Daily Slideshow: Would You Do a Flush Stance with Positive Camber?

The Question

It's a pretty well-known fact that not every forum member is a fan of negative camber. More specifically, some of you don't like the splayed negative camber/stretched tire look that often accompanies a flush stance. Live and let live, that's what we say, and forum members greeted a fellow member's question about wanting that stance, without incurring excessive tire wear, with typically helpful Club Lexus-style information. The original question was this:

"Not really looking to go negative camber on my gs300 as I don't want to be buying new tires every few months. Looking for that flush lowered stance. I'm going for platinum VIP coilovers and Varrstoens 18x9.5 and 18x10.5. Any help?"

The Clarification

Well, of course, we know that he meant "negative camber," but it's a common mistake since a car appears wider with negative camber, so the word "positive" seems to fit. Forum members correctly stated that incorrect toe can cause much more accelerated wear than even the most extreme camber settings—not counting wear from rubbing on fenders of course. We have pending primers on toe and camber, but in short—yes, zero toe would cause the least wear, but manufacturers specify a small amount of toe-in up front to maintain straight-line steering stability and tracking.

>>Join the crazy conversation about positive camber stances right here in the ClubLexus forum.

The Wear Pattern

Forum members are split on whether and how much tire wear is caused by negative camber settings. Negative camber in front is the hot ticket in racing for reasons of handling, and is commonly found in the rear tires of street cars with semi-trailing arm suspensions, for similar reasons. Of course, it's also the preferred way of gaining that flush stance. Negative, or positive, camber does in fact increase wear over a zero-camber condition because it's pushing one side of the tire down harder than the other side so wear isn't shared equally over the tire's contact surface. The most visible effect of this is uneven wear—negative camber promotes faster wear on the inside of the tire.

>>Join the crazy conversation about positive camber stances right here in the ClubLexus forum.

The Challenge

But before other members helped straighten out the inquisitive forum member, a few poked a little fun. First responses were corrections with opinions on the anti-flush look of positive camber: "um if you have positive camber you'll still be going through tires.... they'll just be bent in a dumb looking way instead of looking good. Flush stance is not possible with positive camber." But the next responses got us thinking (always a dangerous thing). Here's a sample of the Pro-Pos Posse's comments:

"negative camber must be played out.... positive camber is the new hype"

"who will be the first to do a flush stance with positive camber? \ /"

"woooo positive camber!!! \____\ /____/"

"I'm not going to front...this looks kinda sick. Its something you don't see too often. I wonder...lol"

>>Join the crazy conversation about positive camber stances right here in the ClubLexus forum.

The Company You Keep

What are the positives to positive camber? For one thing, the top of the tire flushes out to the body pretty fast—only you can't see it because it's tucked inside the fender. One way of fixing that would be to sort of reverse-relieve the wheel opening, making it wider at the top. The result would look like an upside-down trapezoid jeep-fender shape. "Did you see that dude's Lexus? It was totally trapped."

Until we have examples of that, let's take a look (above) at history's notable positive camber experiments. It turns out that negative camber was used as an antidote to the ills of swing-axle induced positive camber axle tuck. Or just as a way to make Bugs look tougher.

>>Join the crazy conversation about positive camber stances right here in the ClubLexus forum.

The Corvair Effect

Before you fully commit to a Pro-Pos (careful not to spell that Pro-P.O.S.) stance, you might want to heed the lessons of Unsafe at Any Speed, or just stay away from Ralph Nader.

>>Join the crazy conversation about positive camber stances right here in the ClubLexus forum.

The Fave of the Future

"lol! Disgusting!" responded one forum member to the whole concept. But before you dismiss this idea, or any idea, offhand, think back to the craze that saw 13-inches (12-inches?) sticking out wayyy past the fenders. Or Snoop Dogg's lowrider?: "14-inch rims, they're riding on the side. Riding on the side." Does anyone know if Snoop has a Lexus?

>>Join the crazy conversation about positive camber stances right here in the ClubLexus forum.

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