Ground Control Camber Plate binding?

[Hivand_M]

Hi Guys I just finished installing these plates. Customer service from GC is non-existent and there isn't too much info online.

I'm getting this nasty binding sound from the passenger side only. I have installed both sides exactly the same. any ideas on what this is from?

https://youtube.com/shorts/dghO09xSMr8?feature=share

[Hivand_M]

Anyone?

[wootloops]

Have you tried loosening and re-torqueing the top nut on the strut? I would do this with the car on the ground.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Hivand_M

Anyone?

Get a set of Torrington bearings for the spring perch.

https://www.bimmerworld.com/ssearch....ery=Torrington

[Hivand_M]

Thanks guys. I ended up taking everything apart again. The bearings were not lined up and honestly I can't believe how little grease they had in there. Packed the bearings with grease, lined up all the bearings and there is absolutely no noise anymore.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Hivand_M

Thanks guys. I ended up taking everything apart again. The bearings were not lined up and honestly I can't believe how little grease they had in there. Packed the bearings with grease, lined up all the bearings and there is absolutely no noise anymore.

Nice job. Depending on the miles and usage I take my camber plate completely apart once a year to clean out the grime, track rubber, rocks and bits before greasing and reassembly. Strongly recommended!

Also, I'd still recommend getting the Torrington bearings to eliminate spring bind. Once weighted it would rotate as nicely on the perch as it does on the lift.

[bigjae1976]

I had GC plates. The bearing requires servicing which is a PIA.

Vorshlag is the best solution.

[Redd]

Got a couple guys here just installed new GC plates and complaining about noise. Meanwhile my used Vorshlag plates are quiet as a church mouse.

[Longboarder]

Installed GC camber plates in 2018 and never serviced and still completely silent.

[Hivand_M]

In all the reading i've done it seems it's 50/50 with both Vorshlag and GC plates that make noise or don't. I feel like it all comes down to the install and not the product. The people that got GC plates on the first time and made no noise, maybe their bearings were lined up perfectly and packed with grease from the moment they were shipped out? Idk.. mine were brand new straight from GC and they looked like the picture above when taken apart. This was a max 2-3 hr job that took me a total of maybe 16 hours.

I would say it was well worth it and I wouldn't drive this car with any less camber again. I would also like to add again that GC customer service was garbage so if you care about that maybe give your money to Vorshlag although I have no experience with them.

[Hivand_M]

Here's 1 of many reasons why it took forever for the install. The OEM alignment pins are a bit smaller than GC's alignment pins. For a few hours I was trying to figure out why the plates were not sitting flush in the car. (I know I could've gone without the pins but with the pins you'd have a more accurate reading of where the camber is when switching from street and track)

[Hivand_M]

And lastly, here is why the bearings were not in place. They were zip tied together for shipping obviously. The black section is supposed to sit flush inside of the yellow portion, that is where the bearings are. For someone DIYing this, they wouldn't think to open that and check it out first but to keep it all together when removing the zip ties for install.

I'm not talking smack about the product but maybe there is someone else that will DIY this and it might help as there is no guide online for this. The plates are well built and I have 0 complaints now but I believe the noise comes from install errors and it's little things like this to look out for.

[MisterClutch888]

I now also have the binding noise whenever i turn the steering wheel left and right with the car just sitting stationary.

[bigjae1976]

Vorshlag uses a large spherical bearing instead of the roller bearing that GC uses. The roller bearing isn't sealed well either. I guess both are subject to the same contamination from dust and dirt but Vorshlag doesn't market theirs as street use.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Installed GC camber plates in 2018 and never serviced and still completely silent.

Good data point. Maybe it's not a design issue but a recent QC issue - ie they don't pack the bearings with enough grease before shipping.

[Hivand_M]

Originally Posted by MisterClutch888

I now also have the binding noise whenever i turn the steering wheel left and right with the car just sitting stationary.

Might want to take it apart and give it a clean/re-grease. Also adding the spring thrust washers DRLane mentioned wouldn't be a bad idea while there.

[wootloops]

Originally Posted by Hivand_M

Here's 1 of many reasons why it took forever for the install. The OEM alignment pins are a bit smaller than GC's alignment pins. For a few hours I was trying to figure out why the plates were not sitting flush in the car. (I know I could've gone without the pins but with the pins you'd have a more accurate reading of where the camber is when switching from street and track)

I remember having the same issue on mine, but only on one side of the car... Passenger side seemed to fit, and driver side I had to enlarge. I just swapped the same GC plates to another car and it seemed to fit without drilling it larger, but it was very tight (it loudly "popped" into place). Seems there is some tolerance differences between the GC "pin" and the hole on the body. Good call out, though.

[Hivand_M]

Originally Posted by wootloops

I remember having the same issue on mine, but only on one side of the car... Passenger side seemed to fit, and driver side I had to enlarge. I just swapped the same GC plates to another car and it seemed to fit without drilling it larger, but it was very tight (it loudly "popped" into place). Seems there is some tolerance differences between the GC "pin" and the hole on the body. Good call out, though.

Interesting. Good info on different tolerances. I did try to fit the oem pin however it did not work.

What I did was remove the strut brace and screw in the pin from the top after I got everything lined up. I was scared I'd dent the strut tower trying to get it to pop in and I did not want to drill anything. Extra work but gave a peace of mind.