3 degrees positive caster, 1 degree negative camber and 1/8" toe in. My car is affected very little by the wind - all the way to 80 mph. I tested it in 20 mph winds with 35 mph gusts around the Yakima firing range on a cross-state trip.
Im sure having the knowledge, and means to DIY alignment makes a difference. Im sure not many have that advantage. Anyway, point well taken and thanks for ur input.
Thanks for the info Paul. I have made a note on ur post and when I get new parts installed I will have it set there and see what happens. I hope I get similiar results. If I can get similiar results at 70 I'll be happy. I don't normally drive the car any faster than that anyway. 3 degrees positive caster, 1 degree negative camber and 1/8" toe in. Are these specs factory?
I don't have this problem. I wish I could say which specific thing helped the most - wide tires, stiff springs, lower suspension, or just an alignment guy who happened to really know what he was doing. Probably all of those things. But my car is no less stable in the wind than anything else I've driven recently.
Mine gets very unstable when there are strong gusts. Been driving it daily for almost 5 years, I always just figured old car with crappy aerodynamics.
that they are not but my car is set at a very similar spec I have just a hair more caster and it drives great
Cross wind has more of an affect on my car after I installed a rear sway bar. But the handling improvement in normal driving makes it worth it. I'm at 2 3/4* caster, 0 camber, and 1/16" toe in.
This has became a very interesting thread. I appreciate all the comments and information passed along. It's interesting to know people w/ the same basic cars have this much diversity in handling characteristics. I know everyone has different wheels, tires, PS/Manual steering, suspension components, alignment setups and such, but, for the most part factory designed/engineered cars. I don't know if this subject has been kicked around B4 but it interesting to know that I may be able to mitigate what I consider a somewhat annoying issue from hearing that others have made great strides in cross-wind sensitivity/handling.
I agree. Screw in a lot more castor. The reason the manufacturers were so stingy with the Castor settings was positive castor makes the steering effort harder, which was a consideration before PS became widespread. And toe-in. Camber won't make a difference unless it's extreme when the edge of the tire gets caught in grooves and causes wandering. And inside tire wear.
