Negative Camber; What does this do?

[Ripper]

what exactly does a negative chamber do? and what's it's purpose? does it give you more traction in the front wheels as it turns?

[Tuner]

Negative Camber alone will not. It's a combination of all three Caster, Camber, and Toe

http://autorepair.about.com/gi/dynam...Falignment.htm

[f8ldzz]

It depends on the suspension...
MacPherson strut (front) suspension can use lots of negative camber due to the suspension design.
AE86, S13 / S14, FC3S all use MacPherson front struts.
The negative camber (up front) allows for better grip.
Name of the game is sticky up front...loose in the rear.
Rear nagative camber in the rear is preference.
You see some (D1) drift cars running lots of negative camber in the rear, but this has nothing to do with (more) grip...in fact, it's for *less* grip.
I, personally, don't like wasting tires (hell, can't afford them!) in the rear just on the inside edges just to look cool with wide tires in back.
I try to tune the car with even tire wear in the rear, and this mean very little (negative camber).

Cars like the FD3S, which use double wishbone up front (and back), don't need the excessive negative camber in front.

[chmercer]

i think it should be clarified that increased negative camber gives you more grip only when cornering. when going straight your grip is decreased. running a ton of negative in the back would make your car loose, but it would be harder to hold the drift once you initiate because you have less traction.

[JunpoweR]

Camber

Well depending on your turning and cars roll you will have to set the camber more negative for harder turning and less for normal straight driving..It's mostly for tire patch to contact the road flatter because when ur car turns ir usually rolls so u will have to push the top(negative camber) of the wheels in so when ur car is tilted the tire is flat against the road..

Usually you will need a temp gauge and an open space to test camber.just looking at tire wear wont show much ..Go drive hard for 2-5 minutes and then right when ur at a stop check the tire tempatures and find the hottest part.You will want it to be slightly off center to the outside of the tire..This means you have good camber for the turning youre gonna do..Each track is diffrent so you will have to do this after one run atleast..This is why you have practice laps at almost every event.

[CrazyHawaiian]

Well I'm no expert or anything, but the way I understand it is that negative camber will even out the contact patch while sliding. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here's a pic to show you what I mean: click me. Check out the pass side front tire. See how it is angled inward? This green car has a regular (street friendly) setup so the camber is not modified for drifting. But if the front wheels had more negative camber then the pass side front tire would be level with the ground (while sliding) and provide a better contact patch to control the car. I hope that helps explain why drifters usually run more negative camber. Its definately not cool for street driving (uneven tread wear), but does make a difference for drifting. But yeah, these guys are right, its not all about camber. Caster and toe also matter.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Sizzearch. I know I personally have covered it numerous times.

[f8ldzz]

Originally posted by JunpoweR
Usually you will need a temp gauge and an open space to test camber.just looking at tire wear wont show much ..

I would disagree.
There is a trick with autocross guys who use white shoe polish on the outside edges to check for tire sidewall "rollover".
This will definitely help if your problem is too much positive camber or overinflation of pressure.

We tend to use R-compound tires for the front, and it's pretty obvious how the tire is wearing across the width of the thread on the track.

Even with regular high-performance street tires, a keen eye will pick-up the signs of uneven tire wear.
The key is to check the tire graining across the width of the tire.
Track surfaces are typically very abrasive, and you should pick-up the wear across the tires tread pretty easily.

[f8ldzz]

Originally posted by CrazyHawaiian
Well I'm no expert or anything, but the way I understand it is that negative camber will even out the contact patch while sliding.

Um, not necessarily.
It's kinda complex, and it has to do with suspension geometry, tire loading, sway bar stiffness, etc.

[JunpoweR]

Originally posted by f8ldzz
I would disagree.
There is a trick with autocross guys who use white shoe polish on the outside edges to check for tire sidewall "rollover".
This will definitely help if your problem is too much positive camber or overinflation of pressure.

I disagree,
Were not trying to pull magic tricks here.You might be able to see how far the tire rolls but you will not be able to see what part gets hot .Abybody can roll over a tire but getting the camber adjusted to the tire will ensure better wear than with just shoe polish..This is ok if you dont have a tempature sensor but to be more exact you will need a temp. sensor to see where the tire gets the hottest..

Making sure the hottest tempatures on the tire are near center or slightly to the outside will really give even wear compared to using shoe polish..Common guys lets keep the shoe polish on the windows or your shoes not your tires..LMAO

[GRiDRaceTech]

Shoe polish: $3.99
Temperature probe: $124.95

Now I know why some of the best autocrossers in the world use shoe polish.

[f8ldzz]

Originally posted by JunpoweR
I disagree,
Were not trying to pull magic tricks here.You might be able to see how far the tire rolls but you will not be able to see what part gets hot .Abybody can roll over a tire but getting the camber adjusted to the tire will ensure better wear than with just shoe polish..This is ok if you dont have a tempature sensor but to be more exact you will need a temp. sensor to see where the tire gets the hottest..

Sure, I'm not disagreeing with a tire pyrometer being the ideal measuring too for this job, but my point is it's not absolutely necessary.
I keep track of both front and rear tires by inspecting them after every run, and this has worked fairly well for us.
We're able to easily tell rear tire wear just by staring at it.
This allows us to adjust tire pressures for better tire wear.
We are running R-compound tires up front, so the softer treadwear might make it easier for us to watch the tread wear.

Making sure the hottest tempatures on the tire are near center or slightly to the outside will really give even wear compared to using shoe polish..Common guys lets keep the shoe polish on the windows or your shoes not your tires..LMAO

Uh ok, cheap shot at drag racers...

[f8ldzz]

Originally posted by GRiDRaceTech
Shoe polish: $3.99
Temperature probe: $124.95

Now I know why some of the best autocrossers in the world use shoe polish.

I don't think it's a fair comparison to compare "best autocrossers" with your typical drift enthusiasts on here...

[GRiDRaceTech]

You mean because the typical drift enthusiast is fourteen years old?

[f8ldzz]

Originally posted by GRiDRaceTech
You mean because the typical drift enthusiast is fourteen years old?

No, that wasn't the implication.
I see the local SCCA guys regularly use tire pyrometers.
I have never seen any of the local drift guys use them.
I don't think I've ever seen any other drifters on video use them.
Do you guys use them?