Rear Camber arms option - Hardrace

[gearchruncher]

Posting a review of the Hardrace Q0601 rear camber arms for the S/X cars.

These things are well made, and inexpensive (if you can find them). Aluminum main structure, with a curve very much like OEM. Appears to be CNC'd aluminum, shot peened, and then anodized. Reasonable adjustment method, and solid shielded pillowball/spherical bearings at the ends. Had no issues getting these aligned, although I do my own alignments, and don't align from below the car, so I can't tell how easy the adjuster would be to access. You can save a lot of time by making the hole ends 290mm apart, which will get you right around 0.4 degrees camber. The threads are slop free and didn't change alignment when tightening the lock nuts. Given the basically stock curve of the arm, I didn't find any issues with interference with anything even across a full swing of the suspension. When they are at stock length, the ride sensor hole is in exactly the same spot as stock.

Took about 10 minutes per side to install. The pillowballs are nice as you can tighten everything down while drooped, unlike rubber bushings. Have a couple hundred miles on them with no noises or issues.

These are pretty much unobtanium in the USA. I bought mine from the Europe seller, who had reasonable shipping to the USA. They seem to be on Ebay pretty commonly. I paid about $260 shipped to USA.

 

[KalJoMoS]

You can save a lot of time by making the hole ends 290mm apart, which will get you right around 0.4 degrees camber. The threads are slop free and didn't change alignment when tightening the lock nuts.

You said “hole ends 290mm apart”, is this length from the end of bolt hole (orange line on the photo) or from the centre of the hole (white line on the photo)?

 

[gearchruncher]

White line. This is how I did it in photo below. And as I said, I got 0.4 degrees with 290 on low ride height, so you might want to start more like 285 if you are targeting more like 0.5-0.6 degrees. The reality here is that there is a table of lengths to camber, and if someone was willing we could just set our arms to that length, install them, and just re-do the toe. Tesla doesn't have adjustable camber from the factory as is, they rely on one length. Paying someone to fiddle with your hard to reach camber adjusters is kind of annoying if you can set it right before you even install it.

 

[airborne spoon]

for the price you state I'm inclined to believe its milled out cast aluminum and not CNC machined from a solid block of quality strength metal. And if they are CNC its def cheap metal
I installed the N2itive ones on my car a while back and honestly looking at the N2itive ones vs yours they (yours) look cheap. I hope they work out for you in the long run and its nice to see other people fixing the design flaw tesla made with the camber.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Posting a review of the Hardrace Q0601 rear camber arms for the S/X cars.

These things are well made, and inexpensive (if you can find them). Aluminum main structure, with a curve very much like OEM. Appears to be CNC'd aluminum, shot peened, and then anodized. Reasonable adjustment method, and solid shielded pillowball/spherical bearings at the ends. Had no issues getting these aligned, although I do my own alignments, and don't align from below the car, so I can't tell how easy the adjuster would be to access. You can save a lot of time by making the hole ends 290mm apart, which will get you right around 0.4 degrees camber. The threads are slop free and didn't change alignment when tightening the lock nuts. Given the basically stock curve of the arm, I didn't find any issues with interference with anything even across a full swing of the suspension. When they are at stock length, the ride sensor hole is in exactly the same spot as stock.

Took about 10 minutes per side to install. The pillowballs are nice as you can tighten everything down while drooped, unlike rubber bushings. Have a couple hundred miles on them with no noises or issues.

These are pretty much unobtanium in the USA. I bought mine from the Europe seller, who had reasonable shipping to the USA. They seem to be on Ebay pretty commonly. I paid about $260 shipped to USA.

These look very similar in design to the EV Tuning version (same color even) that I've had on my car for the last 3 years.

Good on you for installing them with the adjustment arm facing the hub, so you can adjust camber without affecting air ride height in the rear

 

[gearchruncher]

for the price you state I'm inclined to believe its milled out cast aluminum and not CNC machined from a solid block of quality strength metal....and honestly looking at the N2itive ones vs yours they (yours) look cheap

I can't imagine what you think of the stock Tesla arms pictured above

Of course it's cast not billet. Exactly like the OEM Tesla ones and basically every modern suspension component on a car (even a Ferrari or Mclaren). It's always interesting to me to see people that call anything aftermarket that is near OEM manufacturing processes to be junk. Do you know how much a car would cost if everything was made from billet? Great engineering considers cost as much as anything else.

Also, these use sealed spherical bearings at the ends, not just rubber bushings. Far from the cheapest design possible. Glad you are happy with your purchase, but I care more about how this works, not looks.

These look very similar in design to the EV Tuning version (same color even) that I've had on my car for the last 3 years.

EV tuning doesn't sell them anymore or I would have considered them. However, the Hardrace ones use spherical bearings instead of rubber, and I believe EV have had some issues with those bushings. Only time will tell how these hold up too though.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

EV tuning doesn't sell them anymore or I would have considered them. However, the Hardrace ones use spherical bearings instead of rubber, and I believe EV have had some issues with those bushings. Only time will tell how these hold up too though.

