Front alignment

[Swede]

Hi,

I've been eating up the inside of the front wheels really fast - I got 4-5 mm tread on the outer half of the tire and nothing left on the inner shoulder. Allegedly, there was an alignment measurement done in CA before and after Steeda Boss springs were fitted. It said nothing changed; -1° camber and 0° toe.

So I made a rudimentary measurement using string, L-square, spirit level and measuring tape. Got -1.7° camber and -0.4° toe (yes, I'm fast into corners... ;-)

Just ordered CC plates to be able to have different settings for track and street. I will have a new alignment done by professionals once they are installed.

I have seen the Boss alignment spec; caster 7.0° ± 0.75° camber -0.95° ± 0.75° and toe 0.20° ± 0.20°.

From what I've heard, more negative camber will automatically mean more toe out. This true?

If so, I am thinking I could go for the following setup:

Street: caster 7.0°, camber -0,5° and toe 0°
Track: caster 7.0°, camber -1,7° (I read that the Steeda Boss springs will not allow more camber) and toe will be somewhat out.

- Any ideas on what toe out will be in the race setup?
- Am I doing this the right way around? I could do it the other way around; set Track toe to -0.2° and see what the Street toe turns out to be. But I don't want the excessive tread wear I currently have.
- Are these settings any good?

Thanks//Swede

 

[Grant 302]

Unless you put on a lot of street/freeway commuter miles on, I'd go a little more negative on the street camber setting. -0.9° or -1°. Otherwise, I like the rest of your settings.

 

[Swede]

I usually drive about 4000 miles/year. Mainly city and some longer freeway trips.

 

[Grant 302]

I think making a street-track change of over -1º ∆ will net you too much toe out in your track setup when starting with 0º toe for the street. If you want to start at -0.5º camber for the street, then I'd run about 1/16" toe in.

 

[twistedneck]

I think making a street-track change of over -1º ∆ will net you too much toe out in your track setup when starting with 0º toe for the street. If you want to start at -0.5º camber for the street, then I'd run about 1/16" toe in.

I also would like to drive on the street at -1 degree and then go to -2 degrees on the track to balance tire temps. To help me clarify does increasing negative camber result in toe out or toe in? I read on wiki that if you have a lot of negative camber you will need to some toe out to correct the side thrust and reduce rolling resistance.

Please help me clarify it.

 

[Swede]

I think making a street-track change of over -1º ∆ will net you too much toe out in your track setup when starting with 0º toe for the street. If you want to start at -0.5º camber for the street, then I'd run about 1/16" toe in.

Perfect, that was one of the things I was wondering. I'd like a little toe out on track, maybe 0,1 or max 0,2 deg. Good advice.

 

[Swede]

I also would like to drive on the street at -1 degree and then go to -2 degrees on the track to balance tire temps. To help me clarify does increasing negative camber result in toe out or toe in? I read on wiki that if you have a lot of negative camber you will need to some toe out to correct the side thrust and reduce rolling resistance.

Please help me clarify it.

That's how I understood it; going from -1 deg camber to -2 deg camber will result in more toe out.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Your -1 degree camber is fine on the street while keeping the rest of the OEM settings, negative 1 to 2 degrees is not that excessive. I run similar settings and she tracks well without excessive inner tread wear. Track settings can run much higher negative camber settings, up to -6 degrees, in some cases.

It's been a while since my last set up and FE alignment, but some cars are even more and are set up specifically for the different tracks they run.

My point is -1 to -2 degrees is a mild set up for camber. IMO.

Hope this helps and you will get more opinions/advice from some of our dedicated Race members here.
Dave
302 HP

 

[Grant 302]

Perfect, that was one of the things I was wondering. I'd like a little toe out on track, maybe 0,1 or max 0,2 deg. Good advice.

And it's best to verify all numbers for both settings.

I also would like to drive on the street at -1 degree and then go to -2 degrees on the track to balance tire temps. To help me clarify does increasing negative camber result in toe out or toe in?

Depends where the adjustment is made. At the top mount with CC plates like the OP asked, increasing negative camber will increase toe out 'gradually'. If done at the top strut to spindle with a camber bolt, increasing negative camber increases toe out 'quickly'. With a camber bolt in the lower hole, I think it would work opposite of that and 'really quickly'.

I read on wiki that if you have a lot of negative camber you will need to some toe out to correct the side thrust and reduce rolling resistance.

Not sure about that. My understanding is: To run toe out to improve turn-in by increasing Ackerman which 'opens up' the steering as the wheels are turned. This creates less scrub and rolling resistance in a turn.

 

[Swede]

Yes, I'll install the CC plates and play around with the camber setting and see how it effects toe before I decide.
Thanks for all the advice!

 

[13Boss#3328]

I have cc plate and I run -2.3 camber with 0 toe. I daily drive my Boss all year around. Now on snow tires.
The wear is even.

 

[Tri-bar]

For the street I run 1.5 camber, 0 toe. When I get to the track I just push them all the way in, about 2.5 to 3* and what ever toe I get out of doing that, turn in is like a bat out of Hell. not much tire wear either and stable under braking. 1.5 for the street will not hurt the tires, rotate often and ya wont know the difference.

 

[Swede]

Why rotate? The inside will still be the inside? Can't see the point unless you have more wear on one side?

 

[twistedneck]

Why rotate? The inside will still be the inside? Can't see the point unless you have more wear on one side?

Melting off the back tires going sideways might wear out the rear tires first!

 

[Grant 302]

Not much point in rotating with the stock staggered and asymmetrical tire setup. That would only make sense if there's a wear problem only on one side, and even then that would mean something needs to be adjusted.

 

[Swede]

Not much point in rotating with the stock staggered and asymmetrical tire setup. That would only make sense if there's a wear problem only on one side, and even then that would mean something needs to be adjusted.

Exactly...

 

[wwilde001]

For a track setup, you should be looking at a total of 1/8" toe out (1/16" per side). This was verified by two race shops and is what my car is set at. FYI, I run -2.5 degrees of camber. Hope this helps.

 

[Swede]

For a track setup, you should be looking at a total of 1/8" toe out (1/16" per side). This was verified by two race shops and is what my car is set at. FYI, I run -2.5 degrees of camber. Hope this helps.

Thanks, it's in line with what my race guru tells me; 1-1,5 mm toe out on each side.

Looks like I will have three fix points in the alignment. Race toe out, race max neg camber, and street toe 0. Street camber is less important than the other three settings, but will likely end up within Ford spec.

Will hopefully receive the cc plates next week..

/Swede