Originally Posted by robnolimit
Caster vs. cross weight (wedge)
Now, those of you with a lot of cirlce track experience, be gentle with me. Cross weight, or wedge, on a circle car, would be the percentage of weight carried on the right front/left rear, and is used to tune the cars handling. more wedge will tighten the car (more rear grip), and less wedge will loosen the car (more front grip) Keep that in mind.
On street cars/trucks, we usually want a base set-up with even cross weight (wedge), at appx 50%, so that it will turn the same left or right. Now then, Caster has an effect on wedge. Lets say you have 5* caster, and you turn left (for the circle guys), the caster angle will have an effect on the tire loading, adding down force on the 'inside' or left front tire. This effectively 'lowers' the wedge % on the right front/left rear. this would tighten the car, and improve corner entry, but, may make the car loose through the middle of the corner. Remember that we started with 50% wedge, or nuetral, so the effects of this will be the same for both a right and left turn. Wheel and tire width / offset / and scrub radius will also come into play here. Also, too much caster will make the truck dart into a turn. So, again, this is a test & tune.
You don't always need an alignment rack. If your truck is aligned, you have a baseline. To increase the caster, add one shim to the front stud, and remove one from the rear. (same thickness each) The camber/toe wil not change much. Then go drive it. If you like it, go for more. Again, bust out the lumber crayon and check the tire wear. If you run out of alignment room, then it's time for different A-arms. Keep count of the spacers you add/pull, and you can go back to your original alignment any time.
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