For sure. EV Tuning.....I don't know if they're going out of business or just have production issues, but all their good stuff dropped off their website randomly with no explanation. They did have issues with their early bushings busting on the first acceleration.

 

[holmz20]

Would be interesting to see difference between Hardrace and N2itive ones. I am buying a Model X next week and trying to decide between Hardrace camber and toe arms vs N2itive full kit with links. I dont care about lowering but read enough where I would need to do all 4 tires instead of just rear camber arms to eliminate future shudder and burning through tires. I have 22 inch wheels and new tires on this Model X for which I am trying to make the best decision.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

N2itive are expensive, but they're the premium product. And N2itive has support here in the US. Between the two, that's what I'd choose.

 

[gearchruncher]

dont care about lowering but read enough where I would need to do all 4 tires instead of just rear camber arms to eliminate future shudder and burning through tires.

Shudder is different, but you do not need to change camber on the front axle for tire wear. It's reasonable at right around 1 degree. I don't think anyone even sells front camber kits.

The shudder fix *IS* actually lowering the car- which actually makes front camber worse (but still fine). But plenty of people have no shudder issues and buying a Model X to drive it around super lowered is an interesting tradeoff.

You can buy a few sets of tires with the price difference between a full set of "premium" products and simple camber arms.

 

[Chisky]

For sure. EV Tuning.....I don't know if they're going out of business or just have production issues, but all their good stuff dropped off their website randomly with no explanation. They did have issues with their early bushings busting on the first acceleration.

About EV Tuning. I have some items I ordered from them in early December ('21). When I reached out in late December to ask about delivery, I got a standard "We are processing your order" email. When I reached out at the end of January ('22) I got no response at all. I suspect they are shutting down operations, but it would have been nice for them to either return my money (thankfully under $100) or at a minimum return my email. I reached out again tonight.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Folks,

I swapped from EV Tuning rear camber arms to N2itive over the weekend. The difference in quality and the method for adjusting is noticeable.

From a quality standpoint, the bushings and general fit/finish of the N2itive product is superior. Torque specs are laser etched into the arm so you can't get it wrong, everything is precision machined, even the packaging is great.

But the real difference is how they are adjusted.

The EV Tuning arms just have an inner and outer shaft that's impossible to adjust while the wheel is on - which complicates the alignment process. In my car, I forgot to tighten one shaft securing nut against the other, and introduced play in my rear hub.
The N2itive arms include a tool for adjusting while they're on the car, it's easy, and it's quick. tightening them down is easy, and can be done without potentially impacting the camber slightly (like on the EVT ones).

Overall, I strongly prefer the N2itive ones. The EV Tuning ones are cheaper and do get the job done (no longer available), but they just don't do it as precisely or eloquently. If you want a better product, get N2itive.

 

[gearchruncher]

The EV Tuning arms just have an inner and outer shaft that's impossible to adjust while the wheel is on - which complicates the alignment process.

It's really easy to adjust camber with the wheel off.
First, set your camber arms to the length I listed above when installing. Now you'll barely need to adjust.
Before you put the wheel on, lower the knuckle onto a jack or wood block that puts that corner at about the same height as with the tire on.
Slap a angle gauge on the brake rotor.
Adjust camber.
Tighten all adjusters
Raise car, put tire on
Do toe adjustment.

I'd do the same with any camber arm, even if it can be adjusted with the wheel on. The N2itive ones are clearly a superior product, but the price difference is also very large. I'm willing to do the above process to save $400.

Of course, the stock arms are a fixed length and the reason we are replacing them is not variance, but just too much camber period. You can set your arms to 285mm hole-hole, put them on, get about 0.7 degrees and move on with your life. It's not like getting each side within 0.2 degrees matters. If it did, we'd all be out messing with our front axle too.

Buy what works for you, but when the goal of most people is just to stop spending $$$ on tires, we don't need to make this more expensive or complicated than it is. Setting camber is basically a one time thing for 99% of users of S/X camber arms.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

It's really easy to adjust camber with the wheel off.
First, set your camber arms to the length I listed above when installing. Now you'll barely need to adjust.
Before you put the wheel on, lower the knuckle onto a jack or wood block that puts that corner at about the same height as with the tire on.
Slap a angle gauge on the brake rotor.
Adjust camber.
Tighten all adjusters
Raise car, put tire on
Do toe adjustment.

I'd do the same with any camber arm, even if it can be adjusted with the wheel on. The N2itive ones are clearly a superior product, but the price difference is also very large. I'm willing to do the above process to save $400.

Of course, the stock arms are a fixed length and the reason we are replacing them is not variance, but just too much camber period. You can set your arms to 285mm hole-hole, put them on, get about 0.7 degrees and move on with your life. It's not like getting each side within 0.2 degrees matters. If it did, we'd all be out messing with our front axle too.

Buy what works for you, but when the goal of most people is just to stop spending $$$ on tires, we don't need to make this more expensive or complicated than it is. Setting camber is basically a one time thing for 99% of users of S/X camber arms.

It's easy, but it adds cost to the alignment. What before was a standard alignment now cost an extra $150 (hour of shop time) because they had to take the car off the rack, adjust, re-rack, and potentially repeat. So that gap does tighten a bit unless you do it yourself. Which again, isn't hard, but the percentage of Tesla folks like us that do their own work is very small compared to that of BMW, Merc, Audi, etc.

