I finally got to autocross my 2400 lb streetported 87 base yesterday and it exceeded my expectations. It was clear, however, that my 205/60/15 street tires were holding the car back almost as badly as my lack of skill at downshifting from second to first during tight turns.

I have some 16x7.5 wheels with 225/50 Comp TA tires mounted which I will soon begin using during autocrossing, and my car has provisions from adjusting front camber. So my question is, is there a process to setting front camber? I know with setting tire pressure, you can start at about 40psi and then go down until the sidewalls start to roll, then go back up a few psi. Checking the sidewalls with chalk could work for setting negative front camber. The thing is, setting camber for maximum skidpad force at 40-60 seems to be completely different from setting it for 15-25mph for some reason. Do autocross cars generally use more front negative camber than track cars due to their lower speed cornering and different suspension geometry?

 

The ideal way to tune is with tire temps, you should adjust camber until the temps are even across the tread.

Realistically you'll need -1.5 or more to get there. So for now adjust to -1.5 if you can get there.

 

If I had no tools to take temps I would just start like turbojeff says..

You're exactly right about the speed of the corner though: on a real slow corner the negative camber can hurt you because there isn't enough body roll and weight transfer to deform the sidewall enough and use all of the footprint like there is at higher speeds. As with everything in racing you make trades.

 

Tire pyrometer is really the only way to factually know what the correct camber setting is. I've always been told that you want to see a 5-10 degree drop from inside to outside.

Generally speaking, yes .. auto-x cars typically run more camber than track cars ... on DOT R's. That does not necessarily hold true for slicks. It also varies quite a bit from car to car. For example, F-bodies typically can get ~0.8 degrees ... that's it. Different suspension geometries, different setups. I wouldn't glean too much information out of a track setup. Two completely different ballgames.

 

Thanks!

I think I can get at least a couple degrees negative with my strut tower slots. I left it on the "street" setting yesterday, which is almost stock camber, and it didn't work out too well.

 

hehe i love working at goodyear...i get access to the latest alignment maching on the market....all i want.

 

Hey Glitch FC I just wanted to say thanks for using my car in your Avatar........... it means alot.