negative camber negative caster

[gtxrt]

I just had my 67 RT manual steering to the alignment shop because it was toed out and wandering like crazy at high speeds. now it goes very straight and no wandering steering and the wheel is straight.the tire will squeal sometimes around a corner and the wheel does not come all the way back to center like it did before I went there too. would like to change the pass side camber and caster to get it closer to the pass side. read that you move the back in towards the engine for less negative caster and the front towards the fender. I have a degree tool coming.how should I proceed without making a mess of everything. or just leave it the way it is. driver side - 0.2* camber and -0.07* caster. pass side -1.1* camber and -1.3* caster.

 

[Darter6]

Just remember any change in caster or camber affects toe .
Toe is always the last adjustment.So if you do change the caster/camber. Reset toe.

Now this is just me. I usually try to get 0 to a positive .25 camber and with manual steering positive .50 to 1.0
This is with a 75 or 70 series tire. 60-50 or less camber will be 0 or negative.
That is in a perfect world. You may have to find just how much adjustment you have and compromise getting as close to the numbers.EXAMPLE Such as driverside you can come up with the .25 positive camber and 1 positive caster.
Now the passenger side will only get 0 camber and negative .25 caster. Match the driverside to the passenger side.
Positive caster will make the car track better but with manual steering you don't want too much.Makes it tougher to steer.


Now this is just for instance meaning you will try to match both sides. You may get close to those specs and that's ok as long as you get as close to matching both sides. Mopars rarely do.
The big thing to remember is a negative caster on the DS and 0 or a positive on the PS the car will want to pull/drift to the curb side of the road. And vise-aversa.When I was doing this for a living 50 years ago we would compromise for road crown. Not many even consider road crown any more. Sorry if this sounds confusing. Hope this helps.

 

[gtxrt]

would like to get about half a degree less camber and caster on the pass side.

 

[WileE]

Your alignment is no good. I like 0.5 neg camber, as much POS caster as you can get, and 1/8 toe-in.

 

[AR67GTX]

Yeah, that looks bad. But there could be some worn parts or damage. I’ve been noticing the trend lately to get a 0.0 straight ahead reading and let camber and caster fall where they fall with no regard for tire wear or cornering.

 

[AR67GTX]

Reply to wrong thread

 

[gtxrt]

Your alignment is no good. I like 0.5 neg camber, as much POS caster as you can get, and 1/8 toe-in.

it is 1/8 toe in the hunter alignment machine has the - and + backwards.

 

[gtxrt]

Your alignment is no good. I like 0.5 neg camber, as much POS caster as you can get, and 1/8 toe-in.

that is what I am asking how to get the pass side there. how would you start out move the back adjustment first ?

 

[gtxrt]

was reading you can add a washer between the steering knuckle and lower ball joint and get more positive camber.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

was reading you can add a washer between the steering knuckle and lower ball joint and get more positive camber.

Negative camber.... The washers go between the spindle & the ball joint pushing the bottom of the spindle out.... That is negative which improves handling.... If you go to far it can cause severe tire wear but typically .75 negative is pretty safe...

That 1.1 on your RF is spicy for a 100% street car, it you were looking at autocross & don't mind trading tire wear for grip it's a decent number maybe a little conservative...

Normally I shoot for maximum positive caster but manual steering requires a trade off unless your looking to compete in the Mister Universe competition... Manual steering Chrysler actually used negative caster

Positive caster helps with high speed stability, helps return the steering to center & as the wheel is turned acts like camber helping plant the tire for a better contact patch..

 

[Kern Dog]

Your alignment is no good. I like 0.5 neg camber, as much POS caster as you can get, and 1/8 toe-in.

Any alignment guy that sets a car to negative caster needs a kick to the crotch. What a friggin idiot. The factory settings were for cars with 6 inch wide bias ply tires that nobody but a resto dude uses anymore.
Even if you're not interested in autocross or road course action, you'd benefit from 1/2 degree of negative camber, all the caster that you can get and 1/8" toe IN. All Mopars can obtain these numbers if they haven't been wrecked.
MY Charger aligned to 6 degrees of positive caster and 1/2 degree of negative camber with stock control arms and offset bushings.

