The full camber guide

Camber refers to the angle of a car's wheels concerning the vertical axis when viewed from the front or rear of the vehicle. Specifically, it is the angle between the vertical axis of a wheel and the vertical axis of the vehicle. Camber can be positive, negative, or zero.

Positive Camber: The top of the wheel tilts away from the vehicle. This setup is relatively uncommon in performance or racing vehicles.

Negative Camber: The top of the wheel tilts toward the vehicle. This is more common in racing and high-performance applications.

Zero Camber: The wheel is perfectly vertical with no tilt.

Note that cambers are adjustable at the front and also at the rear on most race cars. On some road cars, there is no adjustment.

What is Dynamic Camber?

Dynamic camber, also known as camber gain or camber recovery, is all about how the camber angle of a vehicle's wheels changes during dynamic movements like cornering, acceleration, and braking. It's essentially about how the wheels adjust when the car is on the move.

The main aim of dynamic camber is to ensure the optimal contact between the tires and the road, thereby boosting grip and traction. When a car takes a corner, the outside wheels bear more load, and dynamic camber steps in to keep the tire's contact area as flat as possible on the road. This improvement in stability and performance is crucial.

The degree of tilt of the wheels during motion varies based on the car's weight and the downward force (ie: downforce), pushing it onto the road. So, dynamic camber is all about adapting to the dynamic conditions to maximize tire-road contact and, consequently, enhance the car's handling and grip.

Why Do You Need Camber?

Camber serves the purpose of optimizing the contact between the tire and the road surface. When driving straight, there's no lateral load on the tires. However, as you navigate a corner, weight shifts, putting more load on the outer tire.

As you corner, the outer tire tends to tilt, resulting in neutral camber (0 degrees). The objective is to find the right camber setting that ensures the outer tire, responsible for most of the work during the turn, maintains a flat contact with the road

This optimal camber setting maximizes the contact patch, creating the largest possible area for the tire to grip the road. This, in turn, enhances overall traction and control during the cornering maneuver. So, the essence of camber lies in providing the best grip and stability precisely when you need it – during turns.

Camber & Tire Wear

The camber angle of a vehicle's wheels can have a significant impact on tire wear. Let’s dive more into that:

Positive Camber (used for oval racing):
Effect on Tire Wear: Positive camber, where the tops of the wheels tilt outward, can lead to increased wear on the outer edges of the tires.
Reason: The load is concentrated on the outer portion of the tire during regular driving, causing more wear on that part

Negative Camber:
Effect on Tire Wear: Negative camber, where the tops of the wheels tilt inward, may result in increased wear on the inner edges of the tires.
Reason: The inner portion of the tire bears more load during normal driving (driving in a straight line), leading to greater wear in that area.

When you go for more aggressive setups, you'll notice that the inner part of the tire tends to wear out faster than the rest. It becomes a key factor determining the lifespan of the tire. If this inner area wears down too much, it can even lead to tire failure. So, whenever you're putting older tires on a car, it's a good idea to take a close look at the inside part of the tire. This simple check can help catch potential problems and make sure your tires remain safe and durable.

Camber Effects on Braking

When your wheels have a lot of camber, especially negative camber, it affects how well your brakes perform. The crucial part here is the contact patch.

Too much camber means a smaller contact patch. Why does that matter? Well, when you hit the brakes, you want as much tire on the road as possible to create friction and stop the car. With a reduced contact patch due to excessive camber, there's less area for the tire to grip the road.

Most of the time, the grip we lose during braking is minimal compared to the time we gain during cornering when using lots of negative camber. It's all about compromise, but it's always faster to focus on better cornering grip than braking. And I'm only talking about the camber values here ;) Braking is super important, as you probably know!

Written by Phil Bouchard | Founder & Coach