Alignment 001

At the most basic level:
Each road course turn can be dissected into an entry, middle, and an exit.
Dissecting a corner into those elements and analyzing the cars performance is
the key to going faster. Dont confuse going fast with scaring the bejesus out of
yourself at every corner, either. As road course racers quickly find out, a smooth,
steady, calculated, fast pace throughout the entire course results in better lap
times. The abusive treatment of throttle and brakes just wear out the car faster.
When setting up a road course chassis, the goal is to achieve the most traction
where it will benefit lap times and passing the most. That means compromise.
Since a car can only have one setup and a road course typically has many turns,
the approach to chassis setup should revolve around the most important corner.
But what is the most important corner, anyway? According to some, it is often the
one that leads to the longest straightaway with the best passing opportunity. Of
course, setting up a car for the most important corner doesnt mean ignoring the
rest of the track, either. Its a compromise between having a setup that behaves
as well as possible throughout the whole of the course, but places emphasis on
making the car perform where its realistically possible to make gains. With this
approach you will be extremely fast in a few corners, good in a few more, and
taking it easy in the bad corners.
Rules of Thumb
1. If the car is tight overall, try using a softer front sway bar, stiffer rear springs,
raising the track bar, using softer front springs, or a combination of them all.
2. If the car is loose going into the corner, use a stiffer front sway bar, a softer
rear sway bar; lower the track bar, or a combination of these solutions. If the car
is loose exiting the corner, use a stiffer front sway bar, softer rear springs, or a
combination of the two.
Camber, Caster, and Toe
From a handling stand point, camber, caster, and toe affect the perceived
balance of the car (and the actual performance). As you probably already know,
camber describes the inward or outward tilt of the wheels. When wheels tilt
inward at the top, they have negative camber. When wheels tilt outward at the
top, they have positive camber. The front wheels on most race cars have
1500 1st Ave North E112 o Box 90 o Birmingham, AL 35203 o office: (205) 475-2419 o quicktrickalignment.com
negative camber, but not always at a symmetrical angle. Camber also depends
on a cars particular type of suspension design and the track, so generalities are
few. The goal for tuning with camber is to maximize the contact patch of the tire
in relation to the changing geometry of the suspension when the car is cornering.
Caster describes the angle that the front wheels create when turned. Although
people disagree about the effects of caster as a good thing, positive caster adds
desirable cross weight when turning into a corner. When the car is on a set of
scales, turn the wheels to the right and left to see how the diagonal cross weight
changes on cars with a lot of positive caster.
On a Southwest Tour car at Sears Point, for example, run about four degrees
negative camber on the left, three degrees negative camber on the right, and
about five degrees positive caster on both wheels. Unfortunately, there is no
such thing as perfect camber on a road course. A gain in one turn can cause a
loss in a different turn. The best approach is to analyze the race track and have
good driver feedback. Also monitor tire temps on the outside, middle, and inside;
and inspect tires closely for uneven wear. However, tire temperatures should not
always be considered gospel, because they may not be representative of the
entire course and can change by the time the car gets in the pits and is parked.
Toe-in and toe-out describe the front wheels inclination to be pointed slightly
toward each other or slightly away. Toe-in occurs when the front of the tires point
in toward each other; toe-out occurs when the front of the wheels point away
from the car. Street cars with front-wheel-drive typically are set with toe-out
because the wheels tend to pull toward each other under acceleration.
Understanding the Vehicle
Understeer: This is when, at the limit of vehicle traction, the front of the car
slides first before the rear. Race car drivers call this "push". This is the way that
many cars come set up to behave from the factory as it is the most predictable
for average drivers. The crash mode for understeer is that when the limit of
adhesion is exceeded, the car will plow straight ahead off the road nose first.
When the car understeers you should regain control if you let off the gas, unless
of course you run out of road first. It is not efficient for extracting maximum lateral
Gs because the car will dynamically use the front tires excessively for turning,
overloading them while the rear tires basically just hold the back of the car up.
Front wheel drive cars like ours tend to exhibit understeer as the final terminal
mode of balance.
Oversteer: This is when, at the limit of vehicle traction, the rear of the car slides
first before the front. Race car drivers call this "loose". The final crash mode of
oversteer is backwards, tail first into the woods or in the worst case spinning
round and round with the driver as a helpless passenger. Although oversteer
looks neat and macho it is really a slow way to drive except in pro-rally on the dirt