It is now set to 1 degree negative camber and 8 degrees of caster with aftermarket UCAs. No, there is no accelerated tire wear except with the rear tires....

 

[69L48Z27]

Adjustments are done with the cam bolts on the upper control arm. Should be no reason why you can’t get a stock, manual steering, alignment out of stock bushings and cam bolts. Just a bit of positive caster, +1, and straight up camber is where you want to be, -.1’ish, like the others said. There’s a small amount of caster added to right side for road crown, add another .25*. I know Moog makes (or used to make) offset upper control arm bushings to aid alignment for more caster for radials and power steering. Adding washers is not the way. I would be taking that back and asking for a redo.

 

[Kern Dog]

Adjustments are done with the cam bolts on the upper control arm. Should be no reason why you can’t get a stock, manual steering, alignment out of stock bushings and cam bolts. Just a bit of positive caster, +1, and straight up camber is where you want to be, -.1’ish, like the others said. There’s a small amount of caster added to right side for road crown, add another .25*. I know Moog makes (or used to make) offset upper control arm bushings to aid alignment for more caster for radials and power steering. Adding washers is not the way. I would be taking that back and asking for a redo.

I say whatever shims, bushings or washers you can use to get the right numbers is fine. I've seen circle track cars with one inch stacks of washers between the knuckle and lower ball joints. It works.
Radial tires can handle negative camber without excessive tire wear. Don't be afraid of 1/2 to 3/4 degree. It will help with handling and stability. Same with caster.
Road crown? That may fly for people that live where there is actually crowned roads worth mentioning. I think the OP is in Washington state. How are the roads up there?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Adjustments are done with the cam bolts on the upper control arm. Should be no reason why you can’t get a stock, manual steering, alignment out of stock bushings and cam bolts. Just a bit of positive caster, +1, and straight up camber is where you want to be, -.1’ish, like the others said. There’s a small amount of caster added to right side for road crown, add another .25*. I know Moog makes (or used to make) offset upper control arm bushings to aid alignment for more caster for radials and power steering. Adding washers is not the way. I would be taking that back and asking for a redo.

Actually there are valid reasons for shimming the ball joint/spindle joint... It allows you to maximize caster without compromising to obtain camber...

 

[69L48Z27]

You guys can shim and add washers all you want, I’m not. PA has crowned roads, we add to right side here.

@gtxrt car does not look like he’s road racing or dirt tracking. A nice driving alignment for a manual steering car should be obtainable with all the parts the car came with. Whoever did that alignment wasn’t trying IMO.

 

[gtxrt]

You guys can shim and add washers all you want, I’m not. PA has crowned roads, we add to right side here.

@gtxrt car does not look like he’s road racing or dirt tracking. A nice driving alignment for a manual steering car should be obtainable with all the parts the car came with. Whoever did that alignment wasn’t trying IMO.

I only wanted the shop to give me the specs and set the toe. it was done before at a different shop before I sold the car and now got the car back. found the front nut on the pass side was loose.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

You guys can shim and add washers all you want, I’m not. PA has crowned roads, we add to right side here.

@gtxrt car does not look like he’s road racing or dirt tracking. A nice driving alignment for a manual steering car should be obtainable with all the parts the car came with. Whoever did that alignment wasn’t trying IMO.

I'm not suggesting shimming the ball joint for this application, I'm just saying there are places where it works... And yes compensatin for road crown is valid...

 

[69L48Z27]

the shop never

I only wanted the shop to give me the specs and set the toe. it was done before at a different shop before I sold the car and now get it back. found the front nut on the pass side was loose.

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood. I didn’t realize it was just a toe set. That would explain the rest of it.

 

[gtxrt]

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood. I didn’t realize it was just a toe set. That would explain the rest of it.

I didn't want them to mess with it. I think if I just move the front adjuster towards the fender I can get less negative camber on the pass side, not sure what that would do to the caster which needs a little less negative too.

 

[gtxrt]

I'm not suggesting shimming the ball joint for this application, I'm just saying there are places where it works... And yes compensatin for road crown is valid...

the service manual does say a 1/4 degree of less positive camber on the pass side