers make removal easy


4 new 12.9 High tensile bolts with Loctite.


The shim fits between the stub axle and beam.


Stub axle bolt torque needs to be increased when using the shims.


Trusty Haynes for the correct pre-increase figures.


Torque the bolts as required.


Mark bolt heads to make easy checking. I actually made a mistake when fitting the N/S shim. The numbers should NOT be visible, they should face the O/S of the car. FORTUNATELY, because I wasn`t adjusting TOE and only camber, this wasn`t a problem, the instructions are clear, I just forgot...


All refitted.


Not sure if I posted this bit earlier in the build...
To torque the wheel nuts,refit the wheel and have a 24mm socket fitted ready to adjust.


By holding the outer edges of the wheel and rocking it from side to side, the tiniest amounts of play can be felt. Adjust nut to give a tiny amount of play.


Fitting the bearing Cap is often done by baching with a hammer, but this never feels right.

Take a bit of scaffold tube.


Air die grinder to slightly open the internal diameter


Adjust until the bearing cap fits.


Snugly


Now, a simply blow of the hammer seats the cap squarely evenly




For those wondering how they hold up in use, I`ve now had these fitted for 12 months, the bolts haven`t moved at all and I checked the torque a month ago, still exactly the same as when fitted.

 

nice clear and concise with good pics and rubber gloves ....lovely...

are these shims from vemon?

 

Awesome, I was going to ask you about this Nige. I might need your help working out what settings to put on, I was trying to work it out but i got lost in the size of the table!

 

I have been also meaning to do this for 2 years, I have had the car 4WA many times the rear on the track mk1 has consistantly been out toe & camber! This does effect the thrust angle of the car, the rear wheels do steer, they are not just dragged behind!!

Top tip I have always followed regarding rear bearing adjustment, easier for those without the feel for the play as well. the shim that sits between the nut & the bearing. Adjustment is correct when with a small driver you can move this with diffculty/friction, but you can move it

 

Very good guide Have you got any more information on the setup you used to set the alignment yourself?

 

Another TOP guide Nige I know we all take these guides you do for granted a little, but many thanks from us all for doing them.
And can the mods PLEASE make this a STICKY????????? its just too good for peeps to miss.

 

Excellent thread nige, I think this will come in very handy

 

nice guide, fitted some to my mk3 the other day removed them after one drive as it drove like the rear wheels where on ice. is this normal?

kelvin

 

No. Not normal at all. What settings did you go for ? sounds like you added toe out !

 

Max camber n no added toe felt horrible. Plus had to cut half of it away because of my abs sensor. Gotta try again with a angled plate of steel or ali c if thats any different.

Kelvin

 

Max camber n no added toe felt horrible. Plus had to cut half of it away because of my abs sensor. Gotta try again with a angled plate of steel or ali c if thats any different.

Kelvin

 

Informative stuff, thanks very much for posting. This will come of use for me soon.

 

Hi chaps. Little help needed if possible. Thanks in advance.
I've just fitted these shims to the rear of my mk2 16v. Both shims set to 20/20 at the top. Both sides the same, numbers pointing the right directions when fitted and instructions followed. But, ive got more noticeable camber one side side over the other. Can't figure why. I even removed the shims and set them to different settings, reinstalled and had the same amount of difference. Also, maybe related, i seem to have to wind one coilover down further than the other to obtain equal ride heights...any ideas? I'm all out

Thanks. I'm stuck.

 

Did you get alignment figures before you started?

 

I don't have the figures from before hand. But as i never had any previous issues, i assumed both sides were aligned equally on the rears. Ran the same tyres on the back for over a year without any uneven wear etc. Was i wrong to do so? Thanks

I also, i have just had the fronts aligned at a pro tyre shop, both Toe and Camber and whilst there i asked about the rears...they stated they hardly ever need doing, as being on a fixed beam, without much adjustment they can rarely be out of alignment> Is this the case?

 

No, I`m not saying you were wrong, but it just helps to know what you are starting with so you can correct for any misalignment when you fit the shims

IF the beam has been off to replace bushes etc, there is enough adjustment in the mounting holes to affect the alignment, but to be honest, if the beam is straight, it`s not a huge concern.

what does 20/20 read off the scale ?

did you mount them both with the numbers facing the same way or both towards the beam as you should. ?

 

Thanks for getting back to me
20/20 is max for vw fitment, using number 1 template. And it's 0 Toe and 1.5 degrees negative camber.
Both were mounted per instructions with numbers facing out on on offside (right) and opposed on the left side.
But it's noticeably different now, left side has a obvious negative camber of about 8mm at the top of the wheel. (Roughly measured with a tape measure off the wheel arch)

 

Hmmm, that is confusing.

If it`s JUST camber you are adjusting, they can be mounted either way anyway, but thought I`d check.

This may seem an obvious question, but did you nip all the bolts in stages ? ie, diagonally opposites, as you would a wheel. Just wondering if you`ve tightened the top / bottom 2 and that hasn`t allowed the opposite side to tighten properly ? Doubtful, but I can`t see what else it could be really.


Any chance you can take the wheel off and get a close-up of the beam / shim / stub axle from behind ?

 

Honestly don't recall exactly how i did the bolts up, but i guess what you suggest may have happened. I'll check that.

I can have an attempt at taking the photo. Although not easy as not a lot of room, but i did actually manage to get a shot of the top of the shim before i get involved with taking things apart again, and it showed the shim was in the right place.

I'll get some more info and get back to you

 

Apologies for thread Resurrection
Rear camber and toe settings on my car are off following an excursion into a gravel trap.
Would it be possible to correct left hand side to match the opposite one using a single EZ shim?
here is a link to current geometry settings:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak24yuFpVqJlhcY99IHGj62Ip8vBjA?e=pmJdvL
Thank you!