[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by TrackClub

Fighting for front end grip and good tire wear? Maybe on a gen5, but sure as heck not on gen6 SS 1LE!

Randy Pobst was a first pro to test this car at large and one of the very first words that came out of his mouth was amazing front grip! And he knows what he feels, eh?
My tire wear at 2.6F and 1.6R is near damn perfect.
If i push my tires too long, they cord on the inside, on both sides. So for damn sure i will not dial any more camber, lest they will cord faster!

The car turns in as if it was telepathic and the steering feel is truly excellent. If somebody complains about lack of front grip, may i suggest they check their alignment. And if that is ok, then may i suggest they learn how to trail brake effectively, in order to manage weight transfer and overall balance on entry. If I wanted even more grip and faster laps i would simply put G3Rs on (as many have done here with zero changes to suspension geometry).

The SS 1LE comes with tons of caster out of the box.
You will be hard pressed finding any race cars with this amount of caster. Maybe rear end engine sports cars, as they benefit by more caster to offset the weight balance.
But rarily does a front engine car benefit by more caster as far as outright handling and pace. To the contrary.

Caster indeed helps maintain camber on the outside wheel (while reducing it on the inside wheel) which may provide for better wear, BUT at a cost:
1) slower steering response (by design)
2) likely more understeer
3) possibly MORE tire wear because of the above (caused by slower transitions).
4) possibly rears getting overloaded (because of a weight shift).

Higher caster makes the car less responsive and more stable. Some seasoned pros will have it reduced as much as practical, to make the car as responsive as possible to their inputs. Some pros may have it increased to dumb the car down if they are new to a given class/etc. No pro will increase caster to go faster.

Lastly, you must have a good feel for the balance given your comments about the 2021 SS 1LE test drive.
Now imagine this car with proper track alignment...
Go buy it! Cheers

Haha, yeah, the Gen5 SS 1LE is nowhere near the feel and grip of the Gen6 SS 1LE! I've driven other Gen6's but not near the limit. That has been my comment that I can only imagine what they are like with a track alignment. I have described them as intuitive, but your description of telepathic is spot on. The first time on the track when stock, my Gen5 felt like it knew when I wanted to turn, but I never felt that with just street driving. The Gen6 on the other hand, with just a little bit of loading, on the street, gives a ton of amazing feel and feedback. The only thing I didn't care for was the steering feel on the Track mode, it was way too heavy. But IIRC, the steering settings can be adjusted between the modes. I've driven a ZLE too, and wow, what a great time to be a car guy!

I like to play with my car, to better to understand it, and I'm not afraid to try something. My aim with the additional caster has been to lessen the static camber while keeping the same level of grip. All because I street drive my car more than I track it. So I drive all summer on the track alignment and as you mentioned, the inner shoulder gets abused from the high static camber. I've been reducing my static camber while bettering my PB. That's not to say that increasing my static camber won't help my lap times, it certainly will. Again, other variables effect lap times. Just trying to find a street/track balance. Caster can help both tires in a turn but as with everything else, there is a limit. The list of other side effects shows there is no free lunch. But I'm not sure about comparing caster #s between different types of suspension as there other variables that come into play.

As far as what I've observed on my car, unfortunately, 2* more caster doesn't equal 2* of better dynamic camber control. I'm actually down on caster from my above picture of 9*. I'm currently at 8*. Mac strut suspension is not optimal if we want to turn and keep the tires happy as far as wear goes. The camber curves suck. I've run through various caster measurements at different steering inputs and I have seen the results. This winter I may try to measure the camber, caster and bump steer with the suspension at different ride heights, trying to mimic the car being loaded in a turn. There's other dynamic variables involved but understood. Maybe next year I'll go back to the factory 5.6* and see how she goes! My current setup is quite different from OE, going to 5.6* would be an interesting change.