60 Series SOA Caster Angle (1 Viewer)

[phishincruisin]

I can think of no possible benefit or application where running negative caster would be of benefit or offer any advantages. Steering geometry is steering geometry. Caster, camber and toe would not vary if a vehicle were SUA, SOA, IFS, SR or whatever.

Please reference this source of info recommending negative caster.

X2 and it would cause dangerously unstable handling at anything above a snail's pace. Think about a grocery cart when the front wheels get turned around backwards.

I never said that it was recommended now, but that it was used with vehicles with no power steering, think about the early muscle cars, big heavy motor up front, no power steering. This is why these vehicles went straight really well, but aren't so good turning. The negative caster makes it so that there is a couple created with the rolling resistance and the force on the knuckle bearings/kingpin/etc. that causes the vehicle to wander more, but makes the steering very light, but with negative caster the tires do not recenter themselves.
I disagree with what you are saying dgangle, I believe that caster angles, camber, and toe will be different depending on the type of suspension since the path that the suspension takes is different for each one of those, hence having different handling characteristics. Type of tire makes a difference here as well, since bias tires are softer and tend to have a longer pneumatic tail (the contact location while moving is rear of the contact location still). Wheel backspacing, and tire width will come into effect too since when you move the centerline of the wheel/tire farther away from the knuckle you will have a larger scrub angle, which will cause the truck to wander more.
Everyone seems to have their own opinions on what caster should be set at, and this changes depending on their setup. I'm not saying at all that I believe that having a negative caster is the way to go, as I don't believe it is. It did exist, probably not anymore, and until radial tires and power steering it seemed to be used rather frequently.
oh, and sorry for the hijack!

 

[dgangle]

I think what you are saying is just plain crazy.

Again I ask, link us to a reputable source for this malarkey!

 

[Radd Cruisers]

I usually rotate for about 5 degrees. The actual caster depends on the slope of the spring perch when mounted up, shackle length, and other factors that differ with each specific vehicle.

Too much caster can cause some pretty nasty death shakes if anything is loose.

Running somewhere in the 4 to 6 degree range is about right. It's good if you can get it even between the sides - not hard to do if you've done lots of these and have very flat work surfaces to work on (among other tricks that are mine, and I don't always share well with others).

I do not do shackle reversals.

~John

 

[Nev62]

All most done. I have moved the front diff forward 25mm (1") for the better approach angle.

There has been a couple of unseen "gotchya's and things I have noticed".

The welder and grinder are your friends!

Extended brake lines that are heaps longer than stock and seem to be long enough, won't be.

I now need a 40mm tailshaft space (don't know how that worked out but hey it happens).

The stud thread in the RH knuckle housing stripped - so another knuckle was needed.
The Body lift will have to come out and the springs are 2" lifted and will need to be pressed flat (or std height at least) as the beast is too high.

Premade "one size fits all" brackets don't.

The Welder and Grinder are your friends.

Not covering front king and wheel bearings properly before grinding means you will be replacing them even if they were not worn.

When cutting the knuckles to rotate for caster, make sure the cut is around 7mm from the edge. Cutting too close to the edge means you will be doing a second cut cause the first isn't going to rotated and you now have 2 cuts to weld.

If you remove a bracket and put it somewhere for safe keeping, it will disappear until you make another and attach said other bracket. The original will then re-materialise.

Making and attaching a diff guard is easier whilst the diff is out.

The Welder and Grinder are your friends!

 

[CruisinFJ60]

All most done. I have moved the front diff forward 25mm (1") for the better approach angle.

There has been a couple of unseen "gotchya's and things I have noticed".

The welder and grinder are your friends!

Extended brake lines that are heaps longer than stock and seem to be long enough, won't be.

I now need a 40mm tailshaft space (don't know how that worked out but hey it happens).

The stud thread in the RH knuckle housing stripped - so another knuckle was needed.
The Body lift will have to come out and the springs are 2" lifted and will need to be pressed flat (or std height at least) as the beast is too high.

Premade "one size fits all" brackets don't.

The Welder and Grinder are your friends.

Not covering front king and wheel bearings properly before grinding means you will be replacing them even if they were not worn.

When cutting the knuckles to rotate for caster, make sure the cut is around 7mm from the edge. Cutting too close to the edge means you will be doing a second cut cause the first isn't going to rotated and you now have 2 cuts to weld.

If you remove a bracket and put it somewhere for safe keeping, it will disappear until you make another and attach another bracket. The original will then re-materialise.

Making and attaching a diff guard is easier whilst the diff is out.

The Welder and Grinder are your friends!

haha welcome to vehicle customization