Camber.. Need more info..

[WhiteGTB]

Camber.....

I recently got a set up that allows me to adjust the camber, I guess that is the degree of tilt of the wheel towards the car or also outwards as well..

At the moment I have it on a -1 degree tilt inwards on both wheels, I have noticed my cornering has improved but the down side is more road noise..

Does anyone else here know about camber and how and what is the most effective setting to have it on?

Normal day aggressive driving should be set at?

Upside and downside of too much/too less camber?

[tangcla]

Too much camber will wear out the inside of your tires really really badly - -1 to -1.5 would be what I would have it on. No more unless you find 18" tyres cheap to replace

[ChrisGT]

Do you have adjustable castor on your set up?
Depending on your driving style, more +ve castor can allow you to reduce -ve camber, maintaining the same turn in performance. And you get a bit more life out of your tyres.

[ncmx5]

WOAH? we cant adjust our camber from stock so we need a kit? thats pretty shit.

[Akwoo]

-5 all the way trieu, drifter..

[Tiu]

which camber kit fits liberty 06? so far, i only have found Ingalls' camber bolts. Would they do the job?

I'm going to get Bilstein damper +swift spring combo fitted this weekend.

[swingn]

which camber kit fits liberty 06? so far, i only have found Ingalls' camber bolts. Would they do the job?

I'm going to get Bilstein damper +swift spring combo fitted this weekend.

Camber can be adjusted without a kit to some extent... I'm running Bilsteins & Eibachs & I've got about 1.5 degrees of neg camber on the front.

[overl0ad]

WOAH? we cant adjust our camber from stock so we need a kit? thats pretty shit.

you can, but it's SFA adjustment.

one of the 2 bolts on the front dampers is an eccentric bolt.

[GTSPECB STI]

found at http://www.mrtrally.com.au/performance/howctc.htm

Camber, Toe & Castor - the difference

Most people hear these words but rarely have the opportunity to understand what they mean and do.

TOE
This is the amount that the wheels are pointed in or out EG often called "total toe in or out". On rear independant suspension cars this is also adjustable, Subaru, Daihatsu etc. NOT live axle cars though. Fords, Holdens etc. Often measured in mm this little change makes huge differences in handling. As a car moves forward the suspension often moves back reducing toe in, so cars are often set with 1 - 3 mm toe IN. If the car has toe out it often tends to wander on the road more.

On all our rally cars we run about 1 - 2 mm on the front and BACK.

Rear is less important as it tends to be less likely to be affected by knocks, pot holes and kerbs. BUT it is important to be correct

CAMBER
Think of the angle of most roads, look along it and it slopes to the side to make the water drain or is banked on fast freeway corners. This is camber, the angle your wheel sits in relation to vertical when pointed ahead and you look straight at the car from front or rear. Measured in degrees, most common road cars have 0 - .5 degree std. some more. Too much NEGATIVE camber will wear out tyres on the inside. POSITIVE wears out the outside. Look at really old cars they often have POSITIVE camber. (I do not know why).

The correct amount varies depending on CASTOR, (see follows) and how you drive your car. If you have little castor and you love driving fast through corners then you need more NEGATIVE camber, if you do heaps of freeway driving then less is better.

THE REASON? When you turn a corner the outside tyre tends to roll under the rim, causing it to wear on its outer edge. By laying it on its side you reduce this effect. Too much and it will wear on the inside, too little and wear on the outside.

NOTE this is often used to stop wide tyres rubbing on wheel arches or suspension points, this case tyres wear is not a focus! REMEMBER too much neg camber and you will lose traction in straight ahead driving as the tyre is not flat on the road.

CASTOR
This is the best of both! BUT is often not adjustable on modern cars.

Camber stays the same if the pivot (vertically) of the car suspension is zero. EG if you turn the wheel about its axis (steer not spin) it stays the same. BUT if the axis is at an angle (for and aft) then the more you steer the car, the more camber you get!

Its hard to relate, but if you imagine looking at the LHS of the cars wheel, with front to your left, if you grabbed the top of the axis and moved it back (to horizontal) with the wheel position staying still then this is castor, then imagine, if you turned the wheel to the right 90 degrees then the wheel will lay flat, this is obviously an extreme example but best explained.

SO, the more castor the more the wheel will increase negative camber the more you turn the wheel. BUT too much castor and the car will want to wander as it has less tendency to want to point straight ahead.

REMEMBER
Check your tyre pressures, over 80% of cars have UNDER inflated tyres AND most companies, TYRES AND CARS, suggest low, for better ride. On most Subaru's, Hyundai's Daihatsu's etc try 35 PSI it will steer better, ride a bit harder, but go HEAPS better!

On most cars these days we can supply camber kits to increase and allow adjustable camber, most Subarus have some adjustable limits. Castor well thats hard, but possible!

Remember that you pay for what you get, a cheap wheel alignment means just that!

[alexxxz]

camber is adjustable on subarus as standard on the front due to the bolt setup. top bolt adjusts it.

can get aftermarket camber bolts (14mm bolt) from noltec/whiteline and and and... front and rear bolts are the same.

i've just fitted some to my rear sti struts and have 1.5 degree neg camber on the back now.

[Boxer]

Ahhh MRT the Oracle of all things modified :p


They made a quick mention, but one commonly overlooked aspect of increased -ve camber is reduced straight line grip. This is particualrly exacerbated on the front in the wet under braking - you'll increase your stopping distance

The only reason given for camber to be used is to combat the tyre roll as a car corners? More importantly its to negate the effect of the entire chassis pitching on its roll centre. As the chassis leans though a corner it makes the normaly vertical (albeit slightly tipped inwards) strut assembly to become less than vertical and be causing the wheel to now be out of perpendicular to the road.

Some types of suspension will naturally alleviate this as it compresses by introducing more negative camber the more its loaded . But more lowered cars dont have a lot of travel to play with and rely on static camber

Castor is also an excellent tool as described above as the camber nautrally increases the more the wheel is turned - downside can be instability and tramlining in a straight line.

As for Toe I often found a little of toe OUT on the rear helped responsiveness and turn in. Too much In on the front also deadens steering, but going with Toe out on the front makes for a wandering car.