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The factory negative camber settings seem extreme. Every track is different and may need different settings, depending on the corner speeds. Too much negative camber and you will wear out the inside of the tires real quick.
Too much negative in the front and the car gets unstable under braking. Too much negative in the rear and the car can change to oversteer real quick at the corner exit.
Need alignment advice for setting my "22 C8 convertible with Z51 package for tracking at NCM Motor park. Thanks.
Depending on your driving level, I would set it accordingly. If you've been doing track events and are already in the advanced class, track alignment is your friend. If you're intermediate, I would set it at half the amount. I've been doing track events for like 30 years. This C8 Z51 has the most stick around the corners I've ever had (vs. Porsche C4S, very modified E36 M3 supercharged). The first time I drove on track, I said to myself, "Holy $%$, this car has more stick than I have ***** around the corners".
I've been running my Street Setup at the track (2-4 days a year) and have been happy with the wear. I didn't feel like swapping back and forth alignments. This year, I'm upping to -2 front and -1.50 rear.
Last edited by theclutch; Mar 25, 2025 at 05:18 PM.
Depending on your driving level, I would set it accordingly. If you've been doing track events and are already in the advanced class, track alignment is your friend. If you're intermediate, I would set it at half the amount. I've been doing track events for like 30 years. This C8 Z51 has the most stick around the corners I've ever had (vs. Porsche C4S, very modified E36 M3 supercharged). The first time I drove on track, I said to myself, "Holy $%$, this car has more stick than I have ***** around the corners".
I've been running my Street Setup at the track (2-4 days a year) and have been happy with the wear. I didn't feel like swapping back and forth alignments. This year, I'm upping to -2 front and -1.75 rear.
What settings would you recommend for someone who is High Novice and plan to track ~8-10 times this year + ~8 months of the year 1-2 days/week street use?
Depending on your driving level, I would set it accordingly. If you've been doing track events and are already in the advanced class, track alignment is your friend. If you're intermediate, I would set it at half the amount. I've been doing track events for like 30 years. This C8 Z51 has the most stick around the corners I've ever had (vs. Porsche C4S, very modified E36 M3 supercharged). The first time I drove on track, I said to myself, "Holy $%$, this car has more stick than I have ***** around the corners".
I've been running my Street Setup at the track (2-4 days a year) and have been happy with the wear. I didn't feel like swapping back and forth alignments. This year, I'm upping to -2 front and -1.75 rear.
Just to be clear, the "Street" setup is you daily driving spec and it doesn't result in excess wear?
Back when I had my C7 Grand Sport there was a guy on the forum here that had a good guide to follow.
I've been waiting to find a street spec for my '23 Z51.
What settings would you recommend for someone who is High Novice and plan to track ~8-10 times this year + ~8 months of the year 1-2 days/week street use?
Hate to answer it this way but.... If during those times that you track the car 8-10 days per year but you drive like a grandma (not as aggressive as you could be in the turns), then I would just go with my setup which is -1.5 front and -1.25 rear.
If you're keeping up with the faster cars in the turns(I'm talking Miatas, GR86s, Caymans, etc. and driven by people who actually can), then I would go -1.75 / -1.50. Or even -2.0 / -1.50. Also, if you're prone to doing burnouts, that would REALLY wear out the inside rears pretty quickly. I don't, so my inside rear edges look great.
For me, driving aggressively on track but for only 2-4 days, I'm upping mine to -2.00 front and -1.50 rear. Note that I'm not increasing the rear by -.5 since I don't see as much wear on the rear outside tire edge. Currently, my front outside tire edge is wearing slightly more than the inside tire edge. Hence, I want to increase front camber by another -.5 degrees from -1.5 to -2.0 degrees compensate.
BTW, someone in this forum actually stated (very erroneously) that camber does NOT affect tire wear. They're on drugs. Here's a Motor Trend article that had actual practical proof that it most certainly does...
I quote, "Sure enough, after fewer than 10,000 miles in track alignment, the inner edges of the rear tire tread were worn away completely. Because the Corvette sits so low, the only way to see the wear was to lie down on the ground behind the car. It was nearly impossible to see from any other angle, including looking between the tire and fender. Even though the tires had grown unsafe with an increased danger of blowout, the center and outer edges of the tread looked like they had thousands of miles of life left in them."
I have 10500 miles on the Michelin OEM tires and the wear is almost even (but not quite) across the tire. So my alignment spec has worked for me.
Hate to answer it this way but.... If during those times that you track the car 8-10 days per year but you drive like a grandma (not as aggressive as you could be in the turns), then I would just go with my setup which is -1.5 front and -1.25 rear.
If you're keeping up with the faster cars in the turns(I'm talking Miatas, GR86s, Caymans, etc. and driven by people who actually can), then I would go -1.75 / -1.50. Or even -2.0 / -1.50. Also, if you're prone to doing burnouts, that would REALLY wear out the inside rears pretty quickly. I don't, so my inside rear edges look great.
For me, driving aggressively on track but for only 2-4 days, I'm upping mine to -2.00 front and -1.50 rear. Note that I'm not increasing the rear by -.5 since I don't see as much wear on the rear outside tire edge. Currently, my front outside tire edge is wearing slightly more than the inside tire edge. Hence, I want to increase front camber by another -.5 degrees from -1.5 to -2.0 degrees compensate.
BTW, someone in this forum actually stated (very erroneously) that camber does NOT affect tire wear. They're on drugs. Here's a Motor Trend article that had actual practical proof that it most certainly does...
I quote, "Sure enough, after fewer than 10,000 miles in track alignment, the inner edges of the rear tire tread were worn away completely. Because the Corvette sits so low, the only way to see the wear was to lie down on the ground behind the car. It was nearly impossible to see from any other angle, including looking between the tire and fender. Even though the tires had grown unsafe with an increased danger of blowout, the center and outer edges of the tread looked like they had thousands of miles of life left in them."
I have 10500 miles on the Michelin OEM tires and the wear is almost even (but not quite) across the tire. So my alignment spec has worked for me.
Hope it helps!
Definitely helps @theclutch ! In the Novice group, I'm typically the one getting the let by for say 80-90% of the group, and I let 10-20% of the folks go by. Thanks for your suggestions on Camber. I'm thinking I will likely ask the alignment shop to go -2.25 front and -1.875 rear - basically 75% of track alignment recommendation. Going to leave toe as 0.0.
Definitely helps @theclutch ! In the Novice group, I'm typically the one getting the let by for say 80-90% of the group, and I let 10-20% of the folks go by. Thanks for your suggestions on Camber. I'm thinking I will likely ask the alignment shop to go -2.25 front and -1.875 rear - basically 75% of track alignment recommendation. Going to leave toe as 0.0.
What about Caster - what do you run?
I run 0 caster. With those camber settings, you will definitely have uneven tire wear as described in the MT article. If you're mentally prepared for it, then it will not be a surprise. While you may not "see" the difference in tire wear over 2k or 3k miles, you'll definitely "read" it with an electronic tire tread gauge. On my other non-tracked cars with 1 degree camber, the inside tread still wore out a lot faster.
