THSCC Forums

Can someone explain or point to a link that explains how to swap the top hats to get negative camber for the front struts on an E36 M3? I've been told that you need to swap the top hats from left to right and right to left, then install them with the arrow pointing towards the fender of the side you're working on.

Also, is a spring compressor required for to change out the top hats?

Thanks.

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Phil... Now I miss the ITR and the M3!!!
1990 Honda Civic SI

Just swap them from one side to the other. The arrow needs to be pointing forward. I got 2.9 degrees of camber and 7.5 degrees of caster when I swapped mine. You will need two spring compressors if you leave the struts on the car.

Edit: It's easier if you have two spring compressors.

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Silver Honda
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"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

Definitely get spring compressors. Make sure that the spring compressors have safety clips so that they don't slip along the spring. The safety clips are mostly a pair of thumb nuts on J-hooks that tie the spring compressor hook to the spring. Without the J-hooks the spring compressor can slip along the spring resulting in some scary and dangerous happenings. (Been there, got the dirty shorts).
As I recall, Harbor Freight had a set of compressors pretty cheap, and Car Quest carries some for under $20 as I recall. YMMV
Charlie Guthrie

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1998 BMW Z3
1987 BMW 325is
2000 BMW
1996 F250 Turbo Diesel

I think that Scott and I found that the Harbor Freight spring compressors work about 11 times before failing. The 12th strut required going to Sears. On the flip side, Scott got a couple of free dammit tools.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

My HF model looked bad enough after one use that I wouldn't have felt comfortable using it again. I did, however, use an impact gun on it, which was likely a large part of the problem.

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Dustin Fredrickson
-- I'm a nobody --

I "borrowed" a spring compressor tool from Autozone many many years ago and have yet to return it. It cost me $50, but has been worth every penny. Used countless times by me and many different people. Its not a fast tool to use, but very sturdy and safe. Unfortunately, I never seen anything exactly like it sold anywhere since. So my post is basically useless.

Same experience here w/ spring compressors.

Cheap ones from HF = Bad:


Nicer ones from Advance Auto = Good:


Anyone use something like this? Looks nice:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=43753

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

YES. Simple design, works great. I've been using mine for about 5 years, and they're still working like new. And if you know how many suspension changes I go through in 5 years, you know they're going to last awhile.

I wouldn't trust that last thing, btw - too many moving parts, and sold at HF.

First, let me say that of all of the stuff I have done to cars, I absolutely HATE dealing with compressing springs to put together/take apart struts. It is always a hassle, never works as smoothly as you would like and so easy to hurt yourself if your not careful.

I do have the nicer one posted above. My experience is that it is much nicer than the cheap HF ones. I did have to grind down and reshape the "hooks" a bit to work well with the OEM springs on my Civic. The hooks were just too bulky to slide between the coils. But even with that one, you still can get situations in which it may not compress evenly. But once set correctly, I have even been able to use an impact wrench on it (instructions say to not use one)

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.