What Is Camber On A Car? Here's What You Need To Know
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For many car owners, as long as they have a vehicle that runs fine and a tank full of gas, all is right in the world. Having said that, the average car owner will likely not think of “camber” and “alignments” until they get into some specific uses. Unfortunately, car ownership is hardly simple, and you’re doing yourself a favor by knowing specific mechanical terms, components, and how they work.
So what is camber on a car?
Camber or camber angle is one of the lesser-known automotive terms but crucial enough for drivers to be familiar with. Understanding what camber is on a car will help ensure your vehicle handles correctly. For today’s post, we’ll answer the question of “what is camber on a car,” identify how it affects handling, and the importance of proper alignment.
Defining Car Camber
The engineering that goes into suspension geometry and steering is astounding, but we won’t discuss it here. The way our car feels and handles has everything to do with suspension geometry – without this concept; our vehicles become undrivable. If you search more about “suspension geometry,” you’ll encounter three main terms, camber, caster, and toe.
Believe it or not, your car wheels don’t always sit perpendicularly to the pavement. Whether tackling tight corners or towing a heavy trailer, your tires may tilt toward or away from your car. This tilting angle of the wheel relative to a perfectly flat road is called a camber angle.
Look at your vehicle from the front to better understand the camber angle. If the top of your tire tilts away from the car, it’s called positive camber. Meanwhile, if the top of the tire leans inwards or towards the car, it’s called negative camber.
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How the Camber Affects Handling
When traveling on a straight line, the ideal camber angle is 0° or neutral since the tires and the ground have an even contact patch. However, once you turn into a corner, the tire will naturally roll onto the sidewalls with less contact with the ground. Therefore, turning a corner means there’s a minor contact patch that can negatively affect grip and handling.
Since we drive on many different road surfaces and take countless turns daily, automakers must decide on a camber angle that suits everyday driving. In this case, most modern vehicles have a slightly negative camber angle.
There are two primary ways a camber helps with handling:
- It helps evenly distribute load and pressure across all tires.
- It helps maximize stability in specific driving scenarios such as daily driving, autocross, drag race, off-road, etc.
Cambers work differently depending on the angle (positive or negative) and the type of suspension you have. These angles can be adjusted to suit various driving styles. For instance, drifting enthusiasts will set their cambers at -3° to -6°, while those who frequent the tracks will set their angles at -2° to -3°. Then, some put their camber angles to -10° for aesthetic purposes, but you’ll likely get wheel damage with such extreme angles.
What is camber on a car? To better understand this topic, you need to know about negative and positive camber angles.
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Why Use a Negative Camber?
Wheels with negative camber will incline inward. The primary use of negative camber angles ensures the tire has a flat contact patch with the ground when turning a corner. With the tires’ bottom making less contact with the road, there’s less pressure put on them, which enables much smoother cornering. This is why you’ll see significantly negative angles in a race setting.
Without the proper negative camber, the inner part of the lead tire will take the brunt of the cornering force, while the outer section is left with nothing to do. There are three main reasons why this is bad for your car:
- Your car will have compromised grip or traction
- You’ll have uneven tire wear
- You’ll have unpredictable and unstable steering
Using negative camber by presetting the top of your wheels to tilt inward will help better prepare your vehicle to handle the cornering force. Remember that even though negative camber helps optimize cornering grip, your straight-line grip will likely suffer. This is why you don’t see drag racers use negative angles.
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Why Use a Positive Camber?
The more popular angle between the negative and positive cambers is undoubtedly the negative – hardly anyone talks about positive camber. This is because positive cambers are rarely used and have very few applications.
When you have a positive camber, your wheels are tilting outward and cause your vehicle to pull to each side. The primary purpose of a positive camber angle is for easier steering and more stability when driving on uneven terrain. The most common uses of positive camber are for recreational and agricultural vehicles; think of off-road pickup trucks and tractors.
The primary boon of positive camber is you don’t need much effort to steer your vehicle. Plus, the added stability that positive cambers provide will help you drive on uneven roads and surfaces.
The majority of front-wheel-drive vehicles with positive cambers will not allow their owners to adjust the angles. This won’t be a problem for most people since they only care about an optimal driving experience.
Adjusting Camber Angles
Hopefully, this quick guide has answered your question of “what is camber on a car?” But how do you go about adjusting your vehicle’s camber angle?
Some vehicles will allow you to adjust the camber of your two front wheels. In this case, you should consult your owner’s manual to know the proper angles to tilt your wheels. Fortunately, camber is the most DIY-friendly suspension angle, thanks to the components that enable easy adjustability. However, keep in mind that there’s a ton of prep work and calculations involved.
Setting the wrong angle may cause problems while you’re on the road. In reality, you don’t adjust camber angles for everyday vehicles you typically encounter on the road. We highly recommend letting a professional mechanic handle the cambering work if you’ve never done this before.
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