machining knuckles

[trism]

when my car is lowered, and the camber is set below -2 the camber arms hit the knuckles in one spot.

would it be safe to shave off about 3-5mm so it doesnt hit?

i would have pics, but its kinda hard to take them, as i cant fit a camera in there lol

its an ef civic

[trism]

??? anyone

[JohnL]

It would depend on exactly where you removed metal and how much.

"Camber arms"?

[bennjamin]

IMO leave your knuckle well alone. It is a cast piece of metal that basically holds its form and strength in the exact shape that it is.
Once you shave any area or bend it etc , the metal itself may weaken and break. Not safe.

[trism]

"Camber arms"?

yes. camber arms. control arms with camber adjusment.


anyways

hokkai

that fcuks me up then lol

and i dont know about cutting the camber arm.

basically, on this part of teh knuckle (couldnt find a stock pic) there is a slight bit poking out. (where the circles are)



when lowered, it hits this part of the camber arm

[nd55]

You could try the OEM upper control arm and an Ingall's offset ball joint.

I seem to recall they are available in two models, 1.5 and 3 degree offset.

Not sure if they do a ED civic job.

Another point which might be relevant, upper control arms on some civic platform are not symmetrical and can be swapped left to right to gain some camber/caster.

I have no idea if this applies to ED's, but should be easy to measure up.

Nick.

[trism]

yeah ive read about that swapping, and it gives more rearwards caster

i dunno how it would help the hitting problem, but it just might

i was also thinking if i was to scallop a little bit out of that section of the arm...

[JohnL]

basically, on this part of teh knuckle (couldnt find a stock pic) there is a slight bit poking out. (where the circles are)

Removing "a slight bit poking out" (i.e. a small 'bump') would probably be OK. What you need to figure out is whether that bump is contributing to the strength of the 'upright' ("knuckle") or not. It is even possible that (in theory) the bump is a weak point point because any sudden change in dimension typically acts as a stress riser, gradual changes in dimension being prefferable.

One thing to consider, if the metal below the bump is dimensionally less substantial than the metal at the bump, then the component will be weaker below the bump, i.e. the metal below the bump is the limiting strength factor of the vertical upper arm of the upright. However, without a detail close up shot(s) I wouldn't hazard a serious assessment...

Note that that area of the upright will be the least loaded section of the component due to it's distance from the lower ball joint and hub bearing centre, i.e. the longer that vertical upper arm the less force will be seen at the top of the upright, forces increasing substantially the further down the upright you go, which is a leverage thing.

Note that I'm not advising you to modify the upright, but if you did then make sure that any marks (grooves / scratches etc) left on the metal are not transverse across the arm of the upright, but are 'vertical', i.e. running along the length of the upright. This will prevent such marks acting as stress risers and potentially leading to cracking over time. Ideally you'd polish any such marks out completely.