which I dont know too much about. Oversteer is slow on the pavement because
hanging the tail out bleeds off a great deal of speed going through a corner.
Conserving the momentum is the fast way around as turn.
Neutral: This is the fast way around a turn where all four wheels slide evenly.
Since the total friction circle traction of each tire is being used, all the available
grip that the tires have is being put to the ground. Racers call this "drifting". This
not to be mistaken for the idiotic Japanese Option Magazine video stuff which
makes a mockery of proper driving technique. Neutral is the fast way around a
corner most of the time. Neutral is also the hardest handling mode to achieve for
the suspension tuner.
Polar Moment of Inertia: Or PMI as we will refer to it, is a description of how a
cars mass is distributed along the length of the vehicle. A car with a high PMI is
like a rear engine, rear drive car like a Porsche 911 or a front engine, front wheel
drive car , same thing only the poles are different, so to speak. A car with a low
PMI would be a mid engine car like a Boxster. Low PMI cars have most of their
mass about the middle, high PMI cars have the mass at one end or another. Low
PMI cars are the easiest to get a neutral balance out of due to the balanced,
centralized mass. High PMI cars like to oversteer, in the case of the 911 or
understeer like our cars.
Slip Angle: This is the wonderful thing that allows us to tune our cars
suspensions despite the design limitations caused by the PMI. Proper
manipulation of slip angle is the great equalizer and is what suspension tuning is
all about. Slip angle is the difference in which a cars wheels are pointed vs. the
angle that the tires contact patch is placed on the road. The main thing that
affects slip angle is the manipulation of the individual load placed on each wheel
while cornering. This is the key for suspension tuning. A front wheel drive car has
most of the weight on the front wheels. So the front wheels run at higher slip
angles and develop understeer. Conversely the same for a rear wheel drive, rear
engine car developing oversteer. That is also a reason why a mid engine car with
equally loaded tires will be more or less neutral. Slip angles, weight distribution
and PMI are the main factors in how a vehicle will handle.
Because our cars are front heavy, front tire overloaded, front wheel drive cars,
does that mean that we are condemned ? Heck no! By design we cannot change
the basic layout of our cars to significantly change the PMI or weight distribution
but we can sure tweak the slip angles of the tires to achieve world class handling
out of our killer econo transportation units.
The easy way to tweak the slip angles are with anti-sway bars and springs.
Shock absorbers, going against what people think that they do, are not really for
changing the handling balance. Shocks mostly act as spring dampers and affect
understeer/oversteer balance mostly only in transient (which is big word for a
change from straight line travel to turning) maneuvers like initial turn-in and zig
zagging around slalom cones.
Changing to heavier springs changes the slip angle differential by resisting the
cars tendency to roll on the end of the car that they are installed on. The
resistance of the heavier spring to compression causes more weight to be
transferred to the outside wheel of the end of the car that they are installed on as
the car tries to lean over in a corner. This causes that wheel to proportionally run
at a higher slip angle than it normally would. If you put heavier than stock springs
in the rear ,while not changing the spring rate of the front, the car would tend to
understeer less.
Antisway bars work in much the same way. Sway bars are torsion bars
attached to the cars chassis and are linked to the right and left control arms.
Sway bars offer resistance to independent side to side wheel movement. This is
how these bars limit sway in the turns and hence their name. While limiting sway,
the sway bars also cause weight transfer to the outside wheels. By altering the
diameter of the sway bars or installing them where there were none before adds
yet another chassis tuning element. If you were to increase the size of the rear
sway bar you would be increasing the amount of weight transfer to the outside
rear wheel, thus causing it to run a bigger slip angle. This would give you more
oversteer.
Tire pressure also can affect the slip angle. Higher pressures reduce the slip
angle and lower pressures increase it. A great deal of suspension tuning can be
done for free by adjusting the tires pressure.
Alignment also has a great deal of effect on a vehicles handling balance. Caster
and camber affect how a tires contact patch is positioned on the ground by
compensating for a tires tendency to flex and lift the inside tread while cornering,
by helping keep the tread flat, these settings can increase or decrease the
available friction circle traction on an end of a car thus affecting balance. Toe in
or out can affect balance also by changing how a vehicle turns in.
Here is a rough and general matrix on how different parts and adjustments of the
suspension and how the adjustments can affect your cars balance
Suspension adjustment
Affect on vehicle
balance, extreme
useable adjustment
limit
Symptom of TOO
MUCH adjustment
Front spring rate increase
More understeer
Terminal understeer,
front of car hops in
corners, excess wheel
spin in FWD car
Front spring rate

