Front Adjustable Camber Kit Installation (1G Acura CL / 94-97 Honda Accord)
Introduction
Lowering a 1G Acura CL or a 1994-1997 Honda Accord throws the front wheels into excessive negative camber, which wears the inside edges of the tires and can hurt handling. A bolt-on front camber kit replaces the fixed factory adjuster at the lower control arm with an adjustable one, letting an alignment shop dial the top of the wheel back toward vertical. This guide covers the common bolt-in adjuster styles: the Ingalls slotted-shaft type, whose slide is repositioned during alignment, and the cheaper fixed two-hole type. Plan on doing one side at a time and booking an alignment as soon as both sides are finished, since the kit only makes adjustment possible, it does not set the final angle. Note that ball-joint-style kits (such as Eibach) are a different, more involved job and are best left to a shop. Adapted from a community writeup by chuckz on AcuraZine (https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-cl-diy-faq-74/front-camber-kit-install-471801/), including corrections from the follow-up discussion.
Reference
Tools Required
- Floor jack
- Jack stand
- Open-end and box wrenches
- Socket set with ratchet
- Breaker bar (bolts may be seized)
- Rubber mallet
- Torque wrench (for reassembly)
Parts Required
-
Front adjustable camber kit (e.g., Ingalls slotted-shaft kit, or fixed two-hole style)
-
Bushing lubricant (only if the kit uses polyurethane bushings)
-
Professional wheel alignment (service, required afterward)
Safety Warnings
- ⚠ Always support the car on a jack stand, never on the jack alone, and keep the control arm supported before releasing its bolts so it cannot drop under spring load.
- ⚠ Ball-joint-style front camber kits require pressing out the factory ball joints and can be dangerous if done incorrectly; have a shop install that type.
- ⚠ Do not shave too much off the control arm or inner fender when chasing clearance, as removing excess material weakens the part.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1 Raise the car and pull the wheel
Loosen the lug nuts, then lift the front corner and set it securely on a jack stand. Keep the floor jack free, because you will use it again shortly to carry the weight of the suspension while the control arm bolts come out. Remove the road wheel to expose the lower control arm and its adjuster.
2 Open up access in the engine bay
On the passenger side, lift the hood and unbolt the strut tower bar so it is out of the way. Two of the control-arm-to-body fasteners are hidden beneath a pair of fuse boxes; unbolt and lift those fuse boxes aside so the mounting bolts are reachable. The driver side has no fuse boxes over the bolts, so this step is skipped on that corner.
3 Take up the suspension load with the jack
Slide the floor jack under the lower control arm and raise it just enough to support the spring load. Do this before loosening anything, so the arm does not drop suddenly once its inner bolts are released and so the fasteners are not fighting spring tension.
4 Remove the two control arm mounting bolts
With the arm supported, back out the two bolts securing the inner end of the control arm to the body. Once both are out, lower the jack slowly and the arm should swing down. If it stays put, free it with a light tap from a rubber mallet rather than prying.
5 Remove the old camber adjuster from the arm
The factory (non-adjustable) camber piece is held to the control arm by its own bolt. Undo that fastener and take the original adjuster out so the replacement can go in its place.
6 Fit the new kit and preset the correction
Installation depends on the kit style. On an Ingalls slotted-shaft kit the shaft slides within a slot; the more negative camber you need to pull out, the closer to the edge of the slot it sits, and a nearly-centered position corrects only a small amount. Snug the shaft nut once positioned; an alignment tech can slide it either way to fine-tune. On a fixed eBay-style kit there is no slide, instead the bolt goes into one of two holes, so pick the hole indicated by the chart in the kit's instructions for the correction you want.
7 Reassemble the corner
Bolt the adjuster back onto the control arm, then reverse the disassembly: raise the arm on the jack, refit and torque the two control-arm bolts to the body, reinstall the fuse boxes and strut bar, and mount the wheel. Repeat the whole procedure on the opposite corner, omitting the fuse-box removal since that side has none.
8 Book a professional alignment
The kit only enables adjustment, it does not set the angle, so an alignment is essential and should be done right after the install. Expect one or two loud pops on the first drive as the suspension settles into place, which is normal. If a corner clunks or the tire rubs, address clearance as noted in the tips before driving further.
Pro Tips
- 💡 If the tire or control arm contacts the fender well over bumps after adding negative camber, lightly shave the high spot on the control arm and dress the inner fender where the crease is, but remove only a little material at a time.
- 💡 One or two loud pops on the first drive after the install are normal settling noises, not a sign of a mistake.
- 💡 Choose bushing material deliberately: per Ingalls, polyurethane bushings give a firmer performance ride but can squeak and must be kept lubricated with a wash-resistant lube, while rubber bushings ride closer to stock, stay quiet, and need no lubrication at a cost of some suspension tightness.
- 💡 Do one wheel completely before starting the other so you always have a reference for how everything goes back together.
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