[SWortham]

Originally Posted by stretch

You most certainly do gain camber beyond this point. You gain camber until the control arm is perpendicular to the strut (roughly 17 degrees pointed upwards).

Oh, snap. I had to think about that for a minute. But that makes sense.

[stretch]

Your steering axis inclination changes as the suspension compresses. This is essentially the angle of the strut (more accurately, the angle between the strut top and lower ball joint). Since the wheel is rigidly attaches to the strut, the wheel's angle changes too. This is where your dynamic camber comes from.

http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.h...ination%20(SAI)

[Splash]

Just trying to make it easier to understand... You are correct though.

That margin is perfect for setting the static height such that the arms are level, leaving that margin for maintaining decent camber after compensating for a small amount of body lean (compressing the outside).

I also intentionally ignored caster for the sake of simplicity. Not sure he's after a suspension dissertation, just some help with his ride height.

[BenW]

Originally Posted by Lutfy

Ben,

Why would you keep the car this low and raise it for the track? Lowering your car beyond a specific range will have adverse effect (control arms should be parallel). Ideally you should set your car up (base line) as 14" gap between front wheel to the fender and 13.5" at the back (rake).

Getting back to your first question, if you raise your car, you will lose some camber. With loss of camber, you will also experience slight toe in.

Frankly, no need to slam and raise car based on track event/ street use. A smart fellow will set it up (corner balance/align) and just leave it there.

Lutfy

Thanks for the input

the car is not slammed, it's my wheel/tire setup. I have 13.75" to front fender and 13.25" to the rears. I am running 18x9 ET45 wheels and 245/40 tires. The only time it rubs is over big bumps in the middle of a hard turn. These are common on the street, but on our local circuit, the pavement is pretty smooth, so I'm not even sure I will have a problem.

I was just wondering if raising the car a quarter of an inch or half an inch so I don't rub a hole in my wheel liner was OK.

I am also contemplating just removing the wheel liner for the track day.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by stretch

In fact, camber curves can still be decent with the control arm parallel to the ground if your steering axis inclination is high, which is why maxing out your camber plates (increasing SAI) helps your camber curve.

However, increasing your SAI without increasing your caster will result in a loss of dynamic camber on the outside wheel.

In this odd irony of suspension geometry, adding static camber with a camber plate will reduce dynamic camber. Adding camber with a bolt doesn't change the SAI, and doesn't reduce your dynamic camber. You may gain a slightly better camber curve (in a straight line) but loose a bit of camber when you are in a corner.

[mxpop]

FWIW, the liner is backed by the body so removing it will only gain you a few red C hairs extra, not worth it.

Also, are you measuring your ride ht from the center cap to the closest part of the fender directly above it or??? What is the physical size are the tires you are using?

Also, having the same neg camber on front and rear will not help with your car's tendency to understeer/push. Typically, you want about -1 more in the front, Ex -2.5 front and -1.5 rear with zero toe for the street. -3 and -2 with slight toe out in front is a nice typical track setup.

Of course many factors will dictate your best set up but this should get you in the ballpark for most uses.

[fullerton]

Originally Posted by BenW

Thanks for the input

the car is not slammed, it's my wheel/tire setup. I have 13.75" to front fender and 13.25" to the rears. I am running 18x9 ET45 wheels and 245/40 tires. The only time it rubs is over big bumps in the middle of a hard turn. These are common on the street, but on our local circuit, the pavement is pretty smooth, so I'm not even sure I will have a problem.

I would consider that damn near slammed. Is that wheel/tire taller than stock?

I'd move up to 14"x13.5" and get aligned.

[BenW]

The car was aligned already. So you recommend moving 1/4 of an inch higher? That little amount makes the car "un-slammed?"

here is a pic, to illustrate the height:

[fullerton]

I wouldn't say it would be un-slammed, but that height is a good starting point for most setups. That 1/4" might solve your rubbing problems.