11/21/2023 0 Comments 1969 camaro drag carsIn other words, the car has to track straight down the drag strip. This results in almost zero toe as the car is in motion. Before you can go any further in the wheel alignment, the car must be square before. In most applications, a small amount of toe-in (usually something in the range of 1/16-inch or 1/32-inch) is common.Īs the car moves down the road, the dynamics present on all of the steering and suspension components tend to force everything outward. Meanwhile, toe-out is just the opposite with the front of the tires pointing out. Toe-In is a pigeon toe look with the front of the tires pointing inward. Toe: Toe, whether in or out, is the difference in distance measured across the face of the front tire and that of the trailing end of the same tire (viewed from head on). Typically, a car with a small amount of negative camber will exhibit better drag strip handling characteristics without killing the tire. Most production line cars require different camber figures (while at rest) so that good grip and tire wear is maintained as the car travels down the road. That isn’t always the case for cars that originally rolled down a production line. In theory, it sounds like zero degrees of camber is good (and generally speaking, it is for a tube frame car). The real idea behind camber is to keep the tire planted squarely on the pavement. If the top of the wheel tilts in, then the camber is negative. Pretend that the wheel and tire combination tilts out at the top. Camber is expressed and measured in degrees and looks at the tilt of the wheel from true vertical. It’s not quite as easy with the mountain bike.Ĭamber: Think of camber as the tilt of the wheel at the top (tilting in or tilting out). You can easily ride the touring bike without your hands on the handlebars. That provides lightening quick turns, but very little directional stability. In contrast, a mountain bike has a fork that’s much closer to vertical. It provides a big chunk of positive caster that gives the rider a lot of directional stability. If you’re familiar with bicycles, that’s why touring bikes have a fork that’s kicked out. Think of positive caster as a means to “self center” the steering. Typically, caster figures seldom go beyond -3/4 degrees (negative), and in almost all high performance applications, some amount of positive caster is required. Caster is expressed in degrees, and measures the amount the centerline of the spindle (or in the case of a solid axle, the kingpin) is tilted from true vertical. If the caster is negative, this means the top of the spindle is tilted forward, which places weight in front of the tire contact patch. When caster is positive, this means the wheelassembly tilts backwards, which in turn, places weight behind the tire contact patch. In reality, all three of these wheel alignment terms deal with geometric angles and basic measurements:Ĭaster: Caster is the backward or forward tilt of the spindle as you look at it from the side of the wheel and tire combination. Consider what a wheel alignment really is: The Cornerstones Of Wheel Alignmentįront-end alignment is important, but it also carries with it a new set of terms. The bottom line is there’s more to wheel alignments than simply keeping your tires from becoming prematurely bald. It’s something many class racers really work on, and even the pros with high-end tube frame cars give it plenty of consideration. Precisely setting up the front end can contribute greatly to the performance of the car. Because of this, racers look for every possible advantage–even ones found outside of the engine compartment. Most of those cars are maxed out power-wise by the rule book. After all, horsepower has become cheap and easy to get. And wheel alignments–well, those are for keeping your tiresfrom wearing out, not adding performance.įor some racers (a good example is an NHRA Stock Eliminator competitor), finding performance by adding more and more power isn’t usually an option. For most racers and enthusiasts, a wheel alignment is something that you seldom ponder, especially when it comes to performance.
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