The approach was the X-legs of the editorial BX. That front-wheel drive suddenly turned out to have negative camber in rear view. We speak of negative camber when the wheels are closer together at the top than at the bottom. The children we were used to recognize an indication of speed in it.
Negative camber or camber
Negative camber: The top of the wheels are further in than the bottom. This generally happens with driven wheels, which are corrected by the driving forces. And was therefore not of serious application to the BX. It is not a spoiler alert, but at BXsen negative camber of the rear wheels stands for defective, worn bearings of the rear wishbones.
Camber is usually from 0 degrees to 6 degrees (negative). While taking a bend, the carriage/body of the car will roll/slope. This can provide more positive camber on the wheels (depending on wheel geometry). Negative camber will compensate for this effect, providing a full/more contact patch of the driven tire in the 'outside bend'.
This results in more grip and stability when cornering. In addition, negative camber creates a force on the wheels that we call 'camber-thrust'. This will want to push the wheels towards the center of the car. From ride height, there will almost always be more negative camber (depending on the wheel geometry) during compression. With the correct camber adjustment, the tires will also wear more evenly.
Is Negative-Camber Always a Positive Phenomenon?
No. In extreme cases it is even negative, but in combination with thick tires it is very tough. It causes more wear on the inside of the tires when driving straight ahead. And with extreme negative camber the grip can be reduced. This is due to the smaller contact surface. This is no problem for very sporty use. Visually, a muscular negative camber can provide more space in the wheel arches for thicker rubbers
Right angle is best
Ideally, the tires would always be perpendicular (perpendicular) to the road under all conditions. For a passenger car this will be more difficult to achieve than for a racing car. This is because a normal car has more suspension travel, softer suspension and more body roll. We also want the tires to last as long as possible.
For a race or rally car it is only necessary to reach the finish. For show cars, only the looks count. On the Internet you can find photos that are almost perverse. Depending on the type of race, qualifying, sporting, rally, sprint or endurance race, a different set-up can be chosen. So a compromise will have to be sought for street / trackday cars; this usually leads to -½ to -2 degrees of camber (negative).
On most road cars, camber adjustment is limited
The “adjustment range” is often no more than +0,5 and -1.5 degrees. There is also something to mess with eccentric 'camber bolts'.
In cars with pendulum axles, that negative camber can go so far during the compression that the camber becomes positive until the entire rear axle 'folds over' and starts to work as a lever. Then the car is on its roof.
Negative camber is therefore a necessity to a limited extent. But with 'too much' negative camber, it's like anything that 'too' stands for. Except 'satisfied' and for rent'
The 'perpendicular' position independent of the height relative to each other of left and right wheel realized relative volume marks as Alfa Romeo and Lancia decades ago in the form of the De Dion rear axle with Watt parallelogram.
Sixties. We have an angry neighbor who called the police for the slightest thing. Who eventually let go. Angry neighbor had a beetle, so with pendle axles. When you lifted it out of its feathers, it got a huge positive camber and the butt came up as if there was no engine in the back. So one evening we lifted the beetle of the angry neighbor from its feathers. With the desired result. When a neighbor wanted to rush to work the next day, he was shocked and immediately called his garage. The mechanic who came in gave a restrained chuckle and pushed the beetle forward a few meters. As a result, the wheels returned to normal position under the car. Angry neighbor has long wondered what the hell could have happened…….
BMWs up to and including the E30 series also had to make do with this system.
I recognize that with the BX. At the time, we also had that with our break, on holiday in Italy. The local Citroën dealer had never seen anything like it, but the repair was done neatly. And for a very reasonable price, it turned out afterwards, when I had the other side replaced in the Netherlands as a precaution.
And yet it was a lovely car.
oh yes, those cars that flipped over in sharp bends, taken too quickly. That was the whole story of that nasty bug Ralph Nader with his smear campaign against the Chevrolet Corvairs.
The loaded rear wheel then unexpectedly went from negative to extremely positive camber.
Peter is right.
Directly to the old iron. . .
Anyway, it doesn't look like it.
It seems to be fashionable to rape the most beautiful beetles in a terrible way. And then I haven't mentioned those reductions yet, which also seems to be part of it…….
'Most beautiful', seriously? It's just 'most beautiful'. Well, most Beetles aren't pretty anyway and besides, there are so many of them that it doesn't matter if some of them are 'beautified'.
The big question is whether such a thing is in the RDW's model approval… Otherwise, the colossus may not even go on the road.
The type approval only states the track width, which can be a very debatable value with pendulum axles
I really like an old original (60s) beetle, but with those ugly, slanted modern wheels and lowered, it is still worth a maximum of 500 euros to me.
But you, that's everyone's preference