Project Scion TC: Part I

The Hotchkis Tuning rear camber links feature quiet, polygraphite bushings and a double-adjustable design. Once the jam nuts are loosened, camber may be adjusted by spinning the turnbuckle.

The Hotchkis Tuning rear camber links feature quiet, polygraphite bushings and a double-ad

CAMBER LINKS
Lowering the tC puts its rear suspension into an aggressive part of the camber curve. Hotchkis' adjustable camber links are a fairly simple solution to this problem. The old non-adjustable links are removed by unbolting two fasteners; a bolt connecting to the upper control arm and a cam bolt attached through the rear subframe. We found it's also a good idea to disconnect the rear anti-roll bar's end links in order to free some extra space.

The new camber links are accompanied by an assortment of polygraphite bushings and grease. Grease the bushings and slip them into the appropriate end of the camber link. Install the end of the link that attaches to the subframe first with the original cam bolt, but don't tighten it yet. Raise the upper control arm and connect the outer end of the link. Adjust the cam bolt so the hub is pushed as far outboard as possible. Finish by tightening the cam bolt nut and the outer camber link bolt.

THE RESULTS
The coil-overs are adjusted so the car's diagonal corner weights are equal to one another. The front corners weigh 886 pounds on the left and 848 pounds on the right. The rears are adjusted accordingly to achieve the optimum balance; in our case, 560 pounds on the left and 527 pounds on the right. A simple comparison of the cross weight's sums conclude that we're off by an entirely acceptable 5 pounds.

We set the anti-roll bars to full stiff for maximum roll stiffness. Rear camber is set to negative 1.5 degrees while toe is left untouched. Up front, camber is nonadjustable, but we fudged things a little, thanks to some slop in the system. The strut mount holes located on the upright are slightly larger than the bolts, resulting in a small adjustment window. We were able to pull the bottom of the upright out slightly as the coil-over was tightened to it, which provided about half a degree of negative camber.

Numberwise, the upgrades appear to have paid off. On the skidpad, the stock tC circled at a very Camry-like .82g. After the suspension mods and a set of 17x7-inch, 48mm offset, 5Zigen FN01R-C wheels and 225/45-17 Kumho ECSTA MX tires, the tC produced an impressive .91g. Slalom numbers also improved dramatically. The stock tC only mustered 66.1 mph but improved to 71.9 mph post-bolt-ons, which makes it only .4 mph slower through the slalom than the last EVO MR we tested. Not bad, considering the cost.

Numbers aside, the tC handles like a different car. Body roll is almost nonexistent and responsiveness has significantly increased, making the tC much more predictable with much higher limits. Balance at the limit is relatively mild without the tail-happy nature that many of our project cars take on with these same mods. But with the adjustability left in the system we're guessing we can dial it in if we decide to.

With this grip and balance, the tC can hold its own with the other bad boys in the SCC garage. Now it just needs more power and better brakes.