3 bolt or 4 bolt caster/camber plates?

J

jeeps

New Member

Sep 10, 2009

11

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0

Dec 7, 2009

#1

• Dec 7, 2009

• #1

hey everyone my current camber/caster plates have gone bad and i just want peoples informed opinions on 3 and 4 bolt plates. the ones i have now are 3 bolt, my main concern isnt price considering both 3 and 4 bolt cost the same. my issue is ease of installation considering with a 3 bolt i would just follow the same configuration i already have and if there are any significant structural differences between the two albeit affects on the car and integrity of the structure itself. thanks.

 

B

bdcardinal

tree hugger

Jun 10, 2003

3,612

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69

santa barbara, CA

Dec 7, 2009

#2

• Dec 7, 2009

• #2

4 bolt Maximum Motorsports hands down. they are the highest quality on the market. i have personally installed almost every C/C plate on the market, including sponsors of this webpage. i will only use and recommend Maximum Motorsports, i am in no way paid or sponsored by them. when i did alignments for a living theirs were the easiest to get the alignment in spec and the best built.

 

J

jeeps

New Member

Sep 10, 2009

11

0

0

Dec 7, 2009

#3

• Dec 7, 2009

• #3

alright im considering 4 bolt but really i dont care, i just figured 3 bolt would be easier to install. i really dont feel like spending the time to drill and such but i guess ill bite the bullet and get a 4 bolt but i still want peoples opinions.

 

K

Kilgore Trout

Fried or Broiled ?

10 Year Member

Mar 30, 2005

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Dec 7, 2009

#4

• Dec 7, 2009

• #4

four

 

eliteJAE

Member

May 29, 2007

0

1

16

Stanford University

Dec 7, 2009

#5

• Dec 7, 2009

• #5

Definitely 4 bolt man, I use MM 4-bolts myself and the drilling wasn't too bad. Taking a chunk off the shock tower was a scary thought at first, but once you're actually doing it, it doesn't seem all that much, plus there's more sheet metal stacked there then I first thought.

 

98COBRA281

10 Year Member

Nov 24, 2007

1,348

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59

Port St. Lucie, Florida

Dec 7, 2009

#6

• Dec 7, 2009

• #6

MM 4 bolts.... worth every penny!!!!

 

SaleenGT2001

Well-Known Member

Jul 18, 2005

2,811

4

58

Four Oaks NC

Dec 7, 2009

#7

• Dec 7, 2009

• #7

MM 4 bolts are the only way to go!!

 

flstang65

10 Year Member

Dec 6, 2007

1,484

135

94

SE Georgia

Dec 7, 2009

#8

• Dec 7, 2009

• #8

i have had great luck with the upr 4 bolts

 

32ValveRom

Member

Feb 15, 2009

328

0

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Fl

Dec 7, 2009

#9

• Dec 7, 2009

• #9

I gotta ask, what's the difference between the two other than ease of alignments as stated from bdcardinal?

 

K

Kilgore Trout

Fried or Broiled ?

10 Year Member

Mar 30, 2005

4,749

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134

Dec 7, 2009

#10

• Dec 7, 2009

• #10

Maximum Motorsports is widely known for their quality and fitment, that is one big difference.

 

SaleenGT2001

Well-Known Member

Jul 18, 2005

2,811

4

58

Four Oaks NC

Dec 7, 2009

#11

• Dec 7, 2009

• #11

the steeda plates are CRAP to align. the 3 bolt ones give you no more camber adjustment than the factory plates. they just add caster adjustment

me and BD both have done alignments for years. trust me on this and get the MM plates. you will not regret it. the bearings are MUCH better one the MM parts.

MM is worth the $30-40 price difference

 

crazystang25

Member

Jan 25, 2009

492

0

16

Dec 8, 2009

#12

• Dec 8, 2009

• #12

another for MM 4 bolts, great quality. cant go wrong with any of their products.

