Bias Ply Slick camber req.

[mustard-z]

In reading some other previous posts it seems that bias ply slicks don't need the excessive camber. Is this true? If people that use them for autox could help me out on what camber settings they are using the would be sweet.

 

 

also, if bias ply doesn't require the camber that a radial does, what is the reason?

 

thanks.

[Savage42]

What you heard is correct. When I ran bias ply slicks, I'd only run -1 degree of camber, but -2.5 w/ radials. The easiest way to explain it is that radials are like stiff blocks and hard cornering will allow you to roll the car onto the outer edge of the tire and beyond, thus more negative camber puts the tire at an angle where you have full contact patch under hard cornering (at the sacrifice of less braking power). A bias ply slick will flex and will basically mold itself to the ground.

 

Here's a visual: It's the difference between having a stick with a block on the end and another stick with play-doh on the end. The one with the block will need negative camber to optimize traction under cornering, where the "gumball" stick w/o it. I know that's a very basic description, but I hope you get the point.

[mustard-z]

that makes perfect sense. Thanks.