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Old 05-09-2011, 04:09 AM   #16
insite
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 1,820
the max camber a given tire can use is proportional to the tire's grip capability. if you use too much camber for the tire, you won't be using the entire contact patch & you'll lose total grip.

imagine zero camber: when you turn, the tire rolls over onto the sidewall. the result is that you're using the outside half of the tire too much & the inside half of the tire not at all.

imagine correct camber: when you turn, the tire rolls, but because of camber, the tire actually rolls ONTO the contact patch, giving you 100% of the tread contact with the road.

too much camber: while straight, the tire rides on the inside shoulder. when you turn, the tire rolls onto SOME contact patch, but the outside half of the tire is still not making good contact with the road.

the result of too much camber will be that the insides of the tires wear too fast. also, ultimate grip in corners will be reduced because you've actually reduced the size of the contact patch.

keep in mind that CASTER affects mid-corner CAMBER, so while you may only have -0.8 dialed in with the wheels straight ahead, when the wheels are turned & the suspension is compressed, you will have significantly more (-2.5 or more). it's easy to go too far w/ front camber on street tires w/ the boxster because the car has a LOT of caster designed into it.

to understand caster, it helps to illustrate extreme scenarios:

zero degrees caster: the rotational axis for the steering is completely vertical. turning the steering wheel ONLY turns the wheels right & left.

90 degrees caster: the rotational axis for the steering is completely HORIZONTAL (i.e. straight out in front of the car). turning the steering wheel tilts the tires left and right, but does not turn them at all.

SOME caster: turning the steering wheel BOTH turns the wheels AND tilts the tires.

as to braking, less camber generally means better braking distances. that's not to say that great braking doesn't exist w/ heavy camber, only that great braking gets even BETTER with less camber.

that having been said, the reason i say -1 may be too much for street tires has more to do with wear & grip than braking sacrifice. you will wear the insides of the tires down.
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