What is Camber? | Revv.ly Car Culture Glossary

What is Camber?

Spend any time at a track day and you'll see experienced drivers checking their tires after sessions, looking at temperature readings across the tread face. What they're analyzing is whether their camber is working--whether the tire is making full contact with the road surface at the exact moment they're demanding maximum grip from it. Camber is that fundamental.
Camber describes the angle of the wheel relative to vertical when viewed from the front or rear of the car. Negative camber means the top of the wheel tilts inward toward the chassis. Positive camber means it tilts outward. Zero camber means the wheel sits perfectly vertical.

The Physics of Grip

When a car corners, body roll compresses the outside suspension and extends the inside. Wheels that were vertical in a straight line now tilt outward on the loaded side. The contact patch--that critical rectangle where rubber meets road--shifts toward the outer edge of the tire.
Negative camber compensates for this. A wheel starting with the top tilted inward will approach vertical (or even slightly beyond) when loaded during hard cornering. The contact patch remains centered on the tread. More rubber contacts the road when you need it most.
This is why performance alignments almost always use negative camber on all four corners. It's not fashion--it's physics.

The Numbers

For street driving with occasional spirited cornering:

• Front: -0.5 to -1.5 degrees typically works well
• Rear: -1.0 to -2.0 degrees is common
  For track use with aggressive cornering:
• Front: -2.0 to -3.5 degrees depending on vehicle and driving style
• Rear: -1.5 to -3.0 degrees similarly variable
  Beyond 3-4 degrees, you're entering territory where straight-line performance and tire wear suffer significantly. The tire's contact patch in a straight line becomes increasingly compromised as camber increases.

The Trade-Offs

Nothing in suspension tuning comes free:
Tire Wear -- Negative camber causes the inside edge of the tire to wear faster than the outside during straight-line driving. How much faster depends on the degree of camber and how much straight-line driving you do.
Straight-Line Grip -- Less contact patch means less grip. Braking distances can increase with extreme camber. Acceleration traction decreases.
Tramlining -- On roads with grooves or ruts, aggressive front camber can make the steering feel nervous, following imperfections.
Aesthetics vs. Function -- Here's where stance culture and performance diverge. Extreme camber looks dramatic but creates handling that ranges from compromised to genuinely dangerous. The cars with 10+ degrees of camber aren't designed for spirited driving.

Adjusting Camber

Methods vary by suspension type:
Camber Plates -- On strut suspension, adjustable top mounts allow camber changes. The strut angle tilts, changing wheel angle with it.
Eccentric Bolts -- Some suspensions include adjustable bolts at control arm mounting points. Rotating the eccentric shifts the arm position, changing camber.
Adjustable Control Arms -- Changing arm length alters the geometry triangle, affecting camber. Common on double-wishbone rear suspensions.
Shims and Offset Bushings -- Less elegant but functional methods of altering mounting positions.

The Feel

Properly set camber transforms corner confidence. The car's limit becomes predictable rather than surprising. Turn-in feels crisp as the outside front tire loads onto its full contact patch. Mid-corner grip arrives consistently. Exit traction appears where expected.
Improper camber--too little or too much--creates vague feedback. The car feels uncertain at the limit. Grip appears and disappears unpredictably. Tire temperatures vary wildly across the tread face.
This is why serious track enthusiasts invest in pyrometers and tire pressure gauges. Reading the tires tells you what the camber is actually doing.
Share your alignment specs and corner experiences on Revvly--the community where handling matters.
Related: Camber Plates, Control Arms, Coilovers, Onikyan
Track Cars with Serious Camber: Mazda MX-5, Porsche Cayman, BMW E46 M3