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Camber Explained
What is camber? (in degrees): the angle between a line drawn through the top and bottom of the
tire (green line) and true vertical as viewed from the front. This is static camber. The tire
leaning in, toward the center of the car, is negative camber; the tire leaning out is positive
camber. Why do most performance cars specify negative camber? What is the optimal amount
of camber?

Camber Explained

Camber is just one of several attributes for a suspended wheel. We also have caster, toe and
Ackerman. Ackerman is only mentioned because it affects toe when the wheel is turned. It is
not significant in road racing and only slightly so with autocrossing. So why pick out camber;
they are all interrelated, that is, adjusting one affects the others. Describing the sequence of
adjustments and their impact is somewhat like trying to describe the beginning and end of a
circle, they are all connected. This article focuses on camber because it has the highest
significance on a performance road car relative to the others, then caster; mostly because of its
effect on dynamic camber, and finally toe.

Why have negative camber? One of the goals of a car’s suspension system is to maximize lateral
grip. This can be defined as the coefficient of friction which is the lateral load (Fy, the force the
tire can withstand without sliding sideways) divided by the vertical load (Fz, the weight on the
tire). It has been demonstrated in testing that for a given vertical load, the lateral load the tire
can withstand, without losing grip, can be increased by tilting the top of the outside tire (right tire
for left hand turn) towards the center of the car. That is, by adding negative camber.

The effect reaches a maximum at about 5 degrees with radial tires. This is a general statement;
there are many other variables such as tire width and type of tire construction. Also, the test was
measuring the effect of dynamic camber, i.e., the tire loaded and executing a turn of about 6 to 7
degrees. [reference: Milliken & Milliken, Race Car Vehicle Dynamics]. So, we want some
dynamic, negative camber in a performance road car.

Does negative camber have undesirable effects?

Yes. For example, what would be the best camber for maximum braking and acceleration? 0
degrees camber gives you the best contact patch and therefore the best performance with heavy
braking. Static negative camber will usually cause the inside of the tire to wear more than the
outside. On a street car this is a cost issue. On a race car, you consider this because the tire has
to make it to the end of the race or to the next pit stop, or last long enough to stay in your tire
budget.

The impact of static negative camber will vary based on driving style and road conditions. You
can extend the tire life for tires that wear unevenly by “flipping” the tires, but the labor cost may
exceed the savings in tire cost. Flipping the tires will also decrease performance until the tire
wears flat relative to the road because you have reduced the contact patch.

Camber thrust, the tendency of a tire to move in the direction of the camber, can make the car
darty on uneven road surfaces. This is why cross camber, described later, is an important
measurement on a street car.

Why do some cars call for more static negative camber than others?
The suspension geometry dictates how much static negative camber is needed in order to have
the appropriate amount of dynamic camber. Manufactures give static alignment specifications
that hopefully result in the appropriate dynamic settings. This is done because taking and setting
dynamic measurements is very time consuming and expensive.

A well designed dual, control arm front suspension, e.g., late model Corvette, does a much better
job of maintaining proper dynamic camber than a McPherson style front suspension. The
Corvette will call for about 1 degrees of static negative camber; a Mustang with McPherson style
will call for 2 to 3 degrees. They are both targeting the appropriate dynamic camber. Why the
difference? Because of the difference in SAI (Steering Axis Inclination), this is much larger on a
McPherson style.

SAI , viewed from the front of the car, is defined by the angle between a line going through the
lower ball joint and the upper ball joint, or on a McPherson style the lower ball joint and the
upper mounting point of the strut, and a vertical line. SAI causes camber to be reduced as the
wheel is turned. Therefore, less is better. McPherson style, because of design restrictions, have
large SAI, 10 to 12 degrees is normal. A dual control arm design has significantly less SAI.

