Thank you guitarist that was very helpful

I do not mind getting an alignment for every 3-4 track days. But if its every track day I didn't want to do it because of the additional expense and the time I need to spend (an hour) at each track day to put the camber in before I start sessions and take it out before I head home.

I am not going to be making any more adjustments to the suspension at the moment except for the negative camber at the track. Like I said, at this point I am evaluating if I need the camber arm.

I got the tires based on suggestions from folks in THIS thread.

So now it feels like +18 offset will not work at the track with stock alignment?

Are you referring to total camber? So if stock is already 0.7 - 1 we are talking an additional 0.8. SPL comes with 0.5, 1 and 2 shimmer plates.

 

On the offset/camber issue: as noted in that thread by the guy that suggested that size (Ataru074):

"they are enkei rpf1 17*9.5 offset +18...

this offset if PERFECT if you have front camber arms and can dial some negative camber. "

That reflects what I was worried about in stock trim, without a little negative camber to tuck the tops you may have some rubbing issues. It won't be the end of the world, but you should definitely check it out. Worse comes to worst, you roll your fender a bit or sell the wheels for some slightly more favorable offsets.


That last bit was actually related to the paragraph above it; adjusting camber by 1-1.5 degrees (i.e. from 0.7 stock to 2.2 for the track, just as an example) won't mess up your toe by that much. You should be able to run a compromise setting that will yield a bit of toe-in on the street then allow a the camber change to put the toe to a neutral or slightly toed-out position when you do the adjustment at the track.

So if you measure the amount of toe change caused by the camber change on the rack, you can compensate for it.

 

Doh!! I totally missed that. He clearly said that I need arms. There is so much to grab when you know very little . Thanks for pointing out guitarist
I should be getting the wheels and tires delivered tomorrow and I will take them to a performance shop. I will post my findings once I return from that.

 

Look.. I know that a set of quality camber arms looks expensive. BUT when you'll figure out that with camber arms your tire life will extend A LOT on the track because you aren't going to cord the outside edge every time keeping the inside with more than half thread.

the camber arms are an investment to spend less money in tires AND a performance option that allow you to enjoy your car better...
as soon as you'll be faster you'll discover that no matter what you do the stock camber is just frustrating.
the balance of the 350 is understeering... simple like that, but with the right adjustment can be way more rewarding.

 

I'll take your word for this man It's just that everyone I have talked to have all said that you cannot do a whole lot about the tire life on track. And everyone says that I either keep the car as a TRACK ONLY or not bother about camber arms, run through tires and keep it street-able. I have also been suggested that it's too much of a pain for someone like me So, I was trying to return the arm. But like you see in the above posts, I cannot return them because of the offsets I purchased.

No worries though, you CLEARLY stated that those offsets will need the camber arms. I just didn't understand then, now I do

 

The following is info/reply that I found for question I posted HERE
I wanted to post up that I have been told that the feathering on FRONT LEFT was more pronounced than any other tire was because of the driver's weight. Never even though of it, but does make sense

Following is the order of the feathering
FL < FR < Rears

 

really? 150 lbs in a 3100 lb car (5%)? I find that a little hard to believe......but it could be possible......

I think it may have to do with the tracks you're hitting up. cuz for one Waterford is mostly all huge right handers. So the Driver Side Front tire will need to work harder.

 

I dunno, AJ told me that when we met last weekend. He said even though it feels like its very small weight when you do that over and over and at those speeds and aggressively it will show up. On the other hand, I have also been told the same thing as you said by an instructor at HPDE @ Waterford ...... about the driver side tire working harder on a course with heavy right handers.

If you look at it that way even Grattan has more right handers. Does this mean, I am going to have bad feathering on my FL all the time? I am getting camber arm installed tomorrow and I am hoping this will not happen anymore and I will get mostly even wear

 

When you get same sized wheels and tires on all four corners, you can rotate them to help reduce uneven wear. That will be your best defense over the long term.

The camber arms will reduce the outside shoulder wear issue, but will possibly add more wear to the inside shoulder if you have a lot of hard braking zones. It's all a big balancing act.

 

I had so much fun at my track day yesterday and there is noticeable difference with the camber arm that I had installed. The car does not fight anymore in the turns and just turns I had to adjust my steering input as less is more now.

I had bought Kumho Ecsta XS and I totally hated them in the earlier part of the day when it was wet. But once the track dried out and the tires had enough heat in them I felt they performed better than my RE-11's.

I ran with -1 in addition to the stock settings, so my effective negative camber should have been 1.8-2.0