alignment question settings..

[Robert Legere]

Joe wrote:

>Does that really apply to the B13s with their arachnid-inspired rear
>articulation and slightly different weight/distribution?  Being the kind
>of guy I am, I'd start out by zeroing everything front and rear, then
>tipping in the front to said -1.5* and rear to -1.0*, just to start
>with.  I bet that's too much rear negative camber for the street,
>though.  Probably wrong, I don't even own a B13.

*****You're not too far off for a well-prepared B13 however. I set up my
friend's track car at -1.75 front camber and -1.25 rear. This is with
450/300 springs and a strong rollcage however. Not tying the cage into the
front and rear suspension will require more camber to compensate for chassis
flex....the chassis *really* moves around a lot with sticky road-racing
rubber. We run 1/8" toe out front and 0 rear for the track, and 1/4" toe out
front for rallying and other venues that require more aggressive turn-in
characteristics, such as rallycross, hillclimbs, and ice racing. Tire type
also affects desired camber (sidewall stiffness), and wheel rim width
relative to the tire width. We used to run a 7" rim with a 225 section tire.
We enlarged the rim width to 9", and dropped the camber from -2.25 to the
current -1.75. Drivers will affect the final alignment...different driving
styles require different settings.
    If you are running -1.5 degrees up front on a street driven car, you'll
find the inside edge wears a bit faster than normal, particularly if you do
a lot of freeway driving. Mixed driving with more cornering is easier on the
tires. But ultimately the toe setting will kill the tires more
rapidly....run either slight toe-in or zero toe if you want the tires to
last.

Bob Legere