So I've been trying to figure out if I should invest in a Camber kit. Being the good forum guy I am, I've been searching.

I already understand what it is and how it works... but here's what I'm trying to decide.

I do have springs (hotchkis) and the car is lowered. I know it has some negative camber from the factory. It likely has more now with the springs. So I'll be doing AutoX this summer and was trying to find out how much, if any, negative camber I could run with. It's still my daily driver, so tirewear is a concern... but I've gathered that negative camber is usually OK on tires as long is the Toe In is correct and the camber isn't too extreme. I also know that the camber can be very slightly adjusted without a kit. Would this be enough for a slight performance increase without having to get a kit?

I'm looking for ideas that will help me with AutoX but won't destroy the new tires I'm going to get soon.

Very helpful thread: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=81628

Thanks guys... hope that makes sense.

 

Did you get that alignment done?

After alignment if your camber is about -.5 you should be fine for a while, assuming your toe-in is correct. I think camber links are a good upgrade after you upgrade the shocks. Somebody correct me, but for better auto-x performance, I think a slight toe-out is recommended.

Are you running on stock wheels? A set of sway bars and very slight negative camber is usually the best way to start.

 

Actually, I haven't gotten my alignment. But on purpose. I'm trying to kill the Potenzas... and new tires will be forthcoming with taxes.

I know there's some negative camber when it's aligned, but I didn't know if any more would be possible/beneficial and not hurt a new set of tires.

I will be running stock wheels and sway bars are on my list as the next mod before anything at all.

Thanks for the reply.

 

A little front toe-out (1/8" total) will help a good deal with turn-in-- but assassinate your tires in daily driving. A TRD combo (springs/dampers) drop will net about -1º all the way around after an alignment-- you'll likely be in the -1º to -1.5º neighborhood, which should suit you okay. You'll have to fiddle with air pressures to see what works for you.

 

What Dr. Isotope said is definitely true, toe-out will kill your tires much faster than bad camber and it will make your car "turn happy".

If negative camber stays around -1 +- 0.5 without camber links, I'd say hold off on that until you become more familiar with the driving dynamics of your car in auto-x.

Since your tires will have altered camber when you corner hard (they become much more negative), I wouldn't go beyond -1 camber with a normal setup.

 

I doubt I'll do anything about the toe ... I'd rather save my tires. But I'll just ask about the camber when I get my tires/alignment. My dealer is usually pretty cool, so I'm sure they'll work with me.