Camber question

[gpvecchi]

I adjusted the angles at a garage today, the front camber was adjusted to -2.4 degrees at both wheels with me sit at the driver's place.
This leads to -2.5 and -2.3 when nobody is in the car.
Is this a correct procedure? It's the first time it's been adjusted like this...

[EAGLE5]

A local tire shop that outfits race cars across the world told me that they never have a person in the driver's seat when aligning. They don't get returns when the car is empty, but they do get complaints when somebody is in the seat during alignments.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by EAGLE5

A local tire shop that outfits race cars across the world told me that they never have a person in the driver's seat when aligning. They don't get returns when the car is empty, but they do get complaints when somebody is in the seat during alignments.

That's completely backwards. You want it aligned at the ride height it'll be driven at most of the time. For a race car, that's half a tank of gas and the driver (or equivalent weight) in the driver's seat.

Every alignment I've had in my car has been with me actually sitting in the seat.


OP - the alignment changes without your weight in the car because camber changes through compression and rebound, and with you out of the car the ride height changes.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by wparsons

That's completely backwards. You want it aligned at the ride height it'll be driven at most of the time. For a race car, that's half a tank of gas and the driver (or equivalent weight) in the driver's seat.

Every alignment I've had in my car has been with me actually sitting in the seat.


OP - the alignment changes without your weight in the car because camber changes through compression and rebound, and with you out of the car the ride height changes.

Racing has lots of voodoo in it. I just know what this one race shop does, and that they have collectively more tire and alignment experience than most. They find customers are happy this way. If you're on the track and serious, you're going to adjust your setup in many ways based on actual handling, and alignment is only one of those ways.

[NoHaveMSG]

With 7kg springs my car was stiff enough my weight didn't really effect ride height. With 10kg springs, lol. Setting alignment static with no weight in the seat hasn't mattered to me.

[strat61caster]

Kraus?

OP is seeing what I'd expect, about a tenth of a degree difference, it's close enough that your driving conditions will make a bigger difference in terms of wear and life. If you're sweating a tenth of a degree of camber you should probably book the time to test back to back multiple alignments before you freak out, if you can't do that then it's really not serious enough to worry about it.

[cmiovino]

Mine was done with a person in the driver's seat. Something like 1.1* front driver's side and 1.2" passenger side, which went to 1.2* even with a person driving. SCCA DS class, so no adjustable camber beyond a OEM camber bolts available from Toyota/Subaru.