maybe i misread this, but i swore i read somewhere that negative camber allows for better turn handling. is this true? if so, why would you want an alignment after you drop your car since it provides negative camber? besides your tires being prematurely worn.

 

Drifting

 

First off...the alignment you should get after lowering your car isn't to correct negative camber...there is no stock camber adjustment. It is to correct any problems in the toe.

Now there are aftermarket kits you can buy that replace certain parts on your car that allow for camber adjustment.

Negative camber will generally increase grip. How? Because when you take a hard corner with 0 camber, the tire will slightly roll over onto the outside edge of the tire and you may not be getting the full footprint of the tire on the ground holding the road. With some negative camber when you take a hard corner, at the apex of the corner the tire will be more straight up and down thus providing more rubber, more grip. So the key is to have the RIGHT amount of negative camber, and not just as much as you can get.

In a straight line, negative camber can increase inner tire wear and decrease grip on acceleration. But keep in mind that bad toe will eat tires much faster than negative camber.

There isn't one camber setting that is best for all situations. Less camber would be good for straight line acceleration, more camber would be good for hard cornering, etc. The key is finding one setting that is a good compromise in those things.

 

because they lower their car for looks or drive in a straight line

 

correct, also if you watch the japanese honda tuning or touge showdown battles...all the cars have slight amounts of negative camber.

the only question is how much is good?

 

thanks a lot guys