Squeezer

I know what camber is, but can someone explain toe and caster? I know that toe is how much the tires point in/out with respect to each other, but why wouldn't you want the tires to point straight ahead (parallel to each other), would this be the best for handling, if they are pointing straight? why would you want the tires to point in or out a little bit? also can someone explain caster. I know its some sort of angle measurement with respect to the horizontal ground or something like that? but how does mroe/less caster effect steering?

twohoos

Toe-in adds stability (understeer), while toe-out aids turn-in (oversteer).

Caster affects dynamic camber at the front, i.e. the amount the camber increases as the suspension compresses. More caster = more dynamic camber.

davepk

Another thing about caster...

The more caster you have the more the steering will want to center itself. As you reduce caster the steering becomes lighter. This effect isnt very noticable in the S2K probably due to the tourqe sensing variable assist power steering.

Another thing about toe...

The toe on each of the wheels changes as the car rolls to one side during a turn and the amount of toe change on the left wont be equal to the toe change on the right. Wheels that were once parallel wont be during a turn.

MSRS2K

Thanks Dave, can you elaborate a bit on the toe effects. Is the purpose of toe in/out to negate the toe change mid turn? How does toe for each corner change during a turn?

- Michael

Raymund

I like to think of caster as part-time camber. The more you steer the more neg camber gained on the outside tire, but reduces neg camber on the inner tire.

Lots of caster builds strong muscle, too