Article Presented by:
Quinton Becker
If you plan on customizing the suspension of your vehicle, a new camber kit may be just what you are looking for. Many people love lowering their cars, but forget that doing so may impact the overall suspension of their vehicles. A camber kit will re-enforce the suspension system to deal with such changes. Drivers who enjoy road racing can also reap the benefits of improved suspension that a camber kit has to offer. While street racers and low-rider buffs are the people who could use the camber kit most often, everyday drivers often consider it to be an economical safety improvement for their vehicles.
The camber kit in your car's suspension system adjusts the angle of your tires, and increases the size of your tire footprint - how much of each tire comes into contact with the pavement. If you lower your car without installing a camber kit, there are some major handling problems that will arise.
The easiest way to see if your camber is out of alignment is by inspecting the wear of your tires. If the inside of the tire is showing excess wear, then your camber is likely misaligned. If you remove the wheel and tire from your car, you will see that the part of the tire closest to the suspension will be more worn-down than the rest of the tire. This is a clear sign that you need to readjust your camber angle.
People lower their cars using a variety of methods; some of these methods are more likely to cause camber problems than others. By using a damper kit, a coil over kit, or lowering your springs, you risk causing problems in your car's suspension. The only real solution to these problems is using a camber kit to compensate for the suspension changes made.
Engineers spend years developing an automobile, and they consider every element of that vehicle in their designs. When drivers alter the factory-selected ride height, they alter what automotive engineers have worked hard to perfect. One must consider that a car's original ride height is established for good reason. If you own a Dodge and remove the stock Dodge parts in order to lower its suspension, you must make sure that you replace the original suspension parts with a camber kit as compensation.
When considering a vehicle's alignment, one must consider three important components: the toe, the caster, and the camber. The toe is the adjustment that keeps your wheel pointed straight ahead by default. If you look at the front of your car and see that the tire is pointing slightly outward or inward, your car's toe is likely out of alignment. A caster is the part that moves each wheel forward and backward. By adjusting a caster, you can move the corresponding wheel side-to-side or front-to-back. The camber also positions each wheel vertically. If the camber is at zero degrees, the tire should be at a perfect 90-degree angle to the ground. If the wheel leans inward, you have negative camber. If the tire leans outward, you have positive camber.
When you lower your car but fail to use a camber kit, you will have increased the degree of negative camber on your tires. For safety purposes, a camber kit should be a requirement when lowering your car. If you do not use one, you risk not only your tires, but your safety as well.
A driver may want to alter the camber on a car's wheels simply to increase the vehicle's tire footprints; this results in improved handling. The commentary on NASCAR often features discussion about how a car's cambers impact tire wear. Generally though, this kind of alteration is best left to professional racers. On most street cars, it is best to keep the camber within factory specifications.
The difficulty of camber kit installation varies depending on your particular vehicle. In most cases, it is best to leave the job to a tire alignment specialist. Such installations must be taken very seriously, because if they are done improperly, your suspension can come apart when the car is in motion.The last thing you want to see is your car's tire rolling down the road ahead of your vehicle, during rush hour traffic on a major thoroughfare or on a dark deserted highway in the middle of the night.
About the Author:
Quinton Becker is an automotive writer. To find great prices on automotive suspension camber kits for a variety of automobiles, or when you are ready to save money on Dodge parts, DriveWire is a leader in its industry. For the best prices and selection on auto parts: http://www.DriveWire.com
