smart rear wheel camber

[jwight]

Based on this illustration from familycar.com:



I'd say the rear wheels of our smart have negative camber, as in tilted in at the top. Are they all like that? Very similar to the early VW Bugs and Chevy Corvairs.

[Dunerunner]

That is what mine look like! What degree of negative camber are we supposed to have? And before anyone asks...No, I haven't read my owners manual cover to cover - YET!

[Kermit]

I was thinking the same thing when I looked at mine the other day. That makes 2 of use that have them like that, I've got a Mercedes and Corvette with IRS that have negative camber. Neither gets driven enough for me to be able to address my concern - - - How will this affect my tire wear? Will I need new tires at 20k miles?

[Wizco]

Dunerunner, your owners manual will tell you nothing useful like alignment specs. 2 thousand warnings about drive slower in the rain, and never try to change the radio station while the vehicle is in motion, but little of actual value.

Yes, they have a ton of negative camber. Helps keep the rear end planted while cornering. Shouldn't have a big effect on tire wear. I'm used to performance tires on my other cars that rarely make it to 20k. I suspect the Continentals will last well beyond that.

[Dunerunner]

Originally Posted by Wizco

Dunerunner, your owners manual will tell you nothing useful like alignment specs. 2 thousand warnings about drive slower in the rain, and never try to change the radio station while the vehicle is in motion, but little of actual value.

I knew there was a good reason I haden't read it cover to cover, I got to that spot where I had to buckel my seat belt before continuing, and lost interest!!

[NY Smartie]

yeah, spotted that right away; we definately have negative camber in the back. not only is it helpful for handling, it looks cool as well!!

[KingNine]

That was one of the first things I notice. I never could get any numbers on it either from the dealer or Smart USA (they probably don't have shop manuals either).
That being said,that negative camber needs to be there to prevent the wheel from folding under in a hard turn and causing a roll-over. It might be interesting to see what degree of camber was called for on Fiat 500s.

[smarticus]

The negative camber is there for stability, so that it doesn't get away from you in a turn on wet streets. As short as a smart is, it could spin before most drivers would respond.
It's the prudent way to set a suspension in a world with so many lawyers.
The rear suspension is a torsion beam, not a fully independent. You couldn't force a rear wheel to tuck under no matter what you do in cornering.

[smartune]

Originally Posted by smarticus

The rear suspension is a torsion beam, not a fully independent. You couldn't force a rear wheel to tuck under no matter what you do in cornering.

But you could roll the tire.

Camber is a good thing (in moderation). The smart is no where near extreme, and the tires should compensate fine.


A side effect of camber is the ability to fit larger tires/wheels

[Betoweb]

for 451.3.. & 451.4.. chassis the specs are:

front
camber (at 0 toe) 0 deg 18' + or - 30'
caster 7 deg 50' + or - 30'
toe 36' + or - 10'

rear (All 450, 451 & 452 chassis)
camber -2 deg 00' + or - 30'
toe 0 deg + or - 18'

front caster and camber can be adjusted slightly by loosening all 4 lower control arm bolts and sliding the whole assembly left/right forward back as needed (holes are enlarged to allow some movement)
Front toe is adjustable.

Rear is not adjustable at all