How much camber?

[J_K]

I've only had the 172 for about a month now and the previous owner has fitted eibach sportline springs and has camber bolts installed in the front. He used the car daily but wasn't doing much mileage and he did quite a few track days in it, I on the other hand spend far more time than I'd like driving in straight lines and I'm wondering if they're really necessary for me at the moment.

I have a new set of goodyear eagle F1's coming this weekend for it and I'm slightly concerned that having too much camber will just wear out the tyres and not really give me any advantage, I'm planning on getting the tracking done soon so want to sort the camber out first, would it be worth running slightly more camber than standard or would I be as well off going back to standard.

I do like the handling on it at the moment but as I say, I just don't want to wear the insides off the tyres for no good reason. Maybe the bolts won't even give enough camber to do damage to the tyres but sure, no better place to ask than here

Thanks,

 

[Grant89]

More camber = better handling = reduced tyre wear

If you're using it daily and not for anything more, then return it to standard settings. If you take it somewhere that does full laser wheel alignment they can adjust camber as well as adjusting your toe at the same time, that way you'll know it's spot on and you'll get a shiny piece of paper if you're lucky

 

[J_K]

As a matter of interest how much camber are people running, and what toe settings? Same as standard or are there improvements to be made.

 

[Toms_clio]

1.5- 2 neg camber is best for road and no sign of tyre wear..

 

[Jay Payne]

-4.5deg. 1mm toe out

Race only
As Tom says 1.5 - 2 for road use

 

[ozclio03]

2.5 deg for me!

 

[tertius]

What adjustment is available, if any, with the standard 172 Cup setup?

 

[J_K]

What about the rear though?

Keep it standard or add a little camber too.

 

[skydiver]

For road use,-1.30 is ok!!

 

[Goodj]

More camber = better handling = reduced tyre wear

eh?

more [positive/negative] Camber = more contact on [inner/outer] edge = more wear on [inner/outer] edge = more wear across half of the tyre

 

[Tombola]

Yeah +1 on the INCREASED tyre wear

 

[Grant89]

eh?

more [positive/negative] Camber = more contact on [inner/outer] edge = more wear on [inner/outer] edge = more wear across half of the tyre

Sorry, fail on my part there, meant more tyre wear or reduced tyre life...instead I put a mix of the 2 to give something completely different lol!

 

[Goodj]

I getcha, we all make mistakes (well, except me)

 

[TimR26]

I ran 1.5 degrees on my 172 which didn't seem to noticeably increase the tyre wear.

 

[welshname]

Is there any way to check your camber without getting it aligned? I just want to know how much I've got because it's non adjustable but it's a fair amount compared to some 1*2's I've seen which are supposedly running 2.

 

[TimR26]

Is there any way to check your camber without getting it aligned? I just want to know how much I've got because it's non adjustable but it's a fair amount compared to some 1*2's I've seen which are supposedly running 2.

Find somewhere with a Hunter alignment system that does free checks.

www.alignmycar.co.uk

 

[Goodj]

plum lines.
t-squares
square-edge triangles.

all of these will help, but it's ghetto

 

[Nick172Cup]

iPhone app for camber, not exact however as near as damnit gives you the info you need. That's how Failsport adjusts camber anyways!

 

[welshname]

Tried to find the app but couldn't find an accurate one.

 

[Sam@NP]

-2.5 for me, but fun comes before tyre wear for me.

 

[Kam.]

Eibach camber bolts give about 3 degrees max. Certainly overkill on maximum settings for a daily road car. I'd start with around 1.5-2 degrees as a good balance.

 

[ripp]

my bolts only go to about -1,5 degrees, nowhere near 3 degrees! they were bought from kam racing btw! car was ok when standard (no issues with the geometry)
maybe they give around 2 degrees on non cup suspension as the bolt spacing is different

 

[str160]

Increasing camber will increase tyre wear, but nowhere near as much as toe settings would. You can also negate some of the wear from camber by adjusting the toe to suit. Finding a good balance is key, tyre life or grip.

 

[Sam@NP]

The maximum camber Ive seen with bolts is -2.6 and thats on my car lol

 

[ripp]

eibach bolts?

 

[clio_luke]

im running -1.5 on the front and tyre wear actually seems to be more even. the std setup seemed to wear the outer edge of the tyres quicker.

... but yes, excessive -camber will eat tyres