decrease
Less understeer
Too much oversteer,

oversteer then
understeer if spring is so
soft that the car bottoms
under lean, car bottom
excessively with a jolting
ride
Rear spring rate

increase.
More oversteer
Too much oversteer, hop

in corners, twitchy
Rear spring rate

decrease
Less oversteer
Car understeers, if way to

soft car understeers then
oversteers as car
bottoms out under lean,
car bottoms out
ride
Front antisway bar stiffer
More understeer
Terminal understeer, Lifts

inside front tire off the
ground which can cause
massive wheelspin , also
not good for most
effective tire usage as
inside wheel is now doing
nothing
Front antisway bar softer
Less understeer
Oversteer
Rear antisway bar stiffer
More oversteer
Big time oversteer, Can

cause the inside rear tie
to lift off the ground which
is not two bad on a FWD
car. On Classics, if this
happens while trail
braking into a turn, the
abs can shut the brakes
down which can be a bit
scary
Rear antisway bar softer
Less oversteer
understeer
Front tire pressure higher
Less understeer
Except with BFG R-1
tires. They will grip less
and understeer more if
the pressures are
increased within a
reasonable amount.
No traction as tire is
crowned so more
understeer, bad wheel
spin, jarring ride, center
of tires wears out
Front tire pressure lower
More understeer
Except with BFG R-1
tires. They will grip more
and understeer less if the
pressures are decreased
within a reasonable
amount.
Edges of tires wear

quickly because tire is
folding over, feels mushy,
tires chunk because low
pressure means more
heat build up
Rear tire pressures

higher
Less oversteer
Except with BFG R-1
and oversteer more if the
pressures are increased
within a reasonable
amount.
crowned so more
oversteer, bad wheel spin
on RWD cars, jarring
ride, center of tire wears
out
Rear tire pressures lower
More oversteer
Except with BFG R-1
tires.
They will grip more and
oversteer less if the
within a reasonable
amount.
Edges of tires wear

folding over and cupping
upward, feels loose in
back, tires chunk
because low pressure
means more heat build
up
More negative camber on

front wheels
Less understeer/ -3
degrees
Poor braking, car is road

crown sensitive, twitchy,
tires wear out on the
inside edge
Positive camber on front

wheels
More understeer, a little

can make the tires last a
little longer

outside edge You almost
never want to have
positive camber unless
you are a dweeb

rear wheels
Less oversteer, more rear

grip, less breakaway
warning when limit is
exceeded/-3 degrees
More oversteer, car feels

twitchy in back, tires wear
out on inside edge
More positive camber at

rear
More oversteer, more

forgiving at limit
Car feels twitchy in the

back, tires wear out on
outside edge
Ride height to low, rice

boy style
Car twitchy with

unpredictable dynamics,
dont race on when you
see it because they will
crash, taking you out
Everything that could

possibly be wrong,
sudden over or
understeer, twitchy due
to bumpsteer
Toe-in front
Car is stable while going

straight. Turn in is
average/1/8 inch total
toe-in
Car has slow twitchiness

under braking, feels odd,
kills the outside edge of
tires
Toe-in rear
car is less likely to

suddenly oversteer when
throttle is lifted/1/8 inch
total toe-in
Weird slow rocking

movement in back, feels
slow but still unstable,
wears the outside edge
of tires
Toe-out front
Car turns in well, works

pretty good in FWD cars
as they tend to toe-in
under load/1/4 inch total
toe out
Car is real twitchy under

braking, car is very road
crown sensitive, car
wanders on straight road,
kills inside edge of tires.
Toe-out rear
Helps the car rotate,

useful on tight low speed
courses and slalom
events/1/8 inch total toe
out
Not to good for street

driving, causes lift throttle
oversteer, car makes
violent side to side
rocking motions in rear,
tires wear more on
insides
Positive front caster
Helps both stability,

