What do you call this? (General Suspension Geometry Question)

[SprintStar]

Hi Guys,

I don't know where else to ask this question... So bear with me.

You know, when you have the wheels at full lock, the inside wheel of some cars have a lot of positive camber. Like Mercedes cars, they turn and 'tilt' a lot. What is this called and why is it for?

I don't think it's called kingpin inclination, right? That only affects straightline camber?

By comparision, I noticed of late that Japanese cars are adopting this as well. They used to have zero camber when turning but they now start to have a bit of positive but no way near as much as the European cars. What gives?

Thanks!

Sprint.

[masraum]

I believe lots of caster will cause this. The outside wheel will gain negative camber and the inside wheel will loose negative camber possibly going to positive depending upon the alignment specs.

[jluetjen]

Steve's got it. Basically the kingpin is inclined backwards at the top. It is often used with cars with Strut suspensions in the front to provide additional camber on the outside wheel when the wheels are turned. This is done because MacPherson Struts tend to lose camber (or at gain very little camber) as a car rolls.

[hcoles]

called caster induced camber