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Any downside to running an 18x10 wheel w/o camber plates?

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Hey all,

I'm considering going from the stock GT brembo wheels (19x9) to some 18x10 SVE Drifts. I do 4 HPDE track days a year.

I don't plan to do camber plates... will I be more likely to wear out the outside edges of the tires of the 10" wheels than with the 9"?

Thanks,

Torsion
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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I don't think it's going to make a difference, you are going to chew up the outsides of your tires pretty good either way.

Camber plates are going to be a lot less expensive than replacing front tires twice a year; you might want to reconsider.
 
ArizonaGT said:
I don't think it's going to make a difference, you are going to chew up the outsides of your tires pretty good either way.

Camber plates are going to be a lot less expensive than replacing front tires twice a year; you might want to reconsider.

Thanks for the feedback... but they look like a bear to install. I couldn't do it myself, and I'm guessing it's a lot of shop time to install camber plates.

I'm doing fine right now running 19x9 wheels and 255 tires... so I wouldn't want to move to a different size if there are any downsides.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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DGRacing said:
You'll be fine without the camber plates....I don't use them now that I've turned to slicks.

Are you using bolts, at least? All the "care and feeding" guides I've seen for race tires are at least -2.5* camber, and the more the better...
 
ArizonaGT said:
Are you using bolts, at least? All the "care and feeding" guides I've seen for race tires are at least -2.5* camber, and the more the better...

No. I didn't have the bolts handy when I swapped in the new dampers. But I still have -1.25 without either.
I'm not really concerned about stretching the life of my front tires by a few hours.. I pound the hell out of them and after 8-12 sessions they are done. No bolt or camber plate is going to improve that by much I think. But for street/track tires, it can.

I'm sure endurance racing rely on squeezing every last mile out of the tires though.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Sure, but you are also giving up contact patch (and thus available grip and thus speed) while loaded in a turn. Even the sprint racers like the guys in World Challenge run ~3* negative.
 
ArizonaGT said:
Sure, but you are also giving up contact patch (and thus available grip and thus speed) while loaded in a turn. Even the sprint racers like the guys in World Challenge run ~3* negative.

That's true.

I will add another -1.5 at some point, but the camber plates I had on my stock struts weren't compatible with the M-18000-C's (not sure which ones are actually because they use the larger GT500 upper strut mount).
 

PeteInCT

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AZ nailed it. +1

On the SVE drifts, what offset are you intending? I found that my 35mm front and 38mm rear offsets which widen the stance of the car hss as much of an effect on handling as the 285s and 305s im running.
 

pufferfish

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Torsion said:
Hey all,

I'm considering going from the stock GT brembo wheels (19x9) to some 18x10 SVE Drifts. I do 4 HPDE track days a year.

I don't plan to do camber plates... will I be more likely to wear out the outside edges of the tires of the 10" wheels than with the 9"?

Thanks,

Torsion

I ran 2 full years (~7 track days) on my brembo 19x9's with 285/35/19 toyo 1 tires with stock brembo gt suspension (including no camber adjustment whatsoever) and there was ZERO uneven wear. in fact, there is still plenty of tread left. of course every car and wheel/tire combo is different. i can't honestly say that if i had a 19x10 wheel with those 285's, that it would have worn the same.

my advice is to check inside, middle and outside tread temps after each session. if you have a 30+ degree higher outside temp than the inside, you are likely going to need some camber to keep your tires from unevenly wearing.
 
Pete, I'm considering these 18x10 drifts with a +43 offset.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/SVE-1007FD/2005-13-Mustang-Flat-Black-SVE-Drift-18X10

What do you think... better for the track, and still okay for the street?
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Since you have a GT and are only running 4 events a year I think you'll be okay if you're willing to rotate frequently and monitor your tire temps and pressures carefully. Not sure what tires you plan to run, but I think a directional tire would be best for your setup as you describe and for maximum life, flip the tires on the rims after you've gone through about half their track life. You can't do that with asymmetrical tires.

While I run my GT at -2.5 camber, I think the grip isn't bad without added camber since your inside tire will have a little better contact. I think the added camber just makes it easier to manage the tire wear while increasing outer tire grip with the improved contact patch.

With camber bolts and the SVE drifts, I barely have the room for the 275/35s I'm currently running. If I took those out I could easily run 285s or 295s.
 
Oh boy, you guys have just illuminated for me that camber *bolts* exist!... I have a lot to learn about these things.

I thought the only way to do camber was to use those plates on top of the struts. :-[

Grant, are you running the 18x10 drifts?
 
Is 18x10 the ideal size for running square on a track day? I saw a reference to the Boss 302s running 18s... but then elsewhere I saw references to 19s.

Why do they put 19's on Boss Mustangs at all?

Also, is it bad to run a 275 tire in the front? That's (obviously) wider than the Boss cars use in front.

Thanks again!
 

pufferfish

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Consumers love to see gigantic wheels on new cars. It's a sign of prestige or performance...and it's bogus! 18x10 is the best size for going square. 18's give a lower ride height (vs a 19), a better effective gear ratio and lighter weight. The tires are also usually cheaper.
 
1,482
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Torsion said:
Oh boy, you guys have just illuminated for me that camber *bolts* exist!... I have a lot to learn about these things.

I thought the only way to do camber was to use those plates on top of the struts. :-[

Grant, are you running the 18x10 drifts?

Don't use camber bolts. Get some MM Camber / Caster plates. The geometry is a lot better with them.
 
1,482
408
Well everything is relative. A good, well great alignment shop should have experience with them. They are the single best mod you can do to the Boss IMO.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Torsion said:
Oh boy, you guys have just illuminated for me that camber *bolts* exist!... I have a lot to learn about these things.

I thought the only way to do camber was to use those plates on top of the struts. :-[

Grant, are you running the 18x10 drifts?

Yup, 18x10s. 275/35 R-S3s fit fine with the camber bolts racked full negative.


Torsion said:
camber plates look difficult (or expensive) to install... am I wrong?

Not that difficult or expensive, except when you compare part prices. You should get an alignment with either plates or bolts.

Fat Boss said:
Don't use camber bolts. Get some MM Camber / Caster plates. The geometry is a lot better with them.

That's debatable...Camber plates set more negative will lower the IC and roll center a little. Bolts don't change it.

Bolts set negative do take away from tire and wheel to strut clearance. That's the main negative to me.
 

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