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Rexer200

Trackday alignment settings?

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I’m looking for trackday alignment settings please as a starting point.

Chassis is: Ohlins R&T suspension with adjustable front camber top mounts, Swave adjustable rear camber and toe lower arms, Poly bushes throughout. Tyres are 225/40x18 R888Rs

im not bothered by tyre wear

what front camber, caster & toe, rear camber & toe should I set for trackdays? 

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Imho good "in ballpark" start settings for track would be -3dg front camber, 0 toe, for rear: -2.5 camber, slight toe-in (~0.1deg each wheel). Some differences in camber not that important, but i'd prefer to get toe as even as possible, as small changes of toe are much easier to feel on handling. Mine for example.

This should even contact patch, which should make wear even and provide more grip in curves, where with stock, insufficient (especially front) camber results in ripped mostly only tire outsides and reduced grip (thus slower cornering speeds). More front camber then rear (opposite to stock alignment, of 0 front camber, -1.2 rear camber) should shift grip balance closer to neutral (from understeer biased stock alignment). Slight toe-in rear should add a bit more stability under throttle (good for limited grip when wet/in winter, and also when tire is loaded, eg. one can easier/quicker accelerate up out of turns, or floor it under straight line (as even if traction will be lost, even rear toe-in will keep car somewhat straight) - as suggested for most RWD cars and which is there also in OE alignment (which is bad mostly due insufficient front camber and wide allowed "error" ranges that still "pass", but at extremes may introduce very different handling or handling issues).

Nice thing to do might be also corner balancing. But it's not THAT must have and may limit shops where one can dial alignment and rise prices. Of course, alignment is not the only way to adjust grip balance. As in tuning stiffer damping on adjustable shocks or thicker rollbars can reduce grip on that end, and opposite of softer shocks and rollbars of less rate can add grip.

If interested in dialing THE right settings (taking into picture also tracks you drive on and tires you use specifics), worth considering purchase of pyrometer (stick in tire needle probe ones, not IR-gun reading ones, as tire, especially it's outside, cools off when you drive in pits, so stick in ones reading from where heat still retains inside rubber longer, do better for measurement). Cheaper ones are not that expensive. From readings from tire outside/mid section/inside area after driving on track, one can see then if current pressure is too much or underpressurized, if camber is optimum or below or above. I went a bit overboard and got this :) with BT support. Ballpark alignment numbers should already enhance stock alignment limitations/handling issues of 85% imho. If one needs extra spendings and extra work with diagnosing and fiddling with suspension setup for those last 10-15%, is up to everybody themselves, might as well be redundant, as imho more money/time spent on actual driving on track, actual seattime, maybe getting some HPDE instructions/lessons, will make speed/laptimes much better due enhancing THE most limiting factor - driver itself. In my eyes on 1min track becoming better driver will net 10sec, better tires 5sec, better suspension 2-3sec. And fine tuned suspension nets just portion of what good suspension does, so at some point better just go to track and have fun instead of moding, moding, moding car for some hypothetical, if any, visit to track in future.

Remember though to get at very least tire pressure gauge. Even cheap one should do, and 10-15eur spending on that will certainly be justified. If one tracks, tires/air in them heat up, and after session most probably you'll need to drain some excess out to lower to normal pressures when hot. Of course remember after track day to visit some fuel tank to pump back up.

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