 

fiveoho

15 Year Member

Apr 28, 2005

1,958

16

69

TN

Dec 8, 2009

#13

• Dec 8, 2009

• #13

fwiw, the upr 3 bolt steel 'shark' plates work just fine. just lowered my 00 GT with sportlines and used these plates with no issues or problems. they are also quiet. also had these plates on my 95 with sportlines, also with no issues. upr sells them for $129. i bought mine from a upr dealer on ebay, billetdepot. got them for $109.91 shipped brand new. upr also does a lifetime warranty on these. had the car lined up at the local ford dealership and they were able to do a proper alignment with them. my gf has MM plates on her 94 and they are awesome but just overkill IMO for normal street use. just to say- i am a big fan of MM products tho.

 

twogts4us

15 Year Member

Apr 1, 2004

4,188

12

79

Dunedin, FL

Dec 8, 2009

#14

• Dec 8, 2009

• #14

MM four bolt here...had em on the 2 GTs and now on my Mach. Wouldn't compromise with any other product here...

 

J

jeeps

New Member

Sep 10, 2009

11

0

0

Dec 8, 2009

#15

• Dec 8, 2009

• #15

hey thanks alot for all the feedback, ive been sold on the MM plates. and yeah i guess 4 bolt would be necessary considering the added adjustabillity ranges they offer. like i said the bearing went on my old ones and it sounds like iron man fighting controller my alignments gone to hell too so yeah.

 

crazystang25

Member

Jan 25, 2009

492

0

16

Dec 9, 2009

#16

• Dec 9, 2009

• #16

you wont regret the MM plates.

 

SaleenGT2001

Well-Known Member

Jul 18, 2005

2,811

4

58

Four Oaks NC

Dec 9, 2009

#17

• Dec 9, 2009

• #17

fiveoho said:

fwiw, the upr 3 bolt steel 'shark' plates work just fine. just lowered my 00 GT with sportlines and used these plates with no issues or problems. they are also quiet. also had these plates on my 95 with sportlines, also with no issues. upr sells them for $129. i bought mine from a upr dealer on ebay, billetdepot. got them for $109.91 shipped brand new. upr also does a lifetime warranty on these. had the car lined up at the local ford dealership and they were able to do a proper alignment with them. my gf has MM plates on her 94 and they are awesome but just overkill IMO for normal street use. just to say- i am a big fan of MM products tho.

Click to expand...

those shark plates usually have bearing issues within 10K miles

 

fiveoho

15 Year Member

Apr 28, 2005

1,958

16

69

TN

Dec 9, 2009

#18

• Dec 9, 2009

• #18

SaleenGT2001 said:

those shark plates usually have bearing issues within 10K miles

Click to expand...

mine never did on 95. they had 20k+ on them

 

S

san~man

O-G

Founding Member

Nov 29, 1999

8,546

3

78

A little grass shack on a big lava rock

Dec 10, 2009

#19

• Dec 10, 2009

• #19

Besides the adjustibility, 4 bolts provide added strength (from MM's website):


Patented '4-Bolt' MM Caster/Camber Plates for 1994-2004 cars!
Our patented '4-bolt' configuration utilizes 4 bolts to evenly spread the load into the car's strut tower. With this design, there is little chance of strut tower damage or plate bending from hard impacts. It also offers the most bump travel possible. How did this unique design come about? The MM Engineering Team designed the new 4-bolt MM Caster/Camber plates by thinking outside of the box; the triangular box that everyone else was stuck in.
The stock upper strut mount configuration of 1994-04 Mustangs places the strut shaft outside of the triangle formed by the three original mounting bolts. A 3-bolt main plate will overload the rear bolt and may bend the strut tower. Our 4-bolt mounting to the strut tower places the strut shaft inside the square formed by the four mounting bolts. This evenly distributes the suspension loads into the strut tower.
Our latest patented '4-bolt' design is the toughest ever! All MM Caster/Camber Plates now have a lifetime warranty against spherical bearing failure and plate bending. That's right - If you wear it out, bend it or break it while driving, we will replace that component for free. This warranty applies to the original retail purchaser of all genuine MM Caster/Camber Plates purchased after January of 2003.