What's the correct rear camber setting?

[JohnC]

Hi brains trust,

Please would you help me get the camber correct on my '71 TR6 CP. The car is presently in a workshop on a hoist is so it's an ideal time to check. BTW, am I correct to assume that "two-up condition" referred to in the manual means "there need to be two people in the car when you check the geometry"? Or does it mean "set up unladen in the expectation the car willl be driven with two people in it"?

I have three sources, each giving different info:

A pdf copy of the TR6 Repair Operation Manual, Second Edition. Brown cover, publication 545277/E2, page 04.3:
1 degree negative +/- 1/2 degree

A hard copy of the Triumph Repair Operation Manual for TR4/4A/5/250/6. White cover, published by BL in 1977. Page 04-4:
1/2 degree positive +/- 1 degree

Hard copy Haynes manual printed in 1978, page 191:
1 degree negative +/- 1/2 degree

So I have a range of -1.5 to +1.5. I'm inclined to go with the brown covered book, but I thought I'd check here first. Current camber is 0 on the RHS and -2 on the LHS (unladen) so some adjustment is in order.

Thanks,
John
 

 

[John L]

My TR5 manual 545053 blue cover gives figures for the rear of 1 degree negative with + - 1/2 degree, but with the car in static laden with 160lbs in each front seat,

Front wheel camber 0 degrees +-1/2 degree.

Toe IN front and rear 0" to 1/16"

Is that helpful.......?

John

[Waldi]

I used the numbers in the brown bible, and added “some” weight in the booth.
My car runs /steers good.

Waldi

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, John L said:

with the car in static laden with 160lbs in each front seat,

Hi John,

Where does that guidