McPherson Struts - Cost to modify top mounts to add Caster??

Here's the thing. Most of the folks wanting to do this are people who are racing cars. If you go to your local speed shop, you will find it is very easy to find kits to make caster adjustable for the cars that are most frequently raced.

If you can find such a kit, it's not a difficult job although it's a thing you really want a lift for. But... if a kit does not exist, you are in for a huge expense in modification. So your question all revolves around whether it does exist and whether you are prepared to go into the speed shop and admit you have a Kia to the folks behind the counter.

--scott

Approx $35,000 for the Subaru WRX you should really be playing with...

___________________ You folks have no appreciation for the CRAP I left behind for this Kia. A 2005 Malibu that pulled to the left after having 3 alignments, and a 03 Impala with PS so over boosted it had about as much "center" as the American electorate currently does. LOL!

Now the 08 Optima's no Bimmer(or WRX for that matter) but at least I know when I'm actually turning the wheels! I'm sure the two domestics I mention could easily accelerate the Korean girl on a 1/4mile straight, but hey, isn't that the American definition of "handling"??

LOLx2!

-CC

Well, at least you've stepped *UP* from GM products!!

The Optima is a decent car. Why do you want to change it?

When I was working for a Toyota/KIA dealer we only kept two heads in stock on the shelf: the one that goes on the KIA 1.6L. We knew we'd be changing them pretty soon...

All in all, KIA makes decent little, basic transportation cars that are reminisicent of Toyotas from the 80's. Unfortunately their reliability isn't where Toyota's was in the 80's.

Pretty much. I would take it to a GOOD suspension shop; not the local tire whorehouse sausage grinder with someone that really knows how to set up a suspension (luckily we have such a place right here in our small town...) and they can probably tweak the thing more to your liking.

That isnt the definition of handling in my vocabulary.

that matter) but at least I

_________________ Just bein' sarcastic. Back in the day, the only thing that mattered was straightline acceleration, the lowest zero-to-60, the shortest quarter mile time, you know. That is until Asian and German sedans came along that could actually unwind a rural two-laner without ending up in the ditch - or in someone's living room.(!)

This Kia Optima is about where I would want my handling to be. Sure, I'd love a better F/R weight ratio, but just being able to tighten up the steering feel would be perfect. Every modification to the existing hydraulic(yes I'm flauntin hydraulic I don't need electric PS's problems!!) power steering system seems has a drawback acc to respondents to me here and on other automotive sites. Even the Heidt's valve took a shellacking on here, so I'm leaving the PS system stock.

So, it looks like hacking up the tops of the strut towers and slappin' on a set of Caster plates might be the only option. I believe this car has a Caster of 4.74 degrees +-0.5 deg. I'm looking for the max allowable - in this case 5.20 to 5.24 degrees positive. This would help firm it up at speeds under 20mph, not just 30mph up, and counter what I personally feel is too much PS boost. I guess I just need to find out which performance shops in town have the best reps at this kind of work.

-Chris

matter) but at least I

Have you looked at the suspension at all?

What makes you think a caster plate will work? (It won't because that isn't a McPherson strut system really)

How about you actually figure out why a caster plate won't make any difference on that vehicle and then ask about adjusting the front end?

Hint - Off the shelf parts costing under 100 bucks will give you 1 degree adjustment EASILY.

Also replace all the rubber mounts and bushings in the various mounts and links first and you will see a BIG difference. You will probably have to hunt to find poly but they can be found.

________________________ Well, the poly bushings would have to be be custom cut to this car. None exist so far for it.

And what information do you have that caster plates won't work on top of this car's towers?

What off-shelf products will add the degree caster I'm looking for? Because in reality the only two possibilities to "tighten up" this cars steering are #1. More caster or #2. Reduce PS pressure(this was totally shot down on R.A.T, so I won't even mention the heidt valve here again). I'm NOT looking to rally this car or race it in any other way, I just want to take it that extra mile to where I want it to be. It's like the difference between HD 1080i and 1080p. 1080i is where this car is now. I want it at 1080p. A degree more caster would do that(or doing SOMETHING about this excessive power steering that is built into all cars, BTW).

-CC

Not a big deal. BTDT on a few cars.

Since the strut on them is NOT where you adjust the alignment how will it work?

01-07 - Off the shelf upper ball joints with 1 degree of caster/camber possible run about 50 bucks each. They are available from Mevotech, Moog, Wagner

Pull a tire and look at the actual suspension. It is a linked coil over system, the strut is the spring/shock BUT it is not the steering pivot. Works just like the system on the front of a Jeep Liberty.

____________________

2001 - 2007 is that? Actually, the last year of the 2001 generation optima was 2006. The newer design(mine) debuted as a 2006"1/2" which share nothing with the old optima save the name.

So I'm afraid I'm out of luck on this mod.

-CC

Check with Energy. I have an '88 Supra and NOBODY had bushings for this car, and then they suddenly showed up on AutoZone's web site. Thank God, mine are SHOT! I was actually hoping to go with rubber, but at least SOMETHING was available. I could get most of them from Toyota, but the front lowers are only available with the entire control arm. At $198 each, no, thanks!

you say that dude, but thin walled bushings can be a giant pita to get out, even on low-rust california cars. even if you have dies that will fit and not mangle the bushing wall [by no means guaranteed], you often need a /honking/ great press to get them moving.* unless you have ready access to a machine shop and someone with a press of >100 tons [a diy

30-ton press won't do it] it can be an entirely non-trivial job. [you can of course spent hours sweating away with various drills, dremels and punches to remove the old bushings, but it'll take you literally hours. by the time you've priced the tools, knuckle skin and inconvenience spending a day doing a job that will take you less than an hour with simple arm replacement, your likely cheapest route is simply to replace the whole control arm.]

• that's just removal. unlike many bearing jobs where the bearing itself is stiff and usually self-aligns, pressing in new thin wall bushings requires a press that remains square as pressure builds because the bushing walls do not provide support. that's not as simple as it sounds and "parallelogram" elastic distortion in the press frame can mean misalignment of the bushing sleeve, buckling and destruction. presses that can do the job reliably are very expensive.

I have removed a few old worn out bushings before with a hacksaw blade.Slip the blade through the bushing and saw the bushing through in one or two places. It worked for me. cuhulin

This is why I just bought new control arms for my mustang. Although I paid less for a pair of ford OEM cobra front control arms than he is being quoted for one. It just wasn't worth the time and effort screwing around with trying to get old bushings out and new ones in plus the same with the ball joints. Which after nearly 200k miles should be replaced while the control arms are out on principle alone. Which is another thing that should be considered wrt the supra above. then there is sanding and painting to make the old control arm pretty again...

It's just more cost effective to get the assembly in most cases. $400 for the pair is high but still not enough IMO to pay for anyone but a teenager (no money, lots of time) to screw around with reconditioning the old control arms.