This is topic Camber/Caster ??? in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by sic91sleeper (Member # 779) on :
 
I just dropped my 1991 Stang its a 5.0 but yeah i used sportlines and took out all the isolators. Its dropped pretty low and I look at the front of the stang and the wheels are angled out a little, but not too bad for how low it is. My ? is do you really need plates or should i just hold off? The tires on there are new and i know it will wear the inside of the tire and the tread wear will not be even but is there anything else i should know?

Thanks,
Jared
 

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Posted by st5150 (Member # 51) on :
 
Yes you need them, and maybe even a bump-steer / off set rack bushing kit. My suspension is stock and the shop couldn't get the alighment 100% perfect until I get camber caster plates.
 

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Posted by v8302stangs (Member # 530) on :
 
Two questions...
Where does everyone recomend getting their suspension aligned/adjusted and

Can you change the settings with your caster camber plates in your own garage for example and reset it without affecting things?
 

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Posted by LAST302 (Member # 808) on :
 
Im with the other guys. You need the plates if the car is as low as you are saying. Anyway, when you get them and have them set up a little aggressive you will wonder why you waited so long in the first place.
**v8302stang- you cannot adjust the plates yourself. The car must be on an alignment rack when installing and adjusting these plates. There is nothing special to this procedure and any tire shop should be able to do this work. I have always got my adjustments at Big O, or the dealer.
 

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Posted by sic91sleeper (Member # 779) on :
 
Well i will be buying Hotchkiss Caster/Camber plates for my car next. i like the look a lot.

I just need to know one more technical question...Whats the caster and whats the camber?
I know it has to do with the slant of the wheels but is camber pointing them in or what?

Thanks a lot for the help.
Jared

[ April 30, 2002, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: sic91sleeper ]
 

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Posted by Blu50Stang (Member # 489) on :
 


[ April 30, 2002, 07:42 PM: Message edited by: Blu50Stang ]
 

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Posted by sic91sleeper (Member # 779) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by STOKED:
Here is from what I understand.....

Camber is the amount that the top of your tire slants inward towards the fender... More negative camber the more the tire will tuck or slant back into the fender. Postive camber will cause the tire to go the other way which would be a bad thing

Then next is when you increase caster, it moves the intersection of the steering axis further away from the center of the contact patch and you get more scrubbing as the wheels are steered.

Adding caster will change your toe and also your bumpsteer since the steering arm moves vertically as caster is changed.

Hmmm hard to explain caster until you get your plates and then fool around with them... then you will see....

well here is what the MM website says
"High performance settings would be more negative camber and more positive caster. More negative camber and more positive caster will help keep the tire more upright during cornering, thereby maximizing the size of the tire footprint on the ground. When cornering, body roll causes an increase in positive camber, which pulls up the inside edge of the front outside tire, reducing the effective size of the tire’s footprint. More static negative camber counters this effect. For example, if you have 1 degree of static negative camber, and the camber moves 3 degrees due to body roll, you end up with 2 degrees of dynamic positive camber. If you have 3 degrees of static negative camber, you’ll end up with 0 degrees of dynamic camber – resulting in a larger tire footprint. Due to the steering geometry in the front of the Mustang, just turning the steering wheel will cause the camber of the outside front tire to change, becoming more positive. This effect can be countered by increasing the amount of caster. Enough positive caster (around 4 degrees in a Mustang) will cause the camber of the outside front tire to become more negative while cornering."

Don't worry sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo right now... but once you fool around with them if you install them you'll see what I mean....

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Dude thanks so much i followed all that understand it finally....from what i have learned i have a little negative camber on my ride...that seems to be good for when i go to race auto cross but all bad for the streets for tire wear.

But thanks again for all the time spent to help me out. I will have the Hotchkiss plates ordered by the end of the week and i will post back my results.
 

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Posted by sic91sleeper (Member # 779) on :
 
The tire slants in a bit heres a pic of my ride with the drop.

Thanks
 

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Posted by Bill/APEX Motorsports (Member # 636) on :
 
You need caster/camber plates and offset steering rack bushings.
We sell the Maximum Motorsports plates for a few reasons:
1) Independently adjustable for caster and camber, allowing extremely precise alignment settings. Set the caster, then set the camber. If you're at the road course and need to dial in some more negative camber, you can easily do it without affecting the caster.
2) Spherical bearing used for the upper strut mount, which prevents deflection under load. The purpose of dialing in your alignment in the first place is to keep the alignment settings under any situation. BBK, Hotchkis, etc. use a urethane mount that will deflect under load. Not good, and weak as well.
3) Strong enough to be used with our Griggs coil-overs. (Three-bolt for '79-'93, four-bolt for '94+)
4) Available in black or chrome.

BTW, any excess of toe , in or out, will cause tire wear, but a bit of toe in (usually 1/16" total) is what we prescribe for high-speed stability. Toe out is popular with autocrossers because it will turn in quickly. Toe out does make the car darty for everyday use and is more likely to follow the ruts in the road.
 

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Posted by sic91sleeper (Member # 779) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Bill/APEX Motorsports:
You need caster/camber plates and offset steering rack bushings.
We sell the Maximum Motorsports plates for a few reasons:
1) Independently adjustable for caster and camber, allowing extremely precise alignment settings. Set the caster, then set the camber. If you're at the road course and need to dial in some more negative camber, you can easily do it without affecting the caster.
2) Spherical bearing used for the upper strut mount, which prevents deflection under load. The purpose of dialing in your alignment in the first place is to keep the alignment settings under any situation. BBK, Hotchkis, etc. use a urethane mount that will deflect under load. Not good, and weak as well.
3) Strong enough to be used with our Griggs coil-overs. (Three-bolt for '79-'93, four-bolt for '94+)
4) Available in black or chrome.

BTW, any excess of toe , in or out, will cause tire wear, but a bit of toe in (usually 1/16" total) is what we prescribe for high-speed stability. Toe out is popular with autocrossers because it will turn in quickly. Toe out does make the car darty for everyday use and is more likely to follow the ruts in the road.

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