Alignment and Camber questions for Dummys(me)

[wparsons]

Mine was closer to -1.5* on each wheel (within ~0.03), guess I got lucky

-1.2* will definitely be a good difference from stock! You might want to dial out some camber in the rear, around -1* would be more ideal to balance out what you have up front.

It won't be bad as is, but you could optimize it if you wanted.

[SpectreRT]

My car is currently sitting at -2.5 front -1.6 rear. I've been debating that my -2.5 front may be a little too much. I've been considering dropping the front to -2.0 flat...

Thoughts? I'm kinda a suspension and camber newb here. Looking for comments/suggestions on what would be a good place to keep this.
- For reference, I do casual autocross, and love to take windy roads whenever possible.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by SpectreRT

My car is currently sitting at -2.5 front -1.6 rear. I've been debating that my -2.5 front may be a little too much. I've been considering dropping the front to -2.0 flat...

Thoughts? I'm kinda a suspension and camber newb here. Looking for comments/suggestions on what would be a good place to keep this.
- For reference, I do casual autocross, and love to take windy roads whenever possible.

Are you wanting to set for tire wear, or for max grip?

If you want to set for wear, look at how they're currently wearing (and consider if you're willing to flip the wheels on the rims to wear them the other way).

If you want to set for grip, you need to measure temps across the tread after an autocross run. If the outside is colder than the inside, you have too much camber.

I would bet that at -2.5 you're in the right range for autocross (possibly even wanting more), but possibly getting some uneven wear depending on how much the car is driven.

[SpectreRT]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Are you wanting to set for tire wear, or for max grip?

If you want to set for wear, look at how they're currently wearing (and consider if you're willing to flip the wheels on the rims to wear them the other way).

If you want to set for grip, you need to measure temps across the tread after an autocross run. If the outside is colder than the inside, you have too much camber.

I would bet that at -2.5 you're in the right range for autocross (possibly even wanting more), but possibly getting some uneven wear depending on how much the car is driven.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm looking for a happy balance of longevity and cornering/grip. When I had my front camber at -1.5, I still noticed a lot of sidewall wear. At -2.5, that seems to be gone; however i'm concerned it may be a little much.

Yes, I know too much camber can/will wear the inside of the tire; i'm comfortable with that. Just trying to find that sweet-spot, ya know?

[wparsons]

If you're not concerned about the wear on the inside edge, then I would just leave it as is.

[SpectreRT]

Originally Posted by wparsons

If you're not concerned about the wear on the inside edge, then I would just leave it as is.

So long as I'm not buying tires every year; i'm fine. lol...

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Zero your toe front and rear.

- Andy

I thought zero toe front and rear would make the car twitchy? I read somewhere on here that a little bit of toe in the rear would make it more settled and less likely to track lines in the road. A little bit being around 1/32 each, for 1/16 total.

Is that not right? I'm ordering springs this weekend and want to know what to tell the alignment guy once they're in.

[Grim-Reaper]

Just a short question. Does front camber count per side or combined? Like 2x 1.75 degrees or 1.75/2?

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

I thought zero toe front and rear would make the car twitchy? I read somewhere on here that a little bit of toe in the rear would make it more settled and less likely to track lines in the road. A little bit being around 1/32 each, for 1/16 total.

Is that not right? I'm ordering springs this weekend and want to know what to tell the alignment guy once they're in.

Zero rear toe is good for autox, but unless you're really experienced on a track you'll probably want that ~1/16" of toe in.

Originally Posted by Grim-Reaper

Just a short question. Does front camber count per side or combined? Like 2x 1.75 degrees or 1.75/2?

Camber is measured per wheel.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Zero rear toe is good for autox, but unless you're really experienced on a track you'll probably want that ~1/16" of toe in.



Camber is measured per wheel.

Thanks. Then I'll go 2* on the front, zero toe. And whatever I get from lowering on the rear, with 1/32 toe in on each side. Sound good for a DD? I have camber bolts for the front.

[wparsons]

You won't get -2* up front from just camber bolts, ~1.5 max.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

I thought zero toe front and rear would make the car twitchy? I read somewhere on here that a little bit of toe in the rear would make it more settled and less likely to track lines in the road. A little bit being around 1/32 each, for 1/16 total.

Is that not right? I'm ordering springs this weekend and want to know what to tell the alignment guy once they're in.

I wouldn't say 0 toe makes things "twitchy" but a little bit of rear toe-in is usually a good thing and helps keep things stable.

If he's not adding rear LCAs and isn't able to dial out the extra rear camber from the drop, I wouldn't worry about not having that slight amount of toe-in especially if he autocrosses. Also if he's going to be limited with how much front camber he can get.

If you are able to back down the rear negative camber or add a bunch of front camber, then I would dial in a little bit of toe-in (1/16 total is good).

- Andy

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by wparsons

You won't get -2* up front from just camber bolts, ~1.5 max.

Well, I'll do what I can with what I have, I guess. Any is better than stock.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

Well, I'll do what I can with what I have, I guess. Any is better than stock.

You're not wrong there!