adjustable caster?

[Competition Orange]

Hello all,

I'm doing my first HPDE in the Mustang in July and doing research on alignments.

Does our car allow for caster adjustments?

I was going with max camber (BMR handling springs and camber bolts) front, roughly 1 degree less in rear, front toe at zero, and rear toe at 0.1 toe in each wheel, 0.2 total.

However, in my reading, caster can change mid corner camber, but not static camber, and should be accounted for...

Thoughts?

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[NightmareMoon]

You always want as much castor as the factory suspension allows, it means more camber with the wheels turned, and better straight line stability while going straight, however, it usually doesn't make sense to sacrifice camber or toe just to get more castor. Most alignment shops seem to know this and incorrect (too little) castor is rarely a problem. IDK if castor is independently adjustable, a byproduct or camber and toe, or just statically set by the suspension design.

OTOH, It is possible to get too much camber...

 

[Competition Orange]

You always want as much castor as the factory suspension allows, it means more camber with the wheels turned, and better straight line stability while going straight, however, it usually doesn't make sense to sacrifice camber or toe just to get more castor. Most alignment shops seem to know this and incorrect (too little) castor is rarely a problem. IDK if castor is independently adjustable, a byproduct or camber and toe, or just statically set by the suspension design.

OTOH, It is possible to get too much camber...

Agree on all points, and am looking for this answer, basically.

 

[Road Dog]

Check with Kelly at BMR, they just announced caster/camber plate kits for the front struts. Looks like lots of adjustment is possible.

 

[Competition Orange]

Check with Kelly at BMR, they just announced caster/camber plate kits for the front struts. Looks like lots of adjustment is possible.

Thanks.

Looking for OEM answer.

 

[BMR Tech]

You are not going to be able to get much caster adjustment with OEM stuff unless you think outside the box and are receptive to cutting on the car.

 

[Competition Orange]

You are not going to be able to get much caster adjustment with OEM stuff unless you think outside the box and are receptive to cutting on the car.

Thank you Kelly.

I'll make sure its maxed out using strut mount location, and call it quits.

 

[BTM]

Hey guys, on this topic, have any of you guys with lower height springs + camber-only (not caster also) plates found that the non-adjustable caster ends up being different from left vs. right?

I'm at the alignment shop now, and they are saying that at my target of -3 deg camber up front, they are seeing -6.xx deg of caster on one side, and -7.xx on the other.

BMR Handling Springs and Sways on middle position, Koni struts, Steeda camber plates, and clearanced strut towers to allow max camber.

 

[BTM]

FYI - here's how the alignment ended up. Very happy with my camber and toe at both ends, and caster ended up being 0.75 deg different L/R.

The tech was pretty knowledgeable about track setups, and said that this could be due to my local track being 75-80% left hand turns when run CCW, which it almost always is. More g-loading on that side can make all the tolerances in the front end components creep to one extreme.

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