Camber

To begin, you should know there are two types of camber: positive and negative.
To achieve either, move your king pin bolt or stub axle inward or outward. Both
settings achieve two different results and are equally important depending on track
conditions, category, and chassis.

Positive camber is when you lean your king pin bolt or stub axle outward. This
creates more tire patch on the track, leading to more grip. If you’re using your
sniper laser alignment tool, positive camber is above the center line, while negative
camber is below.

Increasing your camber can help you in the rain, wicking away more water.
Typically in the dry, however, you’ll be at a neutral setting for camber most likely.
Too much camber could create a loose rear end of your kart. It may also create too
much heat in your front tires, feathering them and creating some long term issues.

Removing camber reduces tire contact patch, taking some of the feel away from
the steering input, but creating better stability in the rear. It can also help with
straight line speed as it’s reducing roll resistance, something that should help lower
horsepower categories.

Caster
Unlike Camber where the king pin bolt moves side to side, changing caster
revolves around moving the king pin bolt forward or backward. To Increasing
caster, you’ll want to lean the king pin bolt backwards, and, as you guess,
removing caster is leaning the king pin bolt forward.

Adding caster to your kart is what you’ll want to do most of the time. This creates
more weight transfer to the front and shortens the wheelbase, which essentially
gives you more of a positive front-end feel by releasing the back-end of the kart.

An obvious situation to increase caster is in wet or slippery conditions. The not-so-

obvious situation is when the track is grippy. You may be asking why you would
increase your front-end grip in grippy conditions. The answer is because that extra
grip on the track will actually overpower the back-end of the kart, providing you
with that dreaded understeer.

Reducing caster obviously does the opposite -- it decreases your front-end

grip. Lower horsepower categories could benefit from this as it reduces rolling
resistance. You’ll also want to take out caster if the steering is too heavy for the
driver to turn. The kart is already creating enough turn in grip, so reducing caster
should alleviate that heaviness as long as you don’t go too far and create understeer
for yourself.

In Summary
 Camber is applied by moving the king ping bolt or stub axle inward or
outward
 Positve camber is moving the king pin bolt or stub axle outward; negative is
moving the king pin bolt or stub axle inward
 Positve increases tire contact patch which is good for wet conditions;
negative decreases contact patch and is good for lower horsepower classes
 Caster is applied by moving the king pin bolt forward or backward
 Increasing caster is moving the king pin bolt backward; this increases
weight transfer to the front and shortens the wheel base; creates more grip
 Decreasing caster is moving the king pin bolt forward, which decreases
grip; this may benefit lower horsepower categories or heavy steering
input by reducing rolling resistance.

