ChrisRZ28

I'm now a believer in more caster and camber in our cars. I slotted my stock k-member 3/16" toward the outside for more camber. Didn't touch the caster hole at all. Putting everything back together I max out both camber and caster settings. For the toe, I eyeballed it so I could test drive the car. My current front tires are just about junk anyway. I still need to get a proper alignment. The front end grip is much better then before. Turn in, mid corner grip is much more controlled then before. Now for something mind blowing and something I didn't expect. The tramlining that alot of us have...was reduce quite a bit! Where as before I would have to hold on to the wheel with two hands, I could drive with one hand. In my area, the freeway is being widened to three lanes. There's alot of uneven pavement that used to make my car wander. I'm so friggin impressed by this. I hadn't read anything in all those threads on Frrax.com about slotting the camber hole, about reduced tramlining. I'm thinking the added caster must of had alot to do with this. I've read the more caster the better straight line stability, so I'm guessing that's what did it. I'm ranking this right up there with my lowered PHB as far as eye opening suspension mods go and making the car handle even better. There's a couple of other roads I can drive on to compare the tramlining before and after. Anyway, I thought I'd get this on here in case someone else may be interested in my results to this point.

Tbird232ci

iTrader: (4)

I'm very interested in this. How much material is left around the camber hole? Do you feel this is safe for a daily driver?

Do you have a camber gauge? How much camber did you get out of it?

speed_demon24

iTrader: (6)

I wouldn't be so quick to judge the results until you know what the toe is set at.

ChrisRZ28

I didn't measure, but I'd say 3/4". I only elongated the hole by 3/16". There's been alot of people who do this that not only drive on the street, but track their cars too. More people on Frrax.com do this then here most likely. I haven't read of any failures due to elongated holes. You can always just buy Global West UCAs and get more camber. I'm mostly broke and elongating the hole is free, so... No camber gauge. I still need to get a alignment. I'm hoping to get -1.0 to -1.5 camber and 3.5 to 4.0 caster.

I going to have it set at 0 toe. Overall, driving the car was more enjoyable then before. Less tramlining and more grip.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

I did the same thing on my car, back in 1996, when I installed a set of lowering springs. I don't recall that I elongated the holes by as much as the OP, however there's a lot of "meat" there, so I don't see it as being a huge issue. The most important thing, when doing this, is keeping the slots even and straight.


And, as "speed demon" pointed out, I wouldn't be doing cartwheels until I got a proper wheel alignment done. Yes, you might have gotten lucky and found a "sweet spot" for your car, but on the other hand, you might have created a "tire eater"...

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

With 0 toe, static, you'll be in a "toe out" condition when driving. I'd run around 1/16" toe in, static, which will give you "zero" when driving...

ChrisRZ28

Leadfoot4, can you shed some light on your numbers, please? I've read on Frrax that alot of people run -1.0 or more camber with less caster on the street with good tire wear. I don't know what caster I had before and don't know if I can get that much because I didn't touch the caster hole at all, just maxed it out. Maybe it's already there? I haven't driven it since first putting it back together. I still need to get an alignment. My original post was more my suprise that the adjustments made to the feel of the car then anything. This is my first Camaro and the first time playing with the front suspension other then shocks, springs and sway bars (Bilstein/Strano/Strano). Don't know if it matters, but my car is not a daily driver...(with a couple HPDE's thrown in a year). I'm not opposed to your numbers at all. Mitchntx had posted earlier, that he (I think) promptly erased, and that I wished he hadn't. His (explanation) post and your numbers seemed to jive.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

I have a visible camber set up and my tire wear is pretty even, because
I take every corner aggressively. More caster helps with the groove-
walk tendency. I have stuck with the "trackbird specs" I got a long
time ago. There could be better but I have no complaints about these.
Other than I go for zero toe, not toe-out.

-1.3 camber
4.5 caster
1/32nd inch toe out

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

If your intention is to corner as aggressively as possible, all the time, then negative camber will improve your cornering ability. As the outside tire will "roll" in a turn, starting with negative camber will "roll" the tread so its perpindicular with the road, giving you full tread contact. The only down side, is during straight ahead driving, you'll be concentrating more weight on the inside of the tire, which will shorten tire life somewhat.

Maximizing caster will improve straight line stability, but will increase steering effort, as the car transitions into a turn.

ChrisRZ28

I was looking through the alignment stickie thread on Frrax and you are running a fairly common setup for double duty cars. Good street manners and good tire wear seems to be common results, and what I'm leaning towards...if I can get them.

I like to be aggressive when it's safe to do so. Also, I don't do alot of long freeway miles either, so more camber won't be a bad thing. Going through the Frrax alignment stickie, and going off of cars with similar setups as mine, -0.5 camber was not enough camber for decent tire wear (suprisingly) or handling and most 4th gens (with some exceptions) were running around +4.5 caster. When I go for my alignment, I will see where it's currently at, then go from there. Thanks guys.

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

ONe person has 1/16 toe in, the other has 1/32 toe out. I think there needs to be more explanation here. The others all seem to follow the same pattern.