GOLFMK8
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Just went back to stock springs

Location
St. Olaf
GLoBaLReBeL, any good alignment shop will set f+r toe and REAR camber back to stock.
They are not able to 'set front camber back to stock' for two reasons:

- there's no camber adjustment (worth speaking of) possible on front
- there's no need to adjust camber, as front camber does not increase with lowering that much ...

... as it does on rear.

Don't worry about front camber. It's uncertain enough if the actual shop is getting rear
camber and toe in right. Many shops are too lazy even touching the rear at all. Some
don't even know that the Mk.VII rear axle is fully adjustable, some settle for values 'still
within factory spec', when all values 'are green', even if they're still far from being ideal.

I'd highly (and repeatedly) recommend retaining factory toe in settings and setting rear
camber to -1°30' (-1.5°), which is on the lower side of the factory recommended range.
Yes, it's a range. To be more precise the nominal value is -1°45' (-1.75° as laymans say)
but allowing between -1°15' and -2°15' (-1.25° and -2.25°). Therefore -2°15' (which is
what you may get after lowering) is still within factory spec and your alignment shop is
not seeing any reason to adjust this increased rear camber back to stock. The point is
though, it'll still cause some increase in tire wear.
 

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
Now I'm a little worried because the HPA SHS coilovers I got do not have any camber plates on them. I was told that an experienced alignment shop should have no problem dialing in the camber back to OEM spec (or at least close to it, with a little extra negative camber in there for handling)?!?! I am planning on lowering my car about .5 - 1.0 inch lower than the VWR springs would have done, and wanted a spring&shock combo to save myself from the stock shocks giving up after putting on lowering springs (read about this on many posts).

Is there something else I have to purchase now?!?!

You're fine. The natural camber curve of the car from suspension compressing (or from lowering the ride height) is not drastic, and even cars lowered much more than what you're talking about can stay within factory allowed camber specs. Front camber is just not adjustable without camber plates, but that's not a requirement at all. Typically camber plates are purchased to INCREASE negative camber to improve handling, not to decrease it.
 

GLoBaLReBeL

Ready to race!
Location
South Bend, IN
Thank you both @Breaking Badly and @Flipflp @Dave1078. I will be sure to print out your recommendations and make sure that they get the rear in spec as you say.

@Flipflp, any chance you know of any good alignment shops around you or in SoCal that can do what is being requested? I have Pacific German out by me and will call them up to see if they do alignments as they work extensively with VW and Audi.
 

flipflp

Autocross Newbie
Location
PNW
Car(s)
'16 Golf R DSG
Thank you both @Breaking Badly and @Flipflp @Dave1078. I will be sure to print out your recommendations and make sure that they get the rear in spec as you say.

@Flipflp, any chance you know of any good alignment shops around you or in SoCal that can do what is being requested? I have Pacific German out by me and will call them up to see if they do alignments as they work extensively with VW and Audi.

Pretty much any alignment shop will be able to get "within factory specs" even with a lowered VW, but I have personally used Auto Union tuning for 2 different cars and they've always done a great job. Qualities of a great job being:

Even camber left to right in the Front and Rear
Even/Minimal Toe for tire wear considerations

I've requested additional negative camber in the rear of one car to avoid rubbing on an aggressive wheel setup and they nailed it.

I also know Emmanuele Design has an alignment rack, and they've done work on my cars in the past as well.

I'd recommend either, tough choice because they aren't too far from each other haha. If Pacific German is close to you, they would know just as much as the two I recommended. No way to lose if you're going to a Euro shop in SoCal IMO.
 

GLoBaLReBeL

Ready to race!
Location
South Bend, IN
@Flipflp : Much love for the recommendations and quick reply man! Don't want to take over the thread completely so I'll throw ya a PM if I have any more Qs.

Again, Thank You for the help EVERYONE! :)
 
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