According to that diagram and the picture you provided (and my recollection of my car), all the shims/washers are on the front mounting point of the upper control arm (and the rear mounting point is basically "floating" w/ no resistance from washers front or behind). Is this a correct observation on my part? Also, if I want to increase my caster, do I move the shims/washers to the front or rear of the mounting point?
Thanks again.
Jay
Jay,
You need to move the upper arms rearward to increase caster. That means swapping washers from the rear of each bushing to the front. Not sure if it's necessary, but I did remove the coilovers.
As you said, there are larger washers at the front bushing, and much smaller diameter washers used at the rear bushing. It is important that all the washers are used, and the proportion should be the same front and rear; i.e., if there are three washers behind the front bushing, there should be three washers behind the rear bushing etc. There must always be at least one large washer between the front bushing and the frame.
Note that I said all the washers must be used. This is important so that tightening the bolts doesn't pull on and bend the frame, which will break the adhesive in that area. The last washer will require some force to get it in place. That's not too bad with the large washers at the front, but it gets tricky with the small ones at the rear. A handy alignment tool for washers is a pointed bolt. Take any old bolt of the right diameter and grind or file a point. Once the washers are near the right place, push the pointed bolt through to align them.
As I suggested, many people just max out the caster. For street use, if the car "pulls" left or right you can then move a washer on one side to correct that. For example, if the car pulls right, you would decrease caster on the left (driver's side) by moving a washer to the rear of the bushings on the driver's side. Before you move caster washers to correct pull, be sure camber and toe are correct.