just when I thought my summer spending came to an end...

[e30Matt]

Tucking enough wheel back there?

[Mystikal]

2nd, and so? i plan on having this car for a while... plus now ill have adjustibility for track stuff.

And you'll actually have enough skill to use camber as a tool to lower times after what, 4-8 schools/sessions?

I'm just messing around with you, but you see what I'm getting at.

[DanGillan]

Tucking enough wheel back there?

holy shit, he must go through tires in 4 months :shock:




and i do see what your getting at, but in 5 years, the camber plates are going to pay for themselves 5 times over in tires. that's the reason I bought them.

[surebimmer]

You do relize that the fastest tire wearing angle is toe and not camber. If you run to little camber and go hard in lots of turns you will wear the outsides of your tires faster and have to replace tires as well. I have seen this many times on e38 740i with 18" inch wheels.

[OreoGaborio]

Just look at it this way. If you crashed your car in the rain because of bald tires, you would be out a lot more than $775... just picture the the damage and $775 starts looking like cheap insurance for inteligant purchases.

exactly why i didn't have a problem dropping $837 on a leather race suit, gloves & helmet for my motorcycle.... then there's the 300 i spent on tires.... and i still have yet to spend another 200 on boots... and another 150 on a back protector before i go to the track again

it's all good, especially since i don't have medical insurance... a grand & 1/2 on gear is cheap compared to many thousands of dollars for a Hellicopter ride, skin grafting, I.V. drips, casts etc

[MattE30]

I'm kind of ignorant on this subject, but how much of a difference does good race gear help one in a crash? Does it make a huge difference besides not having skin being shreded of the body?

[Mystikal]

and i do see what your getting at, but in 5 years, the camber plates are going to pay for themselves 5 times over in tires. that's the reason I bought them.

I think your math is way off there. How much camber do you have, -2.5 or so? You won't be able to go to anything much lower than like -1.5 man, you'll start rubbing like mad.

[OreoGaborio]

I'm kind of ignorant on this subject, but how much of a difference does good race gear help one in a crash? Does it make a huge difference besides not having skin being shreded of the body?

well, the suit i have has padding in the elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, ass & shins... my gloves have a carbon fiber plate over almost all of my knuckles that prevent them from being crushed, the back protector that i'm planning on buying kept a fellow racer from being paralized after he low-sided, he slid into the barriers w/ his bike comin right in after him... woulda crushed his spine, most likely paralizing him from the shoulders down. instead he just ended up in a body cast w/ a few broken ribs and other parts

so yeah... it helps a good amount, and even lasts through more than one crash. my last track day i saw some leathers that had OBVIOUSLY been through SEVERAL crashes, only to be patched up & worn again over & over.

obviously it's not gonna make you invincible, but it sure as hell will CONSIDERABLY reduce your medical bills and the amount of pain you'll have to live with. (this past season a fellow rider had an accident & although he had no major broken bones he had a VAST amount of road rash.... took his own life, leaving his wife and kid(s) about 4 months AFTER the crash... just couldn't take it anymore :()

[MattE30]

Yeah, wasn't there a post about that guy? Really depressing...

[DanGillan]

and i do see what your getting at, but in 5 years, the camber plates are going to pay for themselves 5 times over in tires. that's the reason I bought them.

I think your math is way off there. How much camber do you have, -2.5 or so? You won't be able to go to anything much lower than like -1.5 man, you'll start rubbing like mad.

that's what im going for.... the offset strut bearings add half a degree, the camber plates and add a half a degree positive (now 1 degree positive combined) or subtract 1.25 degrees. so, since im at -2.5, and the strut bearings add .5, and the camber plates add .5, im now at -1.5. stock allignment specs call for between: -.19 and -1.19 ill be pretty damn close without rubbing. my math is right on. i wouldnt have spent almost $400 without checking my math a couple times... but i do know what your saying, i ocasionally rub when i have 4 people in my car, so fender rolling may be on the list.

[Digitalwave]

Wait, you didn't buy adjustable camber plates?

[DanGillan]

Wait, you didn't buy adjustable camber plates?

of course i did, the IE street plates. they allow 1/2 a degree positive, or 1.25 degrees negative.

[nando]

man I WISH I could have -2.5 degrees of camber.

enjoy your car, but I don't understand why people lower their car and then take out all the camber they gained (unless maybe their rear was way off or something). a stock car was designed for long tire life, you've already given that up with your performance tires and lowered suspension.

[DanGillan]

once im out of school, im sure ill add camber, but while im in school, i cant afford to be buying performance tires every year. they need to last at least 2 years. i think its a good investment both now (for saving money on tires during college) and later for track events (the adjustable camber). thanks for the input though guys!

[julianBC]

sorry, but what exactly is camber? and why do your tires wear faster if your car is lowered?