What's with tires angled out at the botton

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Number_35
A timely topic for me. Too much negative camber on the rear wheels is an issue from factory with the older Mazda 3/Mazda 5 rear suspension. The factory spec is, I believe -1.2 degrees +/- 1 degree. That means that up to 2.2 degrees of negative camber is acceptable.

I've just changed the rear trailing arm bushing on the driver's side, and (per my driveway measurements) the camber is now at -1.1 degree. The passenger side, which I'm working on now, was at -2.2 degrees.

It appears to me that as the bushings get sloppy, the negative camber increases. I believe the factory tolerance is excessive.

There are aftermarket camber-adjustment arms (SPC) available, and I may install them and dial in about -0.5 degrees. A bit of negative camber makes for good handling; too much eats tires. This might help the bushing life as well.

It's funny how once you encounter a problem on your own car, you notice it on others. I saw an older ('06 or '07) Mazda 5 the other evening all hunkered down in the rear - it looked like it had at least 3 degrees of negative camber on each side.

The same SPC camber-correction arm is used on various Fords & Volvos that share the same or similar rear suspension.

If you have alot of toe in, you can try getting rid of that first for free. I just had the rear toe set to zero and it made the Focus much better to drive in winter especially, and summer too. It still has significant rear camber but wears the tires better.

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted By: Chewie
Theoretically, negative camber provides more cornering stability, but that's really only applicable on the track. Having that on a street car will cause premature wear.


Dirt Track racers have to use a negative camber in order to have the tire dig into the dirt.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
If its just the tyres then they're coming off. If its the wheels then its a lifestyle statement, and if you have to ask you aren't "cool"


You don't have to ask to know that it makes no sense on a street car. Every time I see one they're also driving pretty slow too, I guess the handling must be pretty bad on the streets. I wonder what effects potholes have. I wonder what rules they're breaking, driving out of spec?

 

[Linctex]

I have never seen one like that in this part of Texas.

No inspection shop will issue an inspection report if the car is like that.

Cops are getting stricter, too.

 

[40w8]

Originally Posted By: Chewie
Theoretically, negative camber provides more cornering stability, but that's really only applicable on the track. Having that on a street car will cause premature wear.


Modern cars have about -2deg in back and -1 in front which makes good driving safe car for the masses.

That brings lots of understeer so inexperienced don't spin out.

For the Sporty crowd the opposite works best for neutral handling: -2deg up front, and -1 deg rear.

It's the wrong toe in or out that'll eat the tires unless you do the 45 deg rear hella flush I saw a few times.

 

[NGRhodes]

Neg camber, hard to make a sweeping statement if it will make a positive difference on the track or not (performance, stability and feel). Tyres (available grip, sidewall stiffness), suspension and drive train type/layout (wishbone suspension can be setup to have more consistent camber than trailing arm during corner loads for example), type of track, weather etc which all factor in. It is possible to go too high, sometimes what is optimal to reduce turn in understeer is not for max cornering speeds, so a compromise setup is needed. I had a track tuned car where zero camber on the front worked best.

 

[WhizkidTN]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
I think it's hella stupid. But anyway, I wonder how many miles they get out of the tire that way before the belt shows up.


Won't last very long. That crowd is buying the cheapest possible tire cause 1) they don't last very long like that and 2) they like to "attempt" to drift them, do burn-outs, etc. which eats tires. It's all about style and not substance. Normally, I can hear them from far away as they have some goofy [censored] can installed as well. The wife and I just laugh at them.

 

[supton]

I kinda like the look. Totally impractical, but then again, a blower sticking through the hood is impractical too. To each their own.

 

[SHOZ]

They do this because they either have spacers pushing the wheel out or a wheel with less backspacing to do the same and then they need to OD on negative camber so the tires don't rub.

 

[Eddie]

Just a look-at-me gimmick. You don't see any Porsche, Audi etc racing cars running stupid angle tires. Ed

 

[HerrStig]

AS Ed China's tee shirt says, "you can't fix stupid".

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
I have never seen one like that in this part of Texas.


Like you said, its regional. I doubt CenTex would have much, if any. In specific areas of Houston and Beaumont, yes.

 

[gaijinnv]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
Just a look-at-me gimmick. You don't see any Porsche, Audi etc racing cars running stupid angle tires. Ed


Nope, never seen negative camber on a race car ...

Formula one:

Or a more extreme example, the Milliken "Camber Car:"

 

[aquariuscsm]

The Impalas and Buicks with the diesel F250 lift kits are the absolute worst. I honestly don't see how that doesn't destroy the drivetrains,or maybe it does.

 

[SilverFusion2010]

I saw a new Camaro on 30 something inch rims. It looked like a clown car. I was sad. Certain individuals shouldn't procreate.

 

[Black_Thunder]

If you think that is bad google the term Carolina Squat


stupid, just stupid.