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Upper Rear Link Build (Reduces rear camber to improve tire wear)

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So I've been reading up on threads and really want to get an adjustable camber upper rear link but my main concern is the air bags on the suspension.

I understand that the warranty issue may be overblown etc...

I have eaten through tires and am always frustrated. However I also have the extended warranty that covers until 2021 or 100,000 miles. If I have a problem with the air bags in one or two of my suspension pieces, even though the links do not affect the bags negatively, Tesla can still void my warranty if they choose to. Right?
 
Diavel,
There is legislation in the US protecting owners from mfgs voiding warranties for unrelated modifications.

That said, arguing about such stuff should be avoided if possible. I suggest a conversation with the local SC manager. My SC is cool. They know I would never ask them to cover a modified bit and also know that I can easily determine if my modification caused an issue.
 
Lolachampcar,

Thank you for the information and direction. I shall heed your message and contact them. Now from what I can tell, only one outfit's selling the links presently?

Now I wonder if anyone has an extra set they want to sell me...
 
I used to lower vehicles all the time. On this cat it would be insane not to have a camber kit after lowering. Especially with the tremendous weight and launches.

I have no modded links, and not even a realignment on a coil P85D that has been lowered a full 1 9/16" on the rear struts and 1/2", on the front. This change basically kept the front ride height and put the rear down a net 1 3/16". I'm frankly surprised at how good the tire wear is. Camber is about -1.5, in back. Those are the lowest rings I had cut, and I plan to go up .375" in back to balance things out. Because I've measured and believe the P85D coil cars have lower fronts, than the standard S85's, I'd recomend -1/2" and -1 1/4", for your rings. That pretty much takes a coil P85D down to SAS Low (a net -1" in back).

We take our own risks with these kinds of changes. If I remember correctly, lowering adds toe-in, which is safer than toe-out. If I had to call the biggest problem, it would be understeer. Doing this unbalances the car toward the back. Snow was the only place I've noticed it. Tesla would need to turn their traction control down "a thousand", for me to be able to drive it hard enough to claim "understeer", in the dry. It's just becomes a powerless car at that point anyway. The other problem invited is earlier TC up front, since there's less weight, and probably slightly slower acceleration because of it.
 
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My right rear is -1.6 and the left rear is -2.2. The spec is -1.75 +- 0.35 so the left is just barely out, but I'd really like to bring it in to match the right.

Is anyone manufacturing shims. It wouldn't take much to bring it in 0.5. I guess I could measure everything and then do the trig to figure out exactly how thick a shim needs to be.

Interestingly my 19" wheel tire wear has been perfectly even. But I just got 21s and suspect I'll have more issues if I don't correct it.
 
So it appears to me that the rear camber is adjustable. The bolt goes through a slot and the cam washers determine where in the slot forward or back depending on the rotation of the two cam washers.

The right rear which is -2.2:

20160514_190539.jpg


Compared to the left rear which is 1.6:

20160514_190618.jpg


Interestingly the left rear which is is -1.6 is adjusted all the way negative while the one that is -2.2 is closer to the middle of the adjustment range.

So am I missing something here? Is this a newer design starting in 2015?
 
sorka that's the toe-in adjustment. Camber is the top link.

But I'm definitely going to lift the car and loosen the cradle bolts. lolachampcar did it and it seems it'd been under tension, tweaking the frame.

And it's a good idea to mark the adjustment bolts once the car is in alignment, with nail polish or something, to make sure there's no drift.
 
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sorka that's the toe-in adjustment. Camber is the top link.

But I'm definitely going to lift the car and loosen the cradle bolts. lolachampcar did it and it seems it'd been under tension, tweaking the frame.

And it's a good idea to mark the adjustment bolts once the car is in alignment, with nail polish or something, to make sure there's no drift.

Nope. That photo is the top a arm. Toe looks nothing like they on ANY car.
 
YYYYYIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPEEEEEE
if Tesla has added Camber adjustment on the rear. That would be sweet. I'm pretty sure that was not on my Jan 15 delivery P85D as I would have noticed the adjustability when I changed my upper arms. Anyone have any idea when they added the adjustability?

The toe links do look a lot like mini-me upper links....
 
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Drat. Well it looks like Kenny is right and I led everyone astray. I drove backwards up my service ramps to get a better view and realized I wasn't seeing the whole picture. The two links up high that are at the same level made me think they were an upper A-arm, but that's not the case. The rear most upper link is the actual upper link that attaches to the top of the knuckle. The one I took the picture attaches to the mid point of the knuckle which in fact would make it the toe adjustmento_O

So it appears the toe is adjusted with cams washers. They're not even notched with the typical square tool holes to make it easier to turn, so rear toe must be a pain in the but.

All of my previous cars that had rear toe adjustment did so with a tension rod and a turn knuckle so that totally threw me off.

The other upper links is the one that would need to be moved in or out to change the camber.
 
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Premature yipee

For historical reference, Tesla did try necked down bolts for a while then seemed to move away from them. These bolts were necked down between the end of the threads and the head of the bolt (to the minor diameter of the thread so it did not affect bolt strength) to introduce slop in the installation. The installer would then bias the slop to remove camber before tightening the bolts down.

These were originally introduced to bring out of spec cars back in spec but then were being requested by owners to further reduce camber on cars that were in spec. It seems this "requesting" brought about the demise of availability but that is speculation on my part.
 
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I just got my set of BBC links. They are HEAVY duty and very quality pieces indeed. $1000 for the set + $200 core + $35 shipping = $1235 total. BBC is kind of a throwback to the 1990's or earlier for ordering stuff and ignore your emails. You have to call them and there is only 1 guy there who knows anything about these Tesla upper control arms so you have to wait for that guy to be in. Credit card over the phone and had to bug them for the tracking number but they got that emailed out to me the next day. I ust changed to 21" staggered setup and already down to 5/32 on my inside right rear at 5000 miles, yikes! Appointment for the install and alignment at a professional alignment place on Monday.
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FYI I've had the BBC links on my car for about two years. SUPRKAR worked with them on development, and as he's a good friend, so I was among the first to get them. Once I had them installed and properly set (-1.0) severe and uneven rear tire wear problems disappeared with no differences in handling that I found at all troubling. I have alignments done locally -- not by Tesla -- but this year when I took my car in for its annual service they actually offered to do a rear alignment knowing full well I had the adjustable links. In the prior year they had refused. So my SC has known for two years that I have the adjustable links -- and they also know all the other mods I have made -- and I have no problems with service or warranty issues.