Alignment Angles: Camber: Notes

Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the wheels when viewed from the front of the vehicle. The amount of tilt is measured in degrees from the vertical and is called the camber angle.

The camber angle is the angle between the wheel center point and a perpendicular line (in the wheel contact point) with respect to the road surface. Camber angle is considered positive (+) if the upper part of the wheel is angled outward from the wheel center point and negative (-) if it is angled inward.

Wheels running at a camber want to follow a circular path, like an overturned cone. Therefore, vehicles which have excessive camber angles will tend to pull to one side. As a general rule, the vehicle will tend to pull to the side of the vehicle which has the most positive camber.

Front camber angle on most current BMW vehicles is set at a slightly negative value. This promotes good straight line stability. This is due to the fact that slight negative camber causes the wheels to "track inward". As long as the side-to-side camber is roughly equal, the vehicle will track in a straight line.

Camber angle also has an effect on component wear. For instance, the wheel bearings will perform well and last longer as long as the camber is within specification. Camber which is out of specification will cause undue load on the wheel bearings. Excessive camber angle also causes wear on the outer edges of the tire. The outside of the tire will wear if the camber is too positive and the reverse is true with excessive negative camber. The same holds true for the rear camber angle.