However the bigger issues is, EV Tuning appears to be going out of business. You can't buy their adjustment arms anymore. So options are now more limited. And Unplugged Performance's camber arms have the same adjustment method as EVT - and my EVT adjustment nuts actually loosened themselves up over time and caused me some major headaches.

Truthfully, you can solve most of your inner edge wear issues by adjusting the rear toe to be more neutral. I purchased these because I wanted my tires flush with my fenders, and when the car was lowered on the factory arms my rear camber was -2.8 degrees and looked awful. Now it looks good. So, more aesthetically driven than tire life, but it's a nice perk considering I spend about $1400/year on tires.

 

[gearchruncher]

It's easy, but it adds cost to the alignment. What before was a standard alignment now cost an extra $150 (hour of shop time) because they had to take the car off the rack, adjust, re-rack, and potentially repeat. So that gap does tighten a bit unless you do it yourself. Which again, isn't hard, but the percentage of Tesla folks like us that do their own work is very small compared to that of BMW, Merc, Audi, etc.

Which is why I described how to do this with a cheap digital level as part of the camber arm install. The assumption here is that you are already doing the install yourself. It takes only about 5 minutes extra to set the camber, and a $20 gauge if you don't already have one. Camber is the easiest thing to set at home and doesn't need expensive equipment. Like I said, you can also just go with 285mm and you'll still be way better than stock.

I don't really feel like you read my process if you are commenting that they need to take it off the rack.

However the bigger issues is, EV Tuning appears to be going out of business.

Yeah, but you're commenting in a thread started about Hardrace arms, which are $260 shipped and are available.

Truthfully, you can solve most of your inner edge wear issues by adjusting the rear toe to be more neutral.

N2itive disagrees.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Which is why I described how to do this with a cheap digital level as part of the camber arm install. The assumption here is that you are already doing the install yourself. It takes only about 5 minutes extra to set the camber, and a $20 gauge if you don't already have one. Camber is the easiest thing to set at home and doesn't need expensive equipment.

I don't really feel like you read my process if you are commenting that they need to take it off the rack.


Yeah, but you're commenting in a thread started about Hardrace arms, which are $260 shipped and are available.


N2itive disagrees.

Truthfully, I skimmed. Probably shouldn't multitask. But yes, you're spot on - if you're doing this yourself, it's easy to baseline. And then you're just bringing it to the alignment shop to validate, instead of actually modify.

As I understood, the Hardrace arms were hard to get to the US, but yeah they sound perfectly fine if you can get them.

I like N2itive, but I also recognize they need to drive sales....so I'd expect them to say that you need to buy a product to fix the problem

 

[Jrad446]

Posting a review of the Hardrace Q0601 rear camber arms for the S/X cars.

These things are well made, and inexpensive (if you can find them). Aluminum main structure, with a curve very much like OEM. Appears to be CNC'd aluminum, shot peened, and then anodized. Reasonable adjustment method, and solid shielded pillowball/spherical bearings at the ends. Had no issues getting these aligned, although I do my own alignments, and don't align from below the car, so I can't tell how easy the adjuster would be to access. You can save a lot of time by making the hole ends 290mm apart, which will get you right around 0.4 degrees camber. The threads are slop free and didn't change alignment when tightening the lock nuts. Given the basically stock curve of the arm, I didn't find any issues with interference with anything even across a full swing of the suspension. When they are at stock length, the ride sensor hole is in exactly the same spot as stock.

Took about 10 minutes per side to install. The pillowballs are nice as you can tighten everything down while drooped, unlike rubber bushings. Have a couple hundred miles on them with no noises or issues.

These are pretty much unobtanium in the USA. I bought mine from the Europe seller, who had reasonable shipping to the USA. They seem to be on Ebay pretty commonly. I paid about $260 shipped to USA.


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Thanks a lot gearcruncher! This helped me out a bunch! Was able to grab a pair of hard races out of Europe for $250 and a cheap camber gauge. You were spot on with the 290mm starting adjustment and the toe arm had just enough adjustment to get the tire back out right. Next stop Tesla for a finer alignment

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Thanks a lot gearcruncher! This helped me out a bunch! Was able to grab a pair of hard races out of Europe for $250 and a cheap camber gauge. You were spot on with the 290mm starting adjustment and the toe arm had just enough adjustment to get the tire back out right. Next stop Tesla for a finer alignment

Tesla won’t align aftermarket equipment. You’ll need to take it to an independent shop.

 

[gearchruncher]

Tesla will likely still adjust the stock adjustment, which is toe, as long as you have already set the camber.
But as you say, likely better results using an independent. Nothing special about aligning a Tesla.

 

[Jrad446]

Tesla will likely still adjust the stock adjustment, which is toe, as long as you have already set the camber.
But as you say, likely better results using an independent. Nothing special about aligning a Tesla.

Yeah it didn’t strike me as anything special but I’ve been calling around to alignment shops and none of them want to touch a Tesla for some reason.