Camber/toe settings
 

Since I'm putting on a new BBK in the very near future, I figured now was the time to install adjustable camber plates. I'm running novice but will (hopefully) bump up to intermediate in the near future.

I have the JCW suspension (already have a 19mm rear sway bar in place), run 205/50/15's on Kosei's at the track, and from here on out I'll be doing between 6-8 HPDE's a season. On the street, I have R90's with 215/45 (17 inch rim). What I'd like to do is install adjustable camber plates at a compromise setting--one that will help at the track, but not cause any issues with my 17's on the street (I want to avoid rubbing, but I'm not concerned about tire wear on the street tires--I don't put that many miles on the car per year for it to be a major concern). Given these parameters, what would anyone recommend for camber/toe in on the fronts and rears? Would anything special need to be done to the rears (ie control arms, or can the JCW suspension be adjusted to get the settings right)?

On the other hand, I THINK I might be able to get -1 up front on the JCW suspension without camber plates, but any more will require camber plates. This would be an alternative, but if the benefits of more camber than -1 justify it without causing issues with my street tires (again, I'm not concerned about inner tire wear), I'd be up for it.

Your setup sounds much like mine. JCW + rear bar + camber plates.

For the rear, I honestly don't remember what settings I had, as the adjustments back there were minimal. No control arms needed.

Up front, -2.0° camber (basically as much as you can get before the springs hit the strut towers) and zero toe.

Worked great for me as a street / autocross / track setup.

What sort of tire wear are you currently seeing on the track? Are you burning through the outside shoulder of the tires? That's the big reason I added camber - to prolong tire life. The fact that it added front end grip and steering feel were just bonuses.

agree with snid. -2.0 should be pretty good. i run H&R coil overs with plates and have -2.5 on the front. because i autocross i need the car slightly tail happy for greatest agility so i've also added lower control arms on the rear to reduce rear camber to -1.0 -- not sure that's a good idea for an hpde setup.

tire wear has not been an issue despite the camber, and braking and acceleration are only modestly affected by the angle of the front wheels

i've also noted no adverse effect on CV joints despite 90k miles on the chassis

Thanks all. Yeah, I'm burning the outside shoulder up. Eventually when I go to R compounds, the track tire price will be more of an issue, its not that important at the moment as my track tires (Azeni's at the moment) are fairly cheap. I'm at the point now though where I think I'm going to hang on to my car until I can't run it anymore--nothing else (Including the R56) is as enjoyable to drive, so I figure I'll set it up the way I want, and not worry about ever selling it...

So -2.0 up front, 0 toe, and just leave the rear alone?

From the guys at TSW for street and occasional track day:

Suggest -2 degrees of camber up front, -1.5 degrees of camber in the rear, 0 toe in the front (or 'neutral' toe), and slight toe in for the rear (1/16" total toe IN).

Thanks! One last question--what are your recommendations for camber plates? I was going to go IE adjustables, but after a search, I'm leaning toward one of the others. I have a 2006 MCS (there apparently is a rib in the wheel well that has caused rubbing for some, but apparently it can be pounded down).

Snid, you have the Helix's--I'm leaning toward those--are there any issues with instillation with those?

The only issue with the installation of my Helix plates was that my car drives all year round in Vermont, so everything was rusted solid.

FYI Zero toe can make the steering feel very disconnected to the road. For those with aftermarket LCA bushings, zero toe may be a bad thing since the LCA will not deflect as much - gain toe as the car accelerates. Just keep this in mind...I personally prefer a little toe in or toe out. Zero toe, like center point steering will not ask the two sides of a tire - left and right of center - to counter deform with one another. It is this tension at the contact patch that help to generate a little resistance and feel.

OK, Helix it is then, leaning toward the TSW settings, not a 100% though, but they seem reasonable for what I do with my car. Thanks everyone--this helps a ton, as I don't want to make a terrible mistake as I go up the HPDE ladder....

one option for rusting is to have all the steel parts zinc coated, I got a friend to do mine for $20 and they went an entire Canadian winter with zero rust!

IE adjustable street plates on either S or JCW suspension can go to about -1.8 before driver's side rubs. Other than that, they seem to be pretty good.

rt