Front camber advice - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

schwarzwagen · #1 02-16-2004, 11:39 AM

So I installed new lower control arms this weekend in the w126 and I tentatively set the camber at max, now the front axle has visibly more negative camber than the rear. The rear is at -0.5 degrees, so I'm guessing the front is around -1.5 degrees or so. The rear has always worn evenly at -0.5, but the greater cornering forces on the front I'm guessing would require at least
-1.0 if not the maximum allowable.

What settings are best for performance driving without abnormally wearing the tires?

If I remember right, the sportline 300s were around -1.33 degrees in the front from the factory, alert me if I'm wrong (grey matter is fuzzy). So, I figure -1.5 is probably good. Keep in mind that I have always worn the outside tread blocks out first on every previous set of tires on the factory camber setting of 0 degrees.

How much camber do people use at the track on their 16v 190s and the like?

Just trying to get a feel for what I should set it at, thanks for any help!

mbdoc · #2 02-17-2004, 08:01 AM

Negative camber helps handling but more than -1.25 deg will cause excessive tire wear on your W126 chassis.

schwarzwagen · #3 02-18-2004, 05:37 PM

Thanks M.B.DOC,

I decided to go ahead and dial in -1 degree, so -1.25 sounds about right. I was worried that more camber would heat up the inside tread blocks too much on the freeway. The print out from the Hunter alignment rack showed the rear camber to be about -1 as well.

I think -1 will be a good base line for testing as the rear has never worn excessively at -1. Honestly, I think -1 is actually a little conservative for my driving style because I took the car out for a test run in the canyons and it was still wearing the outside blocks a little more than I would like, albeit wear is much better than at 0 degrees. My friend¡¦s C32 has -2 degrees, but I think that¡¦s too aggressive for the w126 so next time I¡¦m going to try -1.5 and see what happens.

Thanks again M.B.DOC!

ksing44 · #4 02-19-2004, 03:57 AM

I have the alignment specifications from when my 1995 E320 was aligned after I added the Eibach springs. The Porsche mechanic found specifications for Mercedes Benz, 92-95, 124.034, "Sport Suspension". I asked for the minimum front toe so that the tires would not get worn-out on the outside edge, like they did with the OEM set-up. I also asked to have the rear camber adjusted to within the same range as specified for the front camber. I figured the rear camber wasn’t specified because it isn’t adjustable from the factory, but I installed the K-MAC rear bushings so that it could be adjusted.

Front
Camber: Min -1.33, Nominal -1.00, Max -0.83, Actual Left -1.2, Actual Right -1.1
Caster: Min 9.92, Nominal 10.42, Max 10.92, Actual Left 10.5, Actual Right10.1
Toe: Min 0.08, Nominal 0.17, Max 0.25, Actual left 0.09, Actual Right 0.08

Cross Camber: Min -0.33, Nominal 0.00, Max 0.33, Actual -0.00
Cross caster: Min -0.50, Nominal 0.00, Max 0.50, Actual 0.8
Total Toe 0.17 0.33 0.50 0.18

Rear
Camber: Actual Left -1.2, Actual Right -1.3
Toe: Min 0.13, Nominal 0.21, Max 0.29, Actual Left 0.14, Actual Right 0.15

Total Toe: Min 0.25, Nominal 0.42, Max 0.59, Actual 0.29

My car has a sporty look with the visible negative camber, it handles very well, it tracks straight, and so far my tires do not seem to be worn on the outside edge like they were when the car was stock. I have seen no indication that the tires have any kind of unusual wear pattern. In fact, the wear is so uniform I almost don’t feel like I need to rotate the tires.

schwarzwagen · #5 02-22-2004, 12:45 AM

ksing44,

Your line of reasoning with regard to the rear camber is the same as I took. My rear camber is not adjustable either and the factory set it at -1, so I decided -1 would be acceptable for the front as well. My actual negative camber is about -1.1 according to the machine's printout, so we'll see how that does.