alignment experts - ??? - increased neg camber
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Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 11,470
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alignment experts - ??? - increased neg camber
by increasing front and rear negative camber, how does that effect tire wear and/or handling? my reasoning is that the more neutral camber, one would get better tread wear, whereas more negative camber would gain benefits in handling, both to a limit - i'm not an alignment expert, just trying to get a better understanding here... by looking at the alighment specs for the c6, it appears that the only real difference is the F/R camber specs (and a tad in the front caster). i'm reading various posts indicating both ways, and i'm more than a little confused. comments... TIA... 
Moderator emeritus
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 18,599
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From: Jacksonville Florida BWO Dayton, Cincinnati, Bloomsbury NJ, Cincinnati
2015 C7 of the Year Finalist
Negative camber helps set a flat footprint in turns for the tires.
Negative camber tips the top of the wheel toward the engine
Negative camber can cause wear on the inside tire tread to a point that the inside can be showing belts and the middle and outside edge show good tread.
If you need handling for turns (competition) then you should have negative camber, even up to > -2.0
If you want the longest tire tread life, reduce the camber. I run -0.1 and I'm going today to check it and if possible I'll drop to -0.05. I want maximum tire wear. I do not X-cross.
Rear camber on my car is -0.1.
My car has no "bad" handling traits and cruises quite nicely on the street and highway (usually at 85 but keep that a secret).
Elmer
P.S. I'm not an alignment expert but this information will lengthen the life of your tires.
Negative camber tips the top of the wheel toward the engine
Negative camber can cause wear on the inside tire tread to a point that the inside can be showing belts and the middle and outside edge show good tread.
If you need handling for turns (competition) then you should have negative camber, even up to > -2.0
If you want the longest tire tread life, reduce the camber. I run -0.1 and I'm going today to check it and if possible I'll drop to -0.05. I want maximum tire wear. I do not X-cross.
Rear camber on my car is -0.1.
My car has no "bad" handling traits and cruises quite nicely on the street and highway (usually at 85 but keep that a secret).
Elmer
P.S. I'm not an alignment expert but this information will lengthen the life of your tires.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 10,924
Likes: 853
From: Daytona Beach FL
Well.....I'm certainly not an expert!!! 
Butt.....here's some reading material:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...nd_Feeding.pdf
It says in that link above:
Here's a link to a Hoosier site:
https://www.hoosiertire.com/rrtire.htm
Scroll down to "Chasis Setup Recommendations" and you'll see where they're talking about -3 degrees of camber for their race tires.
Another thing to consider is the "toe" settings (how the front of the tires point "in" towards each other, or "out" away from each other). Typically you'll probably shoot for zero toe for the street, but for the track you might like a little toe-out for the front tires for a better turn-in when initiating the turn, and maybe a little toe-in for the rear tires to aid in getting the power in when accelerating out of the turn.
So.....you're right - for the street you probably want less camber and probably zero toe for better tire wear, but for the track you'll crank in a bunch of negative camber and adjust toe settings for better performance as well as better wear under track conditions.
Take a look at forum member David Farmer's great site for some info on DIY alignments:
http://davidfarmerstuff.com
You can scroll down on his homepage and see links for "alignment guide", "Camber Plates", "Suspension Setup", "Why Toe OUT", and a bunch of other good stuff.
Have fun reading!!!
Bob
Butt.....here's some reading material:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...nd_Feeding.pdf
It says in that link above:
When considering a race vehicle’s optimal camber settings, a number of factors come into play, such as track layout, suspension geometry, aerodynamic downforce and maximum speed on the track.
When it comes to setting the camber, you cannot precisely say in advance what the ideal setup will be. The only way to determine this is to run the car, then measure tire temperatures and pressures.
When it comes to setting the camber, you cannot precisely say in advance what the ideal setup will be. The only way to determine this is to run the car, then measure tire temperatures and pressures.
https://www.hoosiertire.com/rrtire.htm
Scroll down to "Chasis Setup Recommendations" and you'll see where they're talking about -3 degrees of camber for their race tires.
Another thing to consider is the "toe" settings (how the front of the tires point "in" towards each other, or "out" away from each other). Typically you'll probably shoot for zero toe for the street, but for the track you might like a little toe-out for the front tires for a better turn-in when initiating the turn, and maybe a little toe-in for the rear tires to aid in getting the power in when accelerating out of the turn.
So.....you're right - for the street you probably want less camber and probably zero toe for better tire wear, but for the track you'll crank in a bunch of negative camber and adjust toe settings for better performance as well as better wear under track conditions.
Take a look at forum member David Farmer's great site for some info on DIY alignments:
http://davidfarmerstuff.com
You can scroll down on his homepage and see links for "alignment guide", "Camber Plates", "Suspension Setup", "Why Toe OUT", and a bunch of other good stuff.
Have fun reading!!!
Bob
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
For reasonable tire wear on the street, the camber should be zero to -1/8 degree, and toe-in should be zero to 1/32". Anymore negative camber on the front and you will notice inside tire wear.
You can run more negative camber on the rear because it is not as critical since the tires are not steering.
You can run more negative camber on the rear because it is not as critical since the tires are not steering.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,339
Likes: 1
From: Lake Delton (WI Dells) WI
I have -1.0° camber on the fronts with -ZERO- toe. Most of the tire wear people see is toe induced, not camber induced. I have had -1.0° camber (also 0 toe) on my Firehawk for lots of miles and my tires are perfect. Below is my spot on alignment I had done last summer. The guy who did it aligns lots of sports cars for both street/strip and road racing. He confirmed my opinion that you can go to about -1.0° camber without effecting tire wear, as long as you have near 0 toe.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,296
Likes: 156
From: Location: Location: kAnSaS
i think if your just a daily driver and not looking for handling like on a road course then near 0 is for you. -.5 tho i dont think will give you any real issues either. I agree most of the tire wearing issues come from guys who either lower their cars or lower the camber. In both cases the toe goes negative when you do that and they dont adjust it and have inside tire wear.
Some guys think lowering the camber doesnt move the toe because of the bump steer but in real world cases i believe it does (that ca neb argued al night). Either way if you lower your car or lower the camber you need to check and set the toe. regards, paul
Some guys think lowering the camber doesnt move the toe because of the bump steer but in real world cases i believe it does (that ca neb argued al night). Either way if you lower your car or lower the camber you need to check and set the toe. regards, paul
