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Caster Camber

steve from staten island

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The front suspension on my 69 has been totally apart and replaced. To set the camber and caster were should the cam bolts be as a starting point.
 
the front one turned all the way out and the back one in the middle, or the back one all the way in and the front one in the middle. sounds dumb but you get the most caster that way . use the one in the middle to set camber. biggest problem is if the car was ever tweeked. I did a challenger a while back , set them like I said , put it on the rack and the pass side was really close and the dr side way off, turns out the frame was hit on that side.
 
the front one turned all the way out and the back one in the middle, or the back one all the way in and the front one in the middle. sounds dumb but you get the most caster that way . use the one in the middle to set camber. biggest problem is if the car was ever tweeked. I did a challenger a while back , set them like I said , put it on the rack and the pass side was really close and the dr side way off, turns out the frame was hit on that side.
How much caster is the most caster? or what degree of caster is that? Roughly.
 
I think generally around 2 to 3 degrees of caster is sought after - in reality, depending on the car you may be doing good to get 1.5 degrees. Sometimes you have to go for around 0 camber to get a decent caster setting, even though a bit of negative camber would be advantageous. If you have manual steering they try to set a bit less caster to ease steering effort. For power steering most try to get all they can.
 
For a general suggestion, I like more than 2 degrees of caster and between 1/2 and 3/4 degree of NEGative camber.
My baseline setting is always to adjust the front cams all the way out toward the fender and the rear cams in toward the engine.
Caster and camber are directly related in these systems. Often, due to the design, it can be hard to get enough caster without the camber going positive. 2 degrees is okay but more is better. I would NOT want any positive camber though, not if you intend to turn corners with any decent speed. Cars with positive camber and soft stock suspension often tend to scrub tread off of the outside edges of the tires when cornering. A little negative camber hurts nothing yet improves cornering power because when the body leans during turns, that negative camber tilts outward to positive.
I don't know how it happened but my 70 Charger was able to align to 4.5 degrees of POSitive caster, .75 degree of NEGative camber and 1/8" toe IN.....all with stock replacement parts. It steers great and the front tires do not wear unevenly despite some real spirited driving!
 
Thanks for the explanation. I didn't know how much is build into the adjustments. I got a max wedge, up front and standard steering in my 62 Dart, post car. I'm thinking I need to raise the rear spring eye to the upper hole on the forward mount and crank up the torsion bars to achieve at least a level condition but would really like the front to be slightly higher, for that old school look. The lack of sway bars will keep me out of the high speed cornering stuff.
 
When a car has a strong "nose down" rake, the chance of achieving positive caster gets more difficult.
 
For a general suggestion, I like more than 2 degrees of caster and between 1/2 and 3/4 degree of NEGative camber.
My baseline setting is always to adjust the front cams all the way out toward the fender and the rear cams in toward the engine.
Caster and camber are directly related in these systems. Often, due to the design, it can be hard to get enough caster without the camber going positive. 2 degrees is okay but more is better. I would NOT want any positive camber though, not if you intend to turn corners with any decent speed. Cars with positive camber and soft stock suspension often tend to scrub tread off of the outside edges of the tires when cornering. A little negative camber hurts nothing yet improves cornering power because when the body leans during turns, that negative camber tilts outward to positive.
I don't know how it happened but my 70 Charger was able to align to 4.5 degrees of POSitive caster, .75 degree of NEGative camber and 1/8" toe IN.....all with stock replacement parts. It steers great and the front tires do not wear unevenly despite some real spirited driving!
I took your advice today, with middle in front and all the way in at rear, and discovered the geometry on these cars are not exactly perfect:thumbsup:
 
I read about offset bushings to get better caster/ camber adjustments. Anyone know about them? Thanks
I think they are a Moog item. I installed them on the rear of my upper control arms in hopes of improving caster - and by design they did (provided they are installed correctly). But, to gain maximum advantage to caster they need to be installed front and rear - installed to move the front of the a-arm outboard and the rear of the a-arm inboard.
 
How much caster is the most caster? or what degree of caster is that? Roughly.
Depends on the purpose. Typical street car might have 2 or 3 degrees, street strip car 3-6 and a strut front race car might be as much as 15.
 
Depends on the purpose. Typical street car might have 2 or 3 degrees, street strip car 3-6 and a strut front race car might be as much as 15.
Thanks. I had 20*caster, in a 240" dragster.
 
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What degree is the most caster that I can put into my 62 B body, "stock" Dodge, torsion bar, frontend? or, How much adjustment did the factory give us in the stock frontend?
 
Thanks. I had 20*caster, in a 240" dragster.
Probably steered itself down the track. I knew those had a lot but I didn’t know it was that much. My experience is all door car related.
 
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