Please help a newbie with GT350 camber

[stang302]

So I was talking with a local race mechanic, and (hopefully I'm getting this right) I think he said if I wanted to do a moderate adjustment, one that I could just set and leave for both the track and the street, that I could just do camber bolts in the front, and I think he said you can get enough adjustment from the rear without having to buy anything. Has anybody else experimented with a moderate setup that works on both street and track? Can I get enough adjustment in the rear without needing something like the steeda arms, for example? I'm not at all questioning what he was telling me, but was wondering if anybody else has tried a similar setup and had any recommendations. I appreciate any input/suggestions. Currently I'm running the SuperSports on the street, and have Cup 2's for the track. Will probably try Hoosiers once I wear through the Cup 2's.

 

[VoodooBoss]

If you're running SC2's and looking at Hoosiers go straight to CC plates and skip the bolts. You're going to want around -1.8 up front to get the most out of those expensive tires for street and track use. More if you're trailering your car to the track. Many of us use Maximum Motorsports CC plates but Vorshlag has their new CC plates out which allow for more adjustment.

@modernbeat
@Black Boss
@Moto

 

[stang302]

Any idea how much you can get with camber bolts? I thought he said they were able to get around -2 with the bolts, but I could be mistaken. But if that's the case, I'd rather spend $30 for bolts vs $200 for plates if possible. Im just starting out on the track, which is why I don't think I need to go too aggressive with camber. That coupled with wanting to have a setting that will be fine to use the SuperSports on the street as well. I know I need a lot more driver mods to take advantage of the sticky race tires, but figured they would help my confidence in pushing the car more. And what about the rear? Or is the rear not as important?

 

[VoodooBoss]

Running more negative camber on the rear won't hurt either. Remember a full alignment is going to cost in the neighborhood of $200+.

-1.8 is not very aggressive. I ran -2.0 on my Boss for years and didn't have excessive wear on my street tires. I never changed it. If you're swapping wheels you can change them back n fourth between street and track settings pretty easily if you mark the top of the CC plates.

The added negative camber will improve tire wear, add grip and improve turn-in and steering feel with your car. While a bit more expensive once they are on you won't mess with them again for many years. I strongly recommend skipping the bolts and get CC plates.

 

[stang302]

So if went with the plates, the benefits would be more adjustability, and relative ease of changing between street and track settings? With you recommending -1.8 for me, and saying that you ran -2.0 on your Boss without excessive wear on the street tires, are you saying to go with plates to get even better wear out of the street tires? That would be preferable over just running -1.8 for both street and track, correct? And is there a number that's ideal for street? Thanks Rick.

 

[Black Boss]

I ran MM plates on my car and they were good for a maximum of -2.0* which seemed about right for hard track use. The other advantage of plates rather than bolts, is they are very easy to adjust -- so you could reduce camber for street use to maximize tire life. The other disadvantage of using bolts is it moves the top of the tire inboard -- a potential issue if you ever want to run 315's up front.

Will be going with Vorshlag on the next set-up, primarily because of their added adjustment (more than 2.0*).

 

[VoodooBoss]

I'm not really sure what's ideal but in general the S550's do not need as much camber as the S197's. More camber will cause additional wear on your street tires. What I'm saying for my weekend warrior it was not as excessive as I thought it would be. Ideally you'd adjust your camber for the track when you install your track tires and the car is off the ground, and then move it back when you reinstall your street tires. Download the Maximum Motorsports CC plates instructions from their website and read up on the adjustment procedures.

 

[stang302]

Thank you both. Is the rear not really worth worrying about? Or which is more important, just leaving it where it is for the street, which most of my driving will be done on, or do I want to add some negative camber? I'm guessing the rear is something that I'm not going to want to deal with changing back and forth? And in case it helps, I'm thinking I'll maybe do around 2 track days a year, because of the costs involved, but want to maximize tire life for just that reason.

 

[YellowJacketBoss302]

I run camber bolts on my BOSS and get approximately -1.9 degrees. I use supersports for both street and track and the outside edge wears out long before the inside. Note that I also set a little toe out, and do many track days.

 

[VoodooBoss]

For two track days a year just run it stock and work on your driving. Do you have a track pack?

For the rear it's not something that you'll change back n forth. The manual recommends adding some additional camber for the rear for heavy track use.

 

[stang302]

Yes, track pack. I totally agree that I need to work on my driving as far as the performance benefits of setting the camber, but are you saying I can run it stock and not worry about wearing the outsides of the tires because I admittedly won't be pushing the car hard enough until I get better? Granted I'm only thinking I'll do 2 events a year, but still want to get as much life out of the tires as possible. Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[stang302]

I run camber bolts on my BOSS and get approximately -1.9 degrees. I use supersports for both street and track and the outside edge wears out long before the inside. Note that I also set a little toe out, and do many track days.

Thanks. Do you run the same set of SS on street and track, or do you swap out? Do you drive much on the street. It's not my DD by any means, but I'm on pace for around 3,000 miles a year.

 

[VoodooBoss]

The camber bolts are not the same on the Boss and 350. They work better on the S197 cars.

 

[byronj]

From my experience and I'm sure other members had the same experience. Just buy the camber kit and call it a day. I don't own a GT350 (YET)but with my Boss I would do a mod then go back and do it over again. But in your situation, if you're tracking twice a year then I would just track the car and not worry about items until you feel you have gotten to the level where you can tell the different. Save cash for track days and fuel. JUST my .02

 

[stang302]

From my experience and I'm sure other members had the same experience. Just buy the camber kit and call it a day. I don't own a GT350 (YET)but with my Boss I would do a mod then go back and do it over again. But in your situation, if you're tracking twice a year then I would just track the car and not worry about items until you feel you have gotten to the level where you can tell the different. Save cash for track days and fuel. JUST my .02

Good point. It certainly is an expensive hobby. From everyone's responses, if I do anything, it'll be camber plates and running something moderate on track until I improve, and switch back for the street. I'll just monitor tire wear as I go and adjust if needed. Thanks for all the responses and input!

 

[YellowJacketBoss302]

Thanks. Do you run the same set of SS on street and track, or do you swap out? Do you drive much on the street. It's not my DD by any means, but I'm on pace for around 3,000 miles a year.

Yes, I use the same tires for street and track. The car is 5 years old and has approximately 30,000 miles. About 6,000 are track miles.