Camber is the inclination of the wheel seen head-on. It's called negative when the top leans in towards the car.
Why would anybody want their wheels leaning over? Because the car rolls in a corner. As it loads up, the outside wheel tends to lift its inner shoulder and ride only on the outer edge. Negative camber compensates for that roll: the wheel arrives at the corner tilted inwards and, when the car leans, sits flat on the road at the moment of maximum load.
The cost is obvious: in a straight line that wheel puts less rubber down than it could. So it's all a compromise between what you gain in corners and what you lose under braking.
Here's the advantage: you don't have to guess. The tyre tells you.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Inner much hotter | Too much negative camber | Reduce it |
| Outer much hotter | Not enough negative camber | Increase it |
| All three even | Where you want to be | Leave it |
| Middle hotter than the shoulders | That's pressure, not camber | Lower the pressure |
That last case is where most people go wrong: the middle-versus-shoulders split is about pressure; the inner-versus-outer split is about camber. Change the wrong one and you make both worse. Pressures are covered here.
One nuance that saves confusion: at tracks with lots of corners in one direction, one side of the car works far harder than the other. That's normal, and sometimes it's worth setting each side separately.
This is where the wheels point seen from above.
And the cost, which is real: any toe setting other than zero means the wheels are constantly scrubbing slightly. That heats the tyres and slows you down. Extreme values are paid for in top speed and in degradation.
| Setting | Effect | When you want it |
|---|---|---|
| More negative front camber | More cornering grip, less braking | Tracks with sustained fast corners |
| Less negative front camber | Better braking, less mid-corner grip | Tracks with heavy braking zones |
| Front toe-out | Turns in better, more nervous | If the car won't turn on entry |
| Front toe-in | More stable, lazier | Fast tracks, or if you feel uncomfortable |
| Rear toe-in | Traction and stability on exit | Almost always some, on rear-wheel drive |
| Rear toe-out | Very loose rear | Rarely; usually a mistake |
A rule that works on most rear-wheel-drive cars: a little rear toe-in offsets what the suspension does under load and makes the car far more predictable on the throttle.
These two are final trim, not a starting point. The full order:
If you change camber with pressures outside the window, the temperatures you read mean nothing and you'll chase a problem that doesn't exist.
The rest of the setup is in suspension and the differential.
The top of the wheel leaning inwards. It exists so that when the body rolls in a corner, the tyre sits flat on the road exactly when it's carrying the most load.
Up to a point. Past it you lose contact area in a straight line — and therefore braking — and you overheat the inner shoulder of the tyre.
Toe-in is wheels pointing slightly inwards: it gives stability. Toe-out is wheels pointing outwards: it gives turn-in agility at the cost of stability and tyre wear.
It's the best method available. Compare inner shoulder temperature against outer after several laps at pace: if the inner is much hotter, there's too much camber.
What it is, why it rotates the car, how to practise it and the mistakes that end in a spin.
Read →What each click does, how it shows up at the rear axle and how to find your value.
Read →What each parameter does, what order to touch them in and how to spot clipping.
Read →These settings are validated with real temperatures after several laps. The 24/7 is always open.
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