The topics of caster and camber are quite difficult to grasp for many in
karting. Heck, it’s hard enough to just remember how to spell
caster when referring to front-end geometry. Castor, on the other hand,
is a lubricant commonly used in 2 cycle fuel mix.
Let’s first take a look at why caster is necessary and why it is so critical
in karts. The solid rear axle design in karts makes it necessary for the
inside tire to “unload,” or lift when cornering to enable the kart to turn.
Caster is the main contributor to this process, although scrub radius,
spindle kingpin inclination, and frame design also play an integral
role. Caster can be measured by the angle the kingpin bolt leans back
toward the driver. This number can range anywhere from 8° to over 20°.
On the contrary, cars do not use nearly as much caster as karts (just a
few degrees) because of the rear tires are independent and can turn at
different rates
Now onto how it affects the handling of the kart… The first thing you will
notice when a kart has a considerable amount of caster is the increased
amount of strength it takes to turn the steering wheel. Caster causes
weight to move diagonally as you turn the wheel. As caster angle
increases, you mechanically move more weight given the same degree
of steering input.
Think of the kart as an “X.” The RF and LR are tied together, as are the
LF and RR. The inside front wheel pushes into the track, while the
outside front wheel travels in an upward arc away from the pavement.
Again, this change in wheel height is to achieve wheel lift at the inside
rear tire and allow the kart to turn without understeering
(pushing). Without caster the kart would constantly understeer, be
inherently slow, and burn off the front tires in the process.
How much caster should you run and when should you adjust it? That is
a key question when setting up a chassis. It is best to start at the factory
recommended setting and adjust from there. If you deviate too far from
this setting and are struggling, it is recommended that you start over at
the factory settings. Many generalizations are made in karting.
Unfortunately, there is rarely one concrete answer for any given
situation. That said, I will try to shed some light on situations that dictate
varying degrees of caster.
It is generally accepted that:
Low HP classes - less caster (typically sportsman and 4cycle)
High HP classes- more caster (TAG, shifter, etc.)
Wet conditions- more caster or max caster
Tracks with tighter corners (ie. 180° hairpins)- more caster
Tracks with wide sweeping corners- less caster
The most challenging decision is deciding whether increasing or
decreasing caster will “free up” your kart. A “free” handling kart will
release/accelerate out of the corner as quickly as possible.It will have as
much forward grip as possible without binding the kart. To do this you
must have some differential affect, and that is where caster again comes
into play.
To assess which direction you need to go with caster (increase or
decrease) requires a driver that has a good feel for the handling of their
respective chassis. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. As an
example, the most overused and misleading term in karting is the word
“tight.” I hear it almost constantly when a handling problem persists. It is
considered by many, mistakenly, as an all-encompassing term, which
makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint the root of the problem. I’ve heard
it used to describe many different handling issues including: understeer
(pushing), hard to steer, hopping, and stuck to the track.
Although caster is not necessarily the best decision for each handling
situation, here is a quick cheat sheet:
When to increase caster
Understeer (push)
Rear is stuck in the track (not lifting)
Kart is lying flat through the corner
Rain Conditions
When to decrease caster
Kart is physically hard to steer- decrease caster
Oversteer (loose)- decrease caster
Hopping-Decrease caster
Excessive wheel lift of the inside rear tire
Two-wheeling

Another important front end adjustment is Camber. Camber controls the

contact patch of each front tire. A kart with negative camber will have the
top of the tires leaning inward towards the driver, while the tire will lean
outward away from the driver with positive camber. More positive
camber will increase contact patch and induce sidewall flex, resulting in
an increase in front grip. Negative camber will have the opposite effect.
Negative Positive Zero
/ \ \ / | |
To measure camber you first need to choose a tool. Many in 2 cycle
racing use the popular Sniper Laser System (measured in millimeters)
that can be used on the kart stand. Many 4 cycle racers use a camber
tool that threads onto the front spindle made by Longacre, Intercomp,
etc. (measured in degrees). These need to be used on a perfectly level
surface (scale table) to provide an accurate readout. You can also
use alignment plates with a tape measure. Whatever method you
choose it is important to always do it the same way so you have a
controlled reference point.
Sometimes the most challenging decision on camber is simply where to
start. The easy choice is to first consult the manufacturer. If you don’t
have that option you need to take into account a few different things:

1. Tire compound/design
2. Class/speed
3. Track temp/grip level

A slight negative setting is commonplace on most karts as a starting

point. About 2mm or 1/2° negative is acceptable.
Cheat sheet for situations
Reasons to possibly increase negative camber:
-Track temp/grip level is increasing and kart is slow on corner exit
-Changing to a soft compound tire
-Too much overall front grip
-Sidewall rolling under
-Front end hopping
-Running a lower horsepower class
-Putting on new tires
Reasons to decrease negative camber or even run positive camber:
-High hp karts sometimes benefit from the increased grip of positive
camber
-Understeer on corner entry
-Low grip track conditions
-Hard compound tires
-Tires are wearing down (the inside naturally wears more)

While your camber setting is important to be aware of, it should be

considered a fine-tuning adjustment. However, a quick camber check in
between sessions can reveal a possible issue. If you have a significant
change in camber on one side it could indicate a bent kingpin, bent
frame, or turned eccentric pill. All will have a drastic effect on
performance.
Trial and error is a great way to learn in karting. Don’t be afraid to make
a change and note the result on the stopwatch. Taking into account
driver input is important, but many times it can be incorrect and lead to
the wrong adjustment. Either way, don’t just hope your kart will get faster
just by moving wheels in and out and adjusting air pressure. Don’t be
afraid to get dirty and do some serious work! Lastly, don’t be afraid to
ask for help. There are a lot of great people in karting that are willing to
offer advice!