Friends I have looking for new alignments specs that make me more competitve in some Solo II and AutoX events, and also make my car streetable without wear out my tires promptly. I know that is a compromise and is not an easy question.
I have been using in front: -1° (Camber- I know that is very conservative!!!!) and Zero (Toe), Eibach Sway Bar set (26mm front and 22m rear) and haven't installed yet my rear shims. Fore more info about my suspension mods checkout my profile.
So my specific questions are:
1.- anyone have used more negative camber in rear than fronts? what do you feel?
2.- how much rear camber/toe do you recommend me for a dual purpose usage(street/road racing)?
3.- how much should be camber bias front to rear? Camber should be more in front than in the rear in j-bodies, inclusive knowing that j-bodies uses a fixed rear crossmember or non IRS system?
I know that this questions have been posted previously, but I am a little confused right know and I want to check it with you. My ideas for the future would be going to something like: Front (-1.25° x 0mm) and Rear (-0.8° x 0mm), then I want to hear your experiences and suggestions.
Thanks in advance,
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My setup=
-2 camber front (adjustable at the track)
-1 camber rear
1/2 toe out front
0 toe rear
You can run -1 degree camber in the rear ok, but beyond that, its kind of pointless because of the type of suspension. -1 up front is good for both street and track use, but -1.5 or even -2 is better. Most alignment machines will only get it within 1/2-3/4 of a degree anyways, so if you say -1.5, you could have anywhere from 1 to -2.
You should have a toe out up front for track use. I have mine set to 1/2 degree out both sides. Your turn in is better, but its still streetable. Any amount of toe in the rear really doesn't do anything since they aren't driven wheels, all they have to do is grip (or slide depending on what you want).
Note- I drive my car all the time on the street like this and it DOES wear the tires out. I have put about 12k on these tires and they need to be rotated already.
I like his setup but without the toe. That will keep your street tires from wearing out so fast. The camber isn't really going to wear your tires unevenly if you rotate frequently.
Then JBO friends, do you have any other suggestions?
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Friends, basically why our cars supposely turns better using more heg camber in front than in the rear? I have seen many cars using more neg camber in rear than in front.
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"I have seen many cars using more neg camber in rear than in front."
Really? I don't see that in my Solo2 events.
As the weight transfers to the outside tire during the turn, the tire "rolls" towards the outside. In order to keep as much rubber in contact with the ground, you need to have negative camber t rest, so in the turn, it becomes more positive (if that makes sense). Since these are front drive cars, there isn't really a point to having extreme neg camber in the rear, since all the tire is doing is holding the car up, its not driving. Rear drive cars (independent) should run more neg camber than us, because those are the driven wheels.
About the toe- Zach is right, camber (wether neg or pos) isn't really a wear angle (unless its extreme). The reason I run toe out is for better turn in and heat build up on the outer tire. Since its doing all the gripping during the turn (the inside tire is unloaded), having toe out will "drag" the tire sideways through the turn, keeping the temp up and keeping it sticky. This really doesn't work well with street tires (in my experience) but it works very well with race tires.
I belive the camber in the rear is more for RWD cars, vettes and miatas do this that I know of off the top of my head.
As for my specs, I have -2 degrees up front, -1.25 degrees in the back. Toe is 5 mm total up front and none in the back. That setup hasn't chewed up my tires much at all. You just have to rotate them often, I did mine about every other autocross last year. I couldn't cross rotate them either, MXs are directional. Only 1 of the 4 is showing abmormal wear, and it was on the right front most of the time. Between wheel spin and a bad ball joint, it got screwed. The rest are amazingly even.
I would recomend at least -1.50 degrees up front, probably 1.75 woudl be better. Rear would be -1.0 or so. Toe is up to you. I would say up to 5mm total wouldn't hurt your tires badly, and will help quite a bit on turn in. No toe in the rear.
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i have to come up with alignment specs for my ride. brandon do you think 1.25 in the rear is enough? i was thinking 2.0 camber in the front and 1/8th total to out in the front and zero in the rear. what do you think?
see ya!
Thanks a lot friends, for your info.
James Cahill: I understand what you want to say when fwd cars in turns get more positive camber due to the Mcpherson suspension design.
Zach: Many cars like BMW, Preludes, Integras, Audis, Minis, Alfa Romeo, Toyotas and many others in stock condition uses more neg camber in the rear than in the front. This technique produces a light understeer condition, because this type of cars got better suspension than jbodies from factory, with a semi-neutral suspension feeling condition.
The fact is that jbodies in stock shape have lots of understeer that can be corrected using sport springs, sport shocks, sway bar, chassis stiffening techniques and of course the ultimate touch to get a wining car: a professional alignment setup.
I was using (-0.5º x 0mm) for the fronts and don't touch the rears, with good results, of course including my whole suspension setup. I think I can use my car for racing events only a 5% of the time during a year, so I will try a mild alignment setup that allow me to be more competitive but without been a compromise for my tires. I earning to reach my boost plans.
Then by the moment I will try (-1º x 0mm) for the fronts and (-0.6 x 0mm) for the rears and maybe (-1.5º x -1.5mm) for the fronts and (-1º x 0mm) for a wilder setup. I know that something like -2º and -1.5º F&R could be the ultimate setup for Solo and AutoX events, but is not good to be used prolonged times in the streets.
What do you think friends?
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Your "Wilder" setup actualy looks to be a darn good compromise between track and street to where it woudl be more agressive than you had before, and it shouldn't chew up tires at all.
I know on my car with the current inrax and AGX setup, -2 degrees of camber up front didn't seem like enough. I wanted to try -2.25 degrees and keep tow out at 5mm total, and the rear stays the same. This might change depending on if i make the switch to coilovers anytime soon.
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CavFan1 I know you are right, but the roads where I live are horrible, are really rough. So I want some a really mild setup to start with.
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Here is my former setup
-2.5 front (max for camber bolts i was using)
- 1 rear
2/32 toe out in front.... more will eat your street tires
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