steady state cornering
and turn in because the
suspension will get more
negative camber when
the wheel is turned/ 6-7
degrees positive,
negative caster is not
useable
Can increase understeer,

especially in cars with
wide, low profile tires due
to a non linear increase
in corner weight.
Increases steering effort,
SE-Rs are not easily
modified to make this
adjustable, FWD cars can
see an increase of torque
steer with excessive
positive caster
Here are some general basic rules if you want to

improve your cars handling:
Do not lower your car too much! This perhaps is the number one no no.
Lowering looks really cool and can make a significant improvement to a cars
cornering capability but going too low is detrimental to both handling and even
safety. Going too low can cause bumpsteer, where the tie rods and control arms
are traveling different arcs resulting in the wheels steering themselves with no
steering wheel input. When a car is so low that the suspension bottoms under
cornering loads, the end of the car that bottoms first will violently slide out. Super
low guys are convinced that they are driving super touring cars but if you take
them out on the track they will suck incredibly. Our cars are cursed with short
travel suspension as it is and cannot take being lowered more than 1.5-2 inches
at the most. So install some good springs, you want to maintain at least 1-3/4" of
travel.
Buy and install matched components from a single manufacture. For
instance do not put H&R front springs in with Eibach rear or a Suspension
Techniques front bar with a TMC rear. Suspension manufactures usually offer
these parts as a tuned set with rates, etc. made to match each other. So unless
you really know what you are doing dont mix and match.
If you are using high performance springs, try to wait until you can afford
the shocks also. Performance springs store more potential energy when they
are compressed. They need a shock with more rebound damping to keep the car
from bouncing all over the place after you hit a bump. Really good shocks like
Koni or GABs are adjustable so you can tune your shocks to the springs.
Performance springs with stock shocks usually feel floaty on high speed
undulations. I find that that feels a little spooky. Performance springs quicker
rebound characteristics also seem to wear out stock shocks quickly making them
get super floaty.
Limiting body roll is good. Our cars sit high, and have fairly soft springs from
the factory. They roll almost as bad as French cars. Install stiff springs and
swaybars with matching shocks, and lower the car to a reasonable level. Limiting
roll keeps the weight from transferring excessively, allowing the inside tires to
work more in a turn. Limiting roll also helps keep the car from bottoming in a turn
and keeps the car out of the bumpsteer zone. McPherson strut cars like ours do
not gain negative camber under roll either so limiting roll helps keep the tires
from folding over.
Having adjustably is good. Having the ability to adjust camber and toe is very
useful when trying to extract Gs from your car. On a showroom stock racer
optimizing the alignment and tire pressures alone made the car go from 0.79 to
0.86 gs on the skid pad and 3 seconds a lap faster at Willow Springs. As front
camber is not adjustable on our cars it is important to make it so. Stillen and
Ground Control make high quality camber plates. These will slightly increase the
harshness of your ride but will sharpen turn in due to the elimination of squishy
rubber with metal bearings. Rear camber adjustably is not critical on most FWD
cars. To make poor boy adjustable camber, you can drill out one of the two strut
to spindle bolt holes on the strut housing by about 1/16" This will get you a
couple of degrees of camber adjustment. If you are racing Solo II stock class or
Showroom stock and dont want to cheat, you can get about degree more
negative camber by loosening all of the suspension bolts and having someone
hold the wheel in the negative position while you retighten everything.
Align your suspension and optimize your tire pressures. In the previous
paragraph, I said that alignment and tire pressures can make a huge difference.
IT IS TRUE! If you are poor, you can still make big improvements in your cars
grip by just playing with tires pressures and the cars alignment. Try the poor boy
technique and dial in some front negative camber, increase the front tire
pressure, decrease the rear and set your toe. Boy will you see a difference. Try
to find a place that does racing alignments near your house as alignment is
where people really get ripped off as it is almost never done correctly. Most
hacks just throw a car on the rack and if it falls somewhere within in the wide
factory specs, dont touch a thing. What you need is a blueprint type alignment
where the suspension is adjusted exactly to spec. Most repair shop dorks dont
understand this and will argue and tell you that that is not necessary. A race prep
shop will understand. When your car is aligned, it should be done with your
weight in the drivers seat and with the technician bouncing the car after every
adjustment to settle the suspension. Set your tire pressure before you take the
car in. Remember that you must realign the car if you lower it!
If you are racing, run R compound tires on the widest wheels that will fit.
These tires can get more that 2 seconds for every 30 seconds on a slalom
course or 3 seconds for every minute on a road course. These tires usually have
a vestigial tread and a really short tread life so you dont want to run these as a
daily driver tire. Also R type tires only have about 10 good heat cycles in them so
their stickiness will decline quickly in daily use, leaving you with a fast wearing,
not so sticky tire.
Dont over tire or wheel your car. Our cars will go the fastest and handle best
with the widest, lightest 15 inch wheel that will fit. A 205/50-15 works well in most
cases and a wide variety of R compound tires are available in this size.
Tire pressures rise considerably during a run/race. Take notes of your tire
pressures before and after every run so you can start with a cold pressure that
will increase to your desired hot pressure during a run. Bleed your tire pressure
down after every run to keep it cool.
Settings:
Maybe use a Front Antisway bar (definitely have to test)

