semicycler

Public Service Announcement

My inner tie rods are worn. Since I will need an alignment after doing the repair work this was a good time to swap out my front strut tops with solid monoball versions. I chose to go with Tarett Engineering brand model 996FSMT, one of the more popular versions out there.

The camber plates have two modes, standard and high camber mode. High camber mode offsets the strut mounting point towards the inside of the car adding -1.1 degrees of camber by itself. With a stock 997 setup usually maxing out around -1 or so degrees this lets you go over -2.0 total without needing GT3 style split lower control arms with shims. Here's a picture of high camber mode:



Standard camber mode is supposed to be a direct replacement for the OEM strut top, allowing you to replace the rubber bushing with a monoball. Camber adjustment range is supposed to be the same as stock. In my case standard mode would have been perfect as I was looking to replace the rubber mounting point without changing my camber settings. Here's a picture of standard mode:



This camber plate was originally designed for the 996 and works properly in both high camber mode or rotated 180 degrees into standard camber mode on the 996 platform. But for the 997 ONLY HIGH CAMBER MODE FITS!! There is an interference when the camber plate is rotated 180 degrees on the 997 into standard camber mode. It will not sit flat under the fender mounting points. Speaking with Tarett they have confirmed there is an interference with 987 Caymans. I guess I was the first to try standard mode on the 997 platform. In my case I am in the process of reinstalling the top plates with high camber mode, then I will remove shims on the GT3 style LCA's to back off the added camber. Tarett's website has been updated with this new information, see here: http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-...lta-detail.htm

Many other vendors use a similarly designed top plate. If you intend to use standard camber mode with any vendor, be sure to call them and confirm fitment on the 997 platform, especially if their camber plate was originally designed for both modes on the 996 platform.

TLDR: Tarett's front camber plates for the 997 work in high camber mode only. Standard camber mode has an interference.

gasongasoff

Wow thanks.
Did you have to disassemble the entire front shock apparatus to rotate the camber plates? Shame on Tarett for not making this abundantly clear.

semicycler

The shocks rotate freely by design with a bearing under the top mount. You would think switching from standard to high would be as easy as moving the screws from underneath to their new positions and rotating the strut 180 degrees. Two of the three screws were super simple, 30 seconds each with the strut removed from its mount. But the third one at the 6 o'clock position hits the strut top bearing when installing from below. This means removing the top nut, removing the Tarett plate, move the last screw, then reassemble the strut and reinstall. And to top off my bad luck today, I couldn't get the top nut off the second time around. So I dropped the entire strut assembly off at a local garage with much better tools than mine. $20 cash and a few hours later and it's corrected.

Right now everything is reinstalled, wheels reattached and alignments are all messed up as expected. First I need to recheck the front ride height - it looks off a bit to my eye. Maybe my old rubber top mounts were sagging before. Or maybe the Tarett mounts are thicker pushing ride height up, who knows. The bigger concern is caster seems off too. I have solid pucks on the LCA's so I know it can be adjusted, it's just a real PITA to do it. I'm done for today. Time for a few beers then bed.

Petza914

I experienced the same thing on my 2005 997 C2S with these Tarett Monoball Top Mounts and my Bilstein B16 Damptronics. Semicycler and I PM'd about it last night so glad he posted this PSA for other people who plan to use them. I initially installed them in the Regular setup since I wasn't planning to go with a super aggressive alignment, but like Semicycler, had to remove them change them around and reinstall.

Quality of the parts is excellent, you just need to know that they only fit in one orientation.

Also, for anyone installing a Bilstein front suspension, many people have experienced an issue where the shock assembly rotates a bit during turns, loading the spring, eventually the load increases to a point where it has to release and it makes a loud bang, which if you don't know what it is, sounds terrible. The shocks to have a cable tether to prevent them from continuously rotating, but they still eventually load up and release.

The solution to this is to install a thrust needle bearing (2 flat hardened races with a greased needle roller bearing between them) at the bottom of the main spring above the aluminum spring perch that separates the actual suspension spring from the short and light tension coil. This allows the spring to freely rotate back and forth so it never loads up and releases. The proper dimension for this on my Bilsteins was 60x85x3 mm and the bearing number is an AXK6085 - you can get them off eBay and I'm sure many other places.

semicycler

Good to know about the needle bearing, I'll look into it. Where is the cable tether you mention? Inside the shock itself?

As for my car it's all buttoned up right now and string aligned. The lowest camber I could manage was -2.0 deg, still to much for street tires. This is a 997.1 with 996 GT3 LCA's and damptronics coilovers, lowered about .75 inches. I've been working with Ira at Tarett and he has offered to modify one of the top plates to remove the interference in standard camber mode. I might just go down that route. Unless someone has an idea how to remove another .5 deg or so of camber?

semicycler

Ira @ Tarett Engineering has been fantastic to work with. He is sending me a modified set that works only in standard mode to swap out with the version I have installed right now. The 997 standard mode interference is chopped off at the expense of losing high camber mode functionality. And then if down the road I need to switch to high camber mode he will take these modified ones back. In my case that's unlikely as I have more camber adjustment at the LCA's.

Ira is considering modifying his design to work in both modes for the 997. Although he offered me his costs for a prototype of the new design it was still higher than I wanted (small run prototypes are expensive). The modified set he is sending me solves my issue and I have a path forward if needed in the future.

For those folks who find this thread in the future check Tarett's website to see if the newer 997 specific design is in production. Otherwise use the 996 version in high camber mode, or modify the 996 version like shown in this picture for standard mode to work on the 997.

Petza914

No, it's external. Now that you question it, that tether is part of my Cargraphic Airlift Kit and not part of the Damptronics themselves, which is why you don't have them. Sorry about that, but the needle bearing upgrade is a Damptronics thing.