SUPERPRO, RIVAL, FOX Strut Bolts

Strut bolts secure the bottom of the strut to the steering knuckle, and on most vehicles they are also where front camber is adjusted.

They are small components doing a serious job, holding the assembly that locates your wheel while carrying the loads that come through it.

What Strut Bolts Do and Where They Sit

On a strut suspension, the bottom of the strut clamps to the knuckle using two bolts through a bracket. The top of the assembly bolts to the body, and those two bolts at the bottom carry everything between.

Because the bolt holes are slightly oversize, there is a small amount of movement available before the bolts are torqued. That movement changes the angle the knuckle sits at relative to the strut, which is how camber is set on this style of suspension.

Standard bolts hold that position without offering control over it. The alignment ends up wherever the assembly settles, which is fine on a vehicle sitting at the height it was designed for.

Eccentric strut bolts replace one or both of those bolts with a version that lets the position be set deliberately, which is what turns a fixed mounting point into an adjustment point.

Standard Replacement and Eccentric Camber Bolts

Two different purchases sit in this category and they solve different problems.

Standard replacement strut bolts restore the original hardware. They matter more than people expect, since these bolts are a high tensile fastener carrying significant load, and a corroded or stretched one should not go back in. Some vehicles specify them as single use, and reusing a stretched bolt on a suspension mounting point is not a risk worth taking.

Eccentric or camber adjusting strut bolts have an offset cam built into the shank. Turning the bolt moves the knuckle relative to the strut, which changes camber and lets the aligner set it where it should be rather than where it happens to land.

Both fit the existing mounting points and require no modification, which is what makes them a bolt-on solution rather than a suspension redesign.

How Eccentric Strut Bolts Adjust Camber

The mechanism is simple once you see it.

The bolt has a cam machined into the shank, so the centre of the bolt sits offset from the centre of the hole it passes through. Rotating the bolt moves that offset around, and because the hole in the strut bracket is slightly larger than the bolt, the knuckle moves with it.

An indicator on the head shows which way the offset is pointing, which lets the aligner see how much adjustment has been dialled in and in which direction.

Once the correct position is reached, the bolt is torqued down and a lock washer holds it against rotating. From that point the adjustment is fixed until someone deliberately changes it.

Fitting one bolt gives you adjustment in one direction. Fitting both gives you a wider range, and on some applications the lower bolt position offers more movement than the upper.

Strut Bolt Sizes from 10mm to 17mm

Bolt diameter is what determines fitment, and it varies considerably across vehicle types.

Smaller diameters around 10mm and 12mm suit compact cars and hatchbacks where the suspension is more tightly packaged. These give precise adjustment without asking too much of the surrounding components.

Mid range sizes around 14mm and 15mm cover the majority of mid size vehicles, SUVs and performance cars, and 14mm is the most commonly requested size by a clear margin.

Larger diameters at 16mm and 17mm suit heavy duty applications, lifted 4WDs and commercial utes, where the loads through the mounting point are higher and the bolt needs the strength to match.

Measure the existing bolt rather than guessing, since a size that is close but not correct will either not fit the hole or will leave play that should not be there.

How Much Camber Adjustment a Strut Bolt Actually Gives You

Adjustment range depends on the bolt diameter and the design, and it is worth being realistic about it.

A smaller diameter bolt typically offers somewhere around three quarters of a degree of adjustment in either direction. Larger diameters extend that, with the biggest offering close to one and three quarter degrees each way.

That is enough to bring a modest lift or a moderate lowering back into specification, and it is enough to correct factory alignment on a vehicle that has drifted.

It is not enough for a substantial lift. If a vehicle needs several degrees of correction, the answer is a correction arm or an adjustable upper control arm rather than a bolt, and trying to solve it with bolts alone leaves the alignment short.

The honest test is what the aligner tells you. If the machine gets close and just runs out of range, a camber bolt finishes the job. If it is a long way out, the bolt is not the fix.

Lock Washers and Why Strut Bolts Must Not Slip

This is where the differences between products actually show up.

An eccentric bolt is holding an adjustment against the load coming through the suspension, and if it rotates under that load the alignment moves with it. A vehicle that was set correctly ends up out of specification without anyone touching it.

Friction alone is not a reliable way to prevent that. Better designs use a toothed lock washer or an anti slip plate, with teeth that bite into the surrounding metal so the bolt physically cannot turn once torqued.

That detail is worth checking against the product rather than assuming, particularly on a vehicle carrying weight or seeing rough surfaces, where the loads that cause slip are highest.

Material grade matters alongside it, since this is a structural fastener rather than a bracket bolt.

Strut Bolts and the Rest of the Assembly

Worth thinking about timing, because these bolts are only accessible when the strut is separated from the knuckle.

That means the cheapest moment to fit camber bolts is during any job that already involves removing the strut. Replacing shocks, fitting a lift kit, installing springs or swapping a complete strut assembly all reach this point anyway, and adding the bolts at that stage costs the parts and almost nothing in labour.

Doing it as a standalone job means paying to separate the strut purely to change two fasteners, which is the more expensive route for the same outcome.

The same logic runs in the other direction, because if the strut bolts are coming out for an alignment correction, it is worth inspecting the strut, the top mount and the bushes while access is free, since a worn component discovered a month later means paying for the same access twice.

On a vehicle that has just been lifted or lowered, the alignment work and the camber correction should be planned as one job rather than two.

Signs You Need Camber Adjusting Strut Bolts

• Camber out of specification after fitting a lift kit or lowering springs
• Camber out of range after fitting coilovers
• Uneven tyre wear on the inner or outer edge that returns after each alignment
• An alignment the workshop can get close to but not quite reach
• A vehicle with no factory camber adjustment at the position that needs correcting
• Rear camber correction on vehicles where the factory adjusts the front but not the rear
• Correcting a vehicle that has settled unevenly with age
• Fine tuning camber deliberately on a vehicle used for track or spirited driving

That second last one catches a lot of people out, because plenty of vehicles offer camber adjustment at the front and none at the rear, which is why rear camber bolts are a common requirement on cars where the front was never a problem.

Replacing Strut Bolts and Setting the Alignment After

Replacing strut bolts means separating the strut from the knuckle, which is straightforward mechanically and often difficult in practice because the bolts corrode in place.

Support the vehicle properly and expect the bolts to resist. Penetrating fluid applied beforehand helps, and on an older vehicle it is worth planning for the possibility that one will need cutting out.

Fit the bolts loosely, then have the alignment set with the vehicle on its wheels at ride height before final torquing. The adjustment is made during the alignment rather than before it, which is why these are best fitted as part of an alignment booking rather than as a separate job.

Torque to specification and check the lock washer has seated properly, since that is what holds the setting.

Do both sides, since camber needs to match left and right for the vehicle to track straight.

Fulcrum has been working on suspension since 1976, with 16 Service Centres across Australia and 200+ authorised workshops. Fitting camber bolts and setting the alignment in one visit is what the network is there for, and it is considerably more efficient than fitting the parts and booking an alignment separately.

Find Strut Bolts for Your Vehicle

Strut bolts often get replaced when the strut comes out, so check the full range of struts and shock absorbers if yours are due for replacement.

Select your vehicle to see the strut bolts available for it, in standard replacement and camber adjusting versions across sizes from 10mm to 17mm. Book fitting and alignment through Click and Fit, or talk to your nearest Service Centre about how much correction your vehicle actually needs. Everything we supply is backed by our warranty, a fitment guarantee and the support of a nationwide workshop network.