Set front and rear camber to maximum negative by the loosen, push and
retighten method.
Set front toe out to 1/8 inch, Set rear toe to Zero or 1/8 out to help car rotate, be
careful not to overdo.
Start with 40 psi front, 35 rear for tire pressures.
These settings will feel yucky on the street and will promote lift throttle oversteer
as well as chew up your tires.
How to adjust your suspension
The information listed above is baseline settings. These work pretty well for my
driving style (as well as most of the good drivers that I have worked with) and
preferences. Your preference could be different. To find the optimal settings for
your personnel suspension set-up there are a few tricks that you can do to make
the process less painful and quicker.
To adjust your suspension you need a just a few simple things.
First you need a good, accurate tire pressure gauge. A gauge with a bleeder
valve is very useful. Gauges like this can be gotten at just about any racers
supply house for about 20 bucks. Dont waste your money on those expensive
electronic gauges. Those are slow to use and never come with bleeder valves.
The next bit of stuff to have is a compressed air tank for adjusting tire
pressures. Tracks almost never have a handy air tank. I got my tank from Sears
for about 50 bucks. Fill it at a gas station or use your home air compressor before
heading out. Make sure the tank you buy has a safety relief valve so you dont
blow the crap out of yourself if you leave the tank in your hot car during lunch or
something.
A digital pyrometer is very important. Get one with a wire bead probe. These
are used for measuring tire temperature differentials across the tread which is a
good tool for judging whether your tires pressures and alignment settings are
right. You can get one of these at any racers supply house for 50 to 200 bucks. If
you dont want to shell out the bucks for this, bring a bottle of white out with you.
A notepad and pen are critical also. With so many adjustment parameters it is
important to try to write everything down as you will never remember it all.
When at the track, first note your initial settings including the air pressure. Write it
all down. Paint a stripe of white out on your tires sidewalls going down to the
tread. It helps if you have someone do all these things for you as it gets pretty
hectic when you are trying to get ready to run. Go out and drive the car, making
mental notes on how it handles, what you like and what you dislike. When you pit
or when your run is over, immediately measure your tire temperatures. You only
have a few seconds to do this as the temperatures drop quickly. If the course is
clockwise, measure the left side of the car first starting with the left front. If it is
counterclockwise, measure the right side first starting on the right front. You want
to measure the treads temperature in three places, the outside, the middle and
the inside. Push the wire of the bead probe slightly into the rubber for the most
accurate measurement. Measure all the tires quickly and be sure to write it all
down. Next measure and record the tires pressure quickly before the tires have a
chance to cool much. Look at the white out stripe that you made. It is there to
indicate if your tires are rolling onto the sidewalls. The stripe should not be worn
past the rounded corner of the tread- sidewall junction.
Now review your notes and the recorded data. How did you like the way the car
handled? Did it push? Was it loose? Was it perfect? Look at your temperature
distributions across the tread. Ideally it should be about 10 degrees hotter on the
inside than the outside with an even gradient across the tread. This is usually
only attainable on a race car with optimized suspension geometry. On a street,
production based car that is totally modified for adjustably, even temperatures
across the tread may be possible and on a FWD car usually the outside will
always be a bit higher. On a stock car you cannot usually get better than a 20
degree gradient. Anyway, the camber and pressures might need some
adjustment to get optimal temperature gradients out of the tires. If the temps are
fairly even, it means you are using the whole tread of the tire to its fullest. You
also want to get the average temps on the front and rear tires the same. That is
not possible with a FWD production based car. A spread of 30-40 degrees is
about the best that can be expected with the front tires running hotter than the
rears.
Modern R compound tires work the best at temperatures above 180-190
degrees. At temperatures much above 220 degrees, most tires will start to chunk.
To know the exact temp that your tire works best, call your tire manufactures tech
line for advice. Watch for chunking on the outside edge of the tire, where it is
most likely to be a problem with a FWD car. Like I said, play with your air
pressures and camber to get the temps right and an even distribution to avoid
chunking. Raising the tire pressure will reduce flexing and the tire will run cooler,
lowering it will cause the tire to run hotter. Raising the pressure will cause the
inside of the tread to run hotter and the edges cooler, lowering will make the
outside edges hotter and the inside cooler.
Once you are using all of your tires tread properly, you can play with the balance.
Look at the previously displayed chart to see all of the variables. Usually you
want to play with swaybar and spring rates to balance the car. Toe settings are
useful to get the car to turn in and rotate. Keep on monitoring the tire temps and
pressures and note how changes affect the car. (BE SURE TO WRITE ALL
CHANGES DOWN AND MAKE ONLY ONE CHANGE AT A TIME) In a few
sessions you will be able to have a good grip on how to set your car up (bad
pun).
On a stock car, about the only variables you can play with are tire pressures and
toe. Adjust your pressures so the temp gradient is as even as possible across the
tread. Since your adjustably is limited this will not be possible.
Do not add so much pressure that the outside and middle of the tire is at
the same temperature. At this point the tire is crowning with a bulge in the
middle. This is not using the tire well. Tire pressures can be used to tune the
balance. Try 2 psi increments as most good drivers can feel a difference in that.
Remember to only adjust one thing at a time! Toe adjustments are very useful on
the stock car also. A little front toe-out can help reduce push and get the car
to turn in and set quicker. A little rear toe out can get the rear of a pushing
car to rotate in tight turns.
If you dont have a pyrometer, then use the white out sidewall stripe method to
determine if the tire is rolling over excessively. If you adjust the tire pressure so it
is only rolling just to the end of the rounded tread to sidewall juncture, then you
are very close to the proper set up. Dont be afraid of adding to much air as I
have run up to 55 psi hot on the front tires of heavily understeering Showroom
Stock cars with no ill side effects. In fact this is probably safer than allowing the
tire to overheat and chunk. Just having the ability to play with the tire pressures
at the track can give you a good edge over the typical slalom weekend warrior, at
least in the beginners type classes. As you get better, you will have to master
the art of suspension setup to remain competitive
Suspension adjustment
Affect on vehicle
balance, extreme
useable adjustment
limit
Symptom of TOO
MUCH adjustment
Front spring rate increase
More understeer
Terminal understeer,
front of car hops in
corners, excess
wheelspin in FWD car
Front spring rate

