alexb76

I think I got a lot of camber on the rears and am taking it in for alignment and a check. My summer PS2 are a bit more worn out on the inside, althought no excessive.

I NEVER noticed the visual negative camber on the rear with my Carrera Sport 11.5 wheels/305 tires. I noticed it after putting 265R18 tires on 10" Carrera3 wheels. You can literally see the bottom of the tires are aligned with the wheel well, while the top is in by as much 2"!

I got the following questions:

1. Could camber be affected by tire/wheels? I didn't think it mattered?
2. Is it normal/usual that inside of rear tires wear more than outside?
3. What's a good compormise alignment setting for street/track use on 997.1 C4S? I do 5-6 DE a year at most. Wanna manage excess tire wear.
4. I am at 10K miles, with rears almost done, and fronts will be done soon. Is this normal wear for PS2?
5. What's more important for wet driving on 997? Front or rear tires?
6. If I am going to change tires soon, shall I delay alignment till I get the new tires on, or it doesn't matter when I did it?

Thanks!

KeninBlaine

Many of us have experienced the inside rears wearing more quickly, but it is apparently due to improper alignment. Camber should not be affected by tires/wheels if the OD is the same for both. I'm having Damptronics put on my car this week and will have an alignment and corner balance done. Based on advice from a friend who tracks a lot, drives his car in rainy Vancouver, and has good even tire wear, I'm planning on having the alignment done to "rest of world - performance" spec.
I think 10k on rear PS2 is not unusual. For wet roads, I would think all tires should have decent tread. The alignment can be done before you get new tires if you're going to replace with same size.

alexb76

Thanks man, do you know what exactly is the alignment setting "rest of world - performance" spec? Would the shop know (not taking to dealer).

KeninBlaine

PM your email to me and I'll send you the specs tomorrow from my work computer.

alexb76

Thanks Ken! PM sent.

brendo

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ferrerid=62162

mdrums

Alex, I track for 3 year with the stock suspension on my daily drive 06 and 07 using these specs below. It's not so much the camber that wears the inside of the tires but it is the amount of toe. So here are the specs I used.....perfect tire wear on the street, much better turn in.

FRONT
-1 degrees Camber per side
.02 degrees Toe per side
Caster can not be adjusted on the stock suspension

REAR
-1.5 degrees Camber per side
.14 degrees Toe per side

For the last 8k miles I added the GT3 Cup lower control arms for more front camber. I get better traction at the track and better tire wear but am not seeing any adverse effects on the street with the following settings.

FRONT
-2 degrees Camber per side
.02 degrees toe per side

REAR
-1.8 degrees Camber per side
.14 degrees toe per side

mdrums

Ken, usless you have after market suspension on you car you can not corner balance a Carrera or Carrera S.

RonCT

You'll find a few threads started by me and Mike (mdrums) over the years. Search on 'alignment' with RonCT or mdrums as author. My bottom line advice was (and is) to go to a respected Porsche tuner shop in your area and tell him what you are after and trust him to give you as good an alignment as possible. It's not as easy as putting numbers into a computer, it's a mechanical process to align a car. Some fronts can only get to -0.8 degrees, where others can get -1 degree.

utkinpol

I got that done in late fall with 996 GT3 LCAs setting -2.2 degrees front camber and 0 toe and on rear -1.9 camber .10 toe as my mechanic recommended and I still extremely excited. Car feels completely different with those settings, plus those LCAs changed front caster to 8.7 from 7.5.

Understeer is gone, car is unbelievably sensitive and jumps into turns.

KeninBlaine

Thanks. I am having Damptronics installed this week.

I agree. My installer has put many Damptronics on Porsches, and I'll discuss the best setup for my needs. They suggested that I go see the car and check the height after install before they do the alignment.

Mike in CA

I just went through this process in trying to get my car set up for autoX and Ron's posts were very helpful. Just as a point of information, my car was able to get a bit more negative camber in front (-1.2 degrees) due to the fact that I have the lower sport PASM suspension. I'm hoping this will be an acceptable compromise without having to do further mods (GT3 control arms).

mdrums

I also have the Sports PASM on my 2009 and when stock I got -1.3 and 2nd alignment got -1.4. This worked out fine and much better than stock and street tire wear was perfect and track tire wear was not all that bad. I went with the GT3 lowers and now have -2 and track tire wear and turn in is even better. Still street wear seems very good. My street tires now have 11k miles and they look like they could go another 15k easy.

KeninBlaine

Just to be sure I understand, it appears that more negative camber up front provides better tire wear?

Mike in CA

The more negative camber you have, the more the tire leans in at the top relative to the centerline of the wheel/tire. When cornering, having more negative camber results in quicker turn in and more of the tire in contact with the pavement for better handling. When travelling in a straight line, however, because the tire is leaning over slightly more, the inside edge of the tire can wear more quickly. The trick is to find the right balance between tire wear and cornering ability. Stock, negative camber is about -.4 degrees. For a car that is tracked extensively, -2 to 3 degrees is not unusual. Somewhere in between, is considered a reasonable street/track compromise although some posters are saying that they are experiencing reasonable overall wear even at around -2 degrees. All else being equal, tire wear on the street will be better nearer to the stock setting. On the track, more negative camber can help prevent the outside edge of the tire from wearing too quickly. Obviously there are tradeoffs either way, and how you plan to use your car will determine how you want it aligned. Hope I didn't misunderstand your question and over explain this.