12-09-2009, 08:50 AM
|
|
|
Caster, camber and you.
 Often discussed, rarely understood. Thought id start up a discussion and share what ive learned.
Camber - the angle that the tops of your wheels are tilted in or out. Used to keep the tire contact patch flat on the road in a corner. Since in a turn, the outside tire tends to roll under, we tip the tire in or add "negative camber" so that when the tire rolls under, the contact patch on the road is maximized. The tradeoff to negative camber? Poor tire wear. I do have a camber gauge if anyone cares to have some fun with it one day.
Caster - How far laid back (or forward) the tops of your struts are in relation to the center line of your ball joint. In other words, when you hit a bump, your wheel travels up AND back. The more back it travels, the more positive caster you have. More caster makes the car take bumps better and be more stable at speed. It also gives you more negative camber as you turn the wheel in a corner. This is beneficial because you can run less static camber and save your tire wear. The bad is that more caster makes it harder to steer, gives you more brake dive and could possibly gain too much camber in corners. My camber gauge can measure this as well.\
Thoroughly confused? Got something to add? Please, lets talk.
(0)
|
NJStangers RSS
Connect with Facebook
Crab Volleyball Champion!
...
...
...
...
...
...
...my life in a nutshell
Linear Mode