decrease
Less understeer
Too much oversteer,

oversteer then
understeer if spring is so
soft that the car bottoms
under lean, car bottom
ride
Rear spring rate

increase.
More oversteer
Too much oversteer, hop

in corners, twitchy
Rear spring rate

decrease
Less oversteer
Car understeers, if way to

soft car understeers then
oversteers as car
bottoms out under lean,
car bottoms out
ride
Front antisway bar stiffer
More understeer
Terminal understeer, Lifts

inside front tire off the
ground which can cause
massive wheelspin, also
not good for most
effective tire usage as
inside wheel is now doing
nothing
Front antisway bar softer
Less understeer
Oversteer
Rear antisway bar stiffer
More oversteer
Big time oversteer, Can

cause the inside rear tie
to lift off the ground which
is not two bad on a FWD
car. On Classics, if this
happens while trail
braking into a turn, the
abs can shut the brakes
down which can be a bit
scary
Rear antisway bar softer
Less oversteer
understeer
Front tire pressure higher
Less understeer
Except with BFG R-1
and understeer more if
the pressures are
increased within a
reasonable amount.
crowned so more
understeer, bad wheel
spin, jarring ride, center
of tires wears out
Front tire pressure lower
More understeer
Except with BFG R-1
tires. They will grip more
and understeer less if the
within a reasonable
amount.
Edges of tires wear

