5BW - How long before brand new PS4S tires finally have some bite?

[No Usury]

Granted, I know these AI generated answers are often wrong, so my second reference point is John Heinricy. He was a GM engineer in the Performance Division for 40 years and life long race driver. He presently runs a CT4-V BW in the SCCA Touring 2 class. I've been speaking with him and he's been advising me on the setup of my car. He's told me to use 1/16" toe out in the front and 1/16" toe in for the rear.

You do realize this is a thread about the 5BW, yes? It's right in the title.

 

[Kawman]

I'm not an expert, I'm learning as I'm going through this. And yeah, there's a lot of conflicting info out there.

I watched your videos. In "What is Camber? A Simple Explanation" it says most vehicles use positive camber, but racing/off road applications use negative camber. We're dealing with a performance car and all agree we should be using negative camber, right?

In the "Toe (IN/OUT) in Car Suspension" video - re-watch from 4:00 to 4:15 in the video. This video indicates that for racing/performance applications one uses toe out in the front for quicker turning response.

Seems like the difference between toe in and toe out for a RWD car is the desired outcome. If your driving a regular car and your goal is maximum tire life one would use toe in. If your driving a performance car and want improved steering response one would use toe out.

If my conversion is correct 1/16" should be about .14 degrees (.07 per wheel)

 

[Kawman]

And here's another, using your AI tool, and your exact words:

Acting like everything is black and white, that there is only one answer, and your opinion is the only one that matters, is making you look pretty silly here.

Correct, it's not black and white. It seems to come back to what is your goal, improved tire life or improved handling characteristics? According to your video if the goal is tire life, one would use toe in, but if improved handling is the goal, one would use toe out.

Could you please be more specific regarding your point in your AI generated answer. Having read it, it seems to support the idea that toe out is what is appropriate for our cars.

Perhaps I've made an ass of myself by assuming that improved handling was the goal of a Blackwing owner over tire life. Didn't this thread start over a handling concern?

 

[No Usury]

 

[No Usury]

Let's do a reset – back to the discussion about TIRES, GRIP, and TRACTION.

 

[Kawman]

You do realize this is a thread about the 5BW, yes? It's right in the title.

Yes, of course. I stated the specs I was told to use for my 4BW. I've never said what specs you should be using for your 5BW.

I have only addressed the concept of toe in versus toe out, which doesn't change based on the model or make of a car. I enjoy the learning, so bring more info to the table. So far every reference point we've looked at indicates toe out in a performance application such as a Blackwing.


PS - Just saw your last message. Fine, go enjoy your conversation on how long it takes into the life of a tire before it starts to develop some traction.

 

[nordique14]

Refer to page 3 of the attachment for GM’s track alignment recommendation. They do not recommend toe out. I personally have run toe out and find it very good for autocross as it increase the car’s willingness to turn into a corner. But I find it less desirable on track (and on the highway) as the car feels a lot less stable on the straights at the high speeds this car can achieve. Like most things, there trade offs and you have to decide which attribute is more important.

But back to the OP’s problem of the back end easily stepping out. It is not due to alignment as it is set up to make his car more stable with reduced oversteer.