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944 Turbo Alignment setup for Track

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Old 01-18-2007 | 01:15 PM
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Default 944 Turbo Alignment setup for Track

I have an 87 944 turbo and need to get some insight on camber/toe/caster for a track only car. I also don't want to go so aggressive that i burn up the rubber with no noticable difference in performance.

I have the racers edge sphirical bearings/bushing kit
also have the koni fully adjustable rear coilovers ( no torsion bars )
Koni single adjustment coilovers in the front
car has been gutted to wieght in at 2800 with driver...
and running 15 lb of boost...not sure if it matters but it sits the car down quick on the apex.

they are recommending:

front- camber -3.0 Toe (1/16 out) caster Max
rear- camber -2.0 Toe (1/32 in)

any suggestions...I'm a fairly experienced driver but still have a lot of learning to do.
Old 01-18-2007 | 01:38 PM
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im running a street/track setup- same toe w/ 2 camber up front and 1.5 in the rear. SOUnds pretty good though.
Old 01-18-2007 | 01:41 PM
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Those numbers are spot on for a track only car. 951's need lots of camber.
Old 01-18-2007 | 02:30 PM
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I run about the same but I could not get the -2 camber in the rear. Those settings sound good for R compound tires. I would probably reduce the negative camber if you run street tires on the track.

Mark
Old 01-18-2007 | 02:37 PM
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That's interesting... I feel that the cars need even more camber in the front on street tires.
Old 01-18-2007 | 03:12 PM
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Don't forget ride height adjustment, that makes a huge difference in handling for me.
Old 01-18-2007 | 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by ninefiveone
That's interesting... I feel that the cars need even more camber in the front on street tires.
Not really an easy question. Street tires have less grip so the car will roll less than on R compound, in that perspective they need less camber.

But the sidewall of a street tire is much softer than on a R tire so the car will climb more on the sidewall. So you need camber.

But since the R tires are much harder they are much more sensitive to camber as they won't "smudge" out on the road in the same manner as a softer street tire.

In short, R tires need pretty much camber to get a full contact path with the road. But all sorts of tires need camber in a track condition.
Old 01-18-2007 | 05:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Duke
Not really an easy question. Street tires have less grip so the car will roll less than on R compound, in that perspective they need less camber.

But the sidewall of a street tire is much softer than on a R tire so the car will climb more on the sidewall. So you need camber.

But since the R tires are much harder they are much more sensitive to camber as they won't "smudge" out on the road in the same manner as a softer street tire.

In short, R tires need pretty much camber to get a full contact path with the road. But all sorts of tires need camber in a track condition.
+1
Old 01-18-2007 | 07:34 PM
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I went in my car with a local race legend, Jim Richards, and he said he runs
neg 3 front and neg 2 rear on his car that is a Cup car replica when he uses it in our Targa events. If you have adj.camber mounts that make it easier to adjust then you can run different settings for the track than the street which will save your tyres. Running track neg. camber on the street you will scrub out the insides of you tyres very quickly and have to throw them out still with lot's of rubber left. Very frustrating!
Old 01-18-2007 | 08:36 PM
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I'd caution against running toe out in the front -- that can make for an unstable car trying to go in a straight line at speed.

Personally, I shoot for zero toe, erring on toe in (like 1/32 +/-1/32), and maybe a little more toe in for the rear, like 1/16. But that's just my personal prefference.

Try to find out information from your tire manufacturer. I believe Michelin recommends 2 deg. neg. camber, but Hoosier recommends 2.5 to 3.

Usually it's hard to get more than 1.5 to 2 degrees of negative camber in the rear.

Good luck!
Old 01-19-2007 | 12:44 AM
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Toyo recommends 2.5 to 5 degrees of camber for their RA-1s.
Old 01-19-2007 | 12:47 AM
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Running about the same. I think -3.25 in the front and -2.5 in the rear last year. Cant remember all the settings exactly. Car felt great.
Old 01-19-2007 | 02:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Van
I'd caution against running toe out in the front -- that can make for an unstable car trying to go in a straight line at speed.

Personally, I shoot for zero toe, erring on toe in (like 1/32 +/-1/32), and maybe a little more toe in for the rear, like 1/16. But that's just my personal prefference.

Try to find out information from your tire manufacturer. I believe Michelin recommends 2 deg. neg. camber, but Hoosier recommends 2.5 to 3.

Usually it's hard to get more than 1.5 to 2 degrees of negative camber in the rear.

Good luck!
yeah thats whats put me off going down the adjustable camber plate route, doesn't address the toe changing.
Old 01-19-2007 | 02:27 AM
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I found that I needed -3 (or more) camber up front to keep from wiping out the outside edges of Hoosiers, THEN I firmed up from the TS sways to the 968 MO30 and then -2.5 was plenty. Just reminding there are other variables out there!
Old 01-19-2007 | 07:36 AM
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Front looks good but you might need a little more in the rear depending on what tires you are running and the balance of your car.

Do yourself a favor and borrow a tire pyrometer. Tweak your alignment based on insideutside readings and set your tire pressures based on temp in the center of the tread. This is how you ensure you are getting maximum grip. Once that is set, then adjust your suspension for handling.


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