folding over, feels mushy,
tires chunk because low
pressure means more
heat build up
Rear tire pressures

higher
Less oversteer
Except with BFG R-1
and oversteer more if the
pressures are increased
within a reasonable
amount.
crowned so more
oversteer, bad wheel spin
on RWD cars, jarring
ride, center of tire wears
out
Rear tire pressures lower
More oversteer
Except with BFG R-1
tires.
They will grip more and
oversteer less if the
within a reasonable
amount.
Edges of tires wear

folding over and cupping
upward, feels loose in
back, tires chunk
because low pressure
means more heat build
up

front wheels
Less understeer/ -3
degrees

inside edge
Positive camber on front

wheels
More understeer, a little

can make the tires last a
little longer

outside edge You almost
never want to have
positive camber unless
you are a dweeb

rear wheels
Less oversteer, more rear

grip, less breakaway
warning when limit is
exceeded/-3 degrees
More oversteer, car feels

twitchy in back, tires wear
out on inside edge
More positive camber at

rear
More oversteer, more

forgiving at limit
Car feels twichy in the

back, tires wear out on
outside edge
Ride height to low, rice

boy style
Car twitchy with

unpredictable dynamics,
dont race on when you
see it because they will
crash, taking you out
Everything that could

possibly be wrong,
sudden over or
understeer, twichy due to
bumpsteer
Toe-in front
Car is stable while going

straight. Turn in is
average/1/8 inch total
toe-in
Car has slow twichyness

under braking, feels odd,
kills the outside edge of
tires
Toe-in rear
car is less likely to

suddenly oversteer when
throttle is lifted/1/8 inch
total toe-in
Weird slow rocking

movement in back, feels
slow but still unstable,
wears the outside edge
of tires
Toe-out front
Car turns in well, works

pretty good in FWD cars
as they tend to toe-in
under load/1/4 inch total
toe out
Car is real twitchy under

braking, car is very road
crown sensitive, car
wanders on straight road,
kills inside edge of tires.
Toe-out rear
Helps the car rotate,

useful on tight low speed
courses and slalom
events/1/8 inch total toe
out
Not to good for street

driving, causes lift throttle
oversteer, car makes
violent side to side
rocking motions in rear,
tires wear more on
insides
Positive front caster
Helps both stability,

steady state cornering
and turn in because the
suspension will get more
negative camber when
the wheel is turned/ 6-7
degrees positive,
negative caster is not
useable
Can increase understeer,

especially in cars with
wide, low profile tires due
to a non linear increase
in corner weight.
Increases steering effort,
SE-Rs are not easily
modified to make this
adjustable, FWD cars can
see an increase of torque
steer with excessive
positive caster

Alignment 001

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Alignment 001

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At the most basic level:

Front spring rate increase

Front spring rate

Too much oversteer,

Rear spring rate

Too much oversteer, hop

Rear spring rate

Car understeers, if way to

Front antisway bar stiffer

Terminal understeer, Lifts

Front antisway bar softer

Rear antisway bar stiffer

Big time oversteer, Can

Rear antisway bar softer

Front tire pressure higher

Front tire pressure lower

Edges of tires wear

Rear tire pressures

Rear tire pressures lower

Edges of tires wear

More negative camber on

Poor braking, car is road

Positive camber on front

More understeer, a little

Poor braking, car is road

More negative camber on

Less oversteer, more rear

More oversteer, car feels

More positive camber at

More oversteer, more

Car feels twitchy in the

Ride height to low, rice

Car twitchy with

Everything that could

Car is stable while going

Car has slow twitchiness

car is less likely to

Weird slow rocking

Car turns in well, works

Car is real twitchy under

Helps the car rotate,

Not to good for street

Positive front caster

Helps both stability,

Can increase understeer,

Here are some general basic rules if you want to

Maybe use a Front Antisway bar (definitely have to test)

Front spring rate increase

Front spring rate

Too much oversteer,

Rear spring rate

Too much oversteer, hop

Rear spring rate

Car understeers, if way to

Front antisway bar stiffer

Terminal understeer, Lifts

Front antisway bar softer

Rear antisway bar stiffer

Big time oversteer, Can

Rear antisway bar softer

Front tire pressure higher

Front tire pressure lower

Edges of tires wear

Rear tire pressures