Camber, Castor and Toe.

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:04 pm

Do any of you guys know what your suspension are set too??

I am kinda after the front settings, not FSM settings please, want kind of numbers should I be aiming for??

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:16 pm

I think it depends on what you want to do with you car?

Drift, drag, circuit, street......

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:19 pm

Street. Just wanted to know what you guys have yours set to...

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:28 pm

Just run stock settings then. Best on your car for min wear and tear.

HancoB · Post by **HancoB** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:00 pm

Jip,

Best is to run stock camber, caster and toe.

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:50 pm

gary - what does street mean?

you're obviously looking to improve your handling overall, but are there specific characteristics that you want to change, e.g:

- tendency to oversteer
- tendency to understeer
- sharper turn in
- more vague turn in
- more grip in general
- more grip in front
- more grip at the rear

what setup are you currently running?

wheel size
tire size
camber
caster
toe

???

and now once you've answered those questions - have you researched (googled) these things mentioned? because there is quite a lot of info out there!!!

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Thu May 08, 2008 7:46 pm

YAY VC you get what I am after.

I would like to get a sharper turn in. If I do a slightly spirited drive, the car will understeer going into the corner. I think I need to improve the grip on the front, I have plenty on the back. More front grip will sort my understeer issues.

I am running 17" Toyo T1R's with a 45mm profile and 225 wide. The rear has about 1.5-1.75degrees camber (yes its alot but stops the back stepping out when I floor it in a corner). Caster is stock, cant change it and toe is set to 0. The front camber should be around 1.25-1.5degrees but is prob out now from the potholes. Again camber is stock as it cant be changed and toe is 0. Oh ja strut braces front and back, koni adjustable dampers front and back as well as S14 springs.

How can I get more front grip, I think I have too much on the back which makes the front seem not enough??

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu May 08, 2008 8:44 pm

most guys wont appreciate the next comment, BUT...

s13's naturally understeer. its what they do, but you can make changes that will sort it out.

also - a 45 sidewall profile doesnt mean that its 45mm - its actually some sort of ratio calculation based on the width of the tire!

ok - lets focus on the front...

because you dont have any adjustable anything, you cant change castor or camber.

that sucks because this would help your quest. options are adjustable camber plates (i've heard camber bolts can work in an sx), and adjustable castor rods. but these cant really be changed, so lets ignore them for now!

you need to concentrate on toe (in or out). a little toe out would give the car far more precise and fast turn in, but this is at a detriment to straight line stability. obviously there is a compromise though.

castor changes will also have an effect on straight line stability, but they also change the geometry of the suspension around the hub of the wheel, and thus can affect your cornering grip if set right. you can achieve more negative camber on the outside wheel, and more positive camber on the inside wheel, in a turn - with the right castor settings.

more negative camber on the outside wheel will mean more grip. this is where camber adjustability comes in too. more negative camber will give you more grip in corners too, because as you corner heavily, the outside wheel geometry will tend to straighten up. by having more initial negative camber - you will end up with a full tire contact patch in a heavy corner. with neutral or positive initial camber, as the wheel geometry changes in a corner the tire contact patch will actually get smaller, thus diminishing the levels of grip you have.

go here for a technical, but easy to read,. explanation:

http://www.ozebiz.com.au/racetech/theory/align.html

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Fri May 09, 2008 8:14 am

Yeah VC so how do I increase the front negetive camber or castor?? I know you can get the suspension guys to give it slight push with a porter power, but is this the only way??

The sx does understeer, all of them do, but how can we fix this whilst still keeping the car streetable??

Is there anything easy I can build

to give me these adjustments??

jap spec · Post by **jap spec** » Fri May 09, 2008 8:32 am

sounds like you need castor rods and/or camber plates/coilovers... On this stock set up there is no adjustability really.... If you looking to improve it without changing these....check your tyre pressures...lower pressure in front will give more grip, obviously depending on the pressure at the moment not being to low.... The next thing, which could help... either change the tyre to a 235, which is maybe to big for your 17's(if they 7j)...or change the type of tyre, softer compound tyre

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Fri May 09, 2008 8:37 am

Tyres are good, wont change them at all.

So dont suppose anyone has a drawing of these adjustable goodies I need??

I think I need to check the camber on the front, I am sure they are out (damn potholes), I think if I get it somewhere near 1.5degrees I will alright.

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Fri May 09, 2008 8:51 am

Good luck on wear on you tires, you will be getting half of your milage out of it.....

Remeber, setups like these put strain on the other parts of your suspension.... Just keep it in mind and check and recheck your syspention every now and then.

Gary57 · Post by **Gary57** » Fri May 09, 2008 8:54 am

Castor does not wear tyres

.

mario_200sx · Post by **mario_200sx** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:07 am

It does wear you tyres unevenly.

Toe in or out does where your tires.....

300sx · Post by **300sx** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:08 am

The sx does understeer, all of them do, but how can we fix this whilst still keeping the car streetable??

you sure about this? thought they loved to oversteer..
mine sure does.. in fact, my main mission with my suspension was to get more neutral steer, and dial out the friggen oversteer?