At his point you might say, I don’t want less negative camber as I turn, I want more negative
camber as I turn. That is, you do not want negative camber to go from negative 3 degrees to
negative 2 degrees as you turn. You want it to increase. It does, because of the affect of caster
(positive) and the movement of the control arm. For McPherson strut cars the lower control arm
in its static position, goes down slightly as it goes toward the tire. As the arm swings in its arc
during body roll in a corner, the arm gets longer, increasing negative camber. On a dual control
arm design, negative camber increases are caused by the same influence of the lower control arm
plus the upper control arm gets shorter relative to the lower as it swings through its arc.

What is cross camber?

Cross camber is the difference between the two camber measurements on an axle. For example,
if the LF (Left Front) camber is 1.2 degrees negative and the RF (Right Front) is 0.5 degrees
negative, the cross camber is 0.7 degrees. Why is this an important measurement, especially on a
street car? With camber comes the phenomenon of camber thrust. Even if a tire is pointed
straight ahead. It pushes the car laterally in the direction the tire is leaning. This is why, some
cars (driven on the right hand side of the road), call for a little more negative camber for the RF
than the LF. 1.0 degree camber causes camber thrust which is equivalent to turning the tire 0.1
degrees.

What about suspension modifications like

lowering a car?
In many cases, we can get the car to the static alignment specifications even after it has been
lowered, but this does not mean the car will handle as well as before. Why, because the dynamic
measurements – car loaded in a corner, body rolling 1 or more inches – will have the control arm
in a different location than the non lowered car which will affect the dynamic camber. For
example, say a McPherson suspension set at 2.5 negative static camber at stock ride height has a
dynamic camber in a 7 degree turn of 3.5 degrees negative. The car is lowered so the front
lower control arm now goes up from the cross member (frame mounting point) to the lower ball
joint by the wheel; it went down slightly before lowering. The static camber is re adjusted to the
2.5 negative setting, but the dynamic camber at the same 7 degree turn is now 2.5 degrees, not
the more desirable 3.5 degrees. There is less impact on dual control arm cars, but the same
phenomenon occurs.

So, what is the best setting for camber?

On a performance street car, start with the factory specifications. Accept that the tires on some
cars will wear unevenly. Two examples are BMWs and McPherson strut cars. The former
because of aggressive alignment settings and the latter because of limitations of the suspension
design.

For autocross, track-day, and road-race cars start with asking what the successful guys running
your car are doing. Unless you’re a podium finisher, they will probably share. If starting from
factory settings, for an autocross or track day car, you can be a little more aggressive with
camber, plus 1 degree. For a production road race car or purpose built autocross, plus 2 degrees.
Again, this is for radial tires. Bias ply tires have different behavior. Then start taking tire
temperatures.

Use a Probe type temperature gauge, not an infrared. Infrared only measures the surface
temperature of the tire. Measure the tire temperature in three places across the tire, 1 inch form
each outer edge and in the middle. Don’t take a cool off lap. Don’t get out of the car. Come in
and as you stop, turn the wheels to give the crew easy access to the front tires. Have them take
the temperatures and write them on the car with dry erase markers, left to right, inner, middle,
outer. Also, measure the tire pressures.

Note the difference between a tire pressure issue and an alignment issue. For example, if the
temperatures for a given tire, inner to outer, are 165, 185, 170, your tire pressure is too high.
Drop it a few pounds and try again.

Excluding tire pressure issue, if your temperatures have about 10 degree or less variance, you are
good to go. With a greater than 20 degree variance, try some changes, but watch your lap times
– the end goal.

When making changes, change one thing at a time. Re adjust items that are affected by the
change. For example, if you change camber, reset the toe. Now you might ask why re-set the
toe if toe is not significant. Toe is not significant for cornering performance after initial turn-in.
Even at turn-in, toe performance is debatable. It has been our experience that shock settings
have a larger impact on turn-in behavior than toe settings. But, it can scrub off speed on the
straights which is the most significant area of the track for reducing lap times.

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