I'm in the process of learning how to do setups and ran into a problem trying to adjust camber. I did a few laps around the track and the inside temp of the tires was much higher than the outside. I reduced negative camber several times and the inside still ran hotter than the outside by a significant amount. Can anyone shed any light on this ?
Update: I tried reducing negative camber as far as it would go. Temps improved but I wonder if camber is working correctly.
Hi, the inside temp will always be significantly higher than the outside temp as any negative camber means the car will run predominantly on the inside edges on the straights. The rest of the tyre only comes into play mid corner as the car leans over. That's what camber is for. So the outside edge heat and cools, the inside stays hotter. Look at temps mid corner using Motec to get an idea. But be guided by mid corner grip rather than precise temperature spread (or lack thereof). When you have optimum mid corner grip but haven't compromised longitudinal performance too much then you have optimal camber. This can vary track to track depending on how much the corners vs the big stops and acceleration zones dominate. Suzuka for example favours more camber than Monza. Rear camber in a rear wheel drive car will normally be optimal somewhere around 50% of front camber due to the extra longitudinal duty of propelling the car.
I wouldn't pay much attention to the temps when setting the camber since it doesn't work as intended in many cases. For most official content with more modern tyre model (GT3, GTE, LMP2/3, etc.) you can usually run as close to neutral angle as possible, meaning lowest negative value allowed in the setup. For some single seaters (like the Tatuus cars) you can run more camber, but very low negative value on both front and rear is a good starting point. The best thing is to just look at lap time improvement when you have hit a certain ability wall. Usually there's a clear difference in what's best.
Yes that is exactly what I meant. A flat surface (no camber) has the most rubber on the road when there are no lateral forces. For example a drag race car.=longitudinal When you corner there are lateral forces you are opposing and that's where negative camber becomes important. It allows more of the tyres surface to be on the road and working when the car is leaning over, when lateral forces are trying to rip it off the rim.=lateral. More camber helps in corners but will be less efficient in braking and accelerating. In setup you look for the compromise where the gains from one are greater than the losses in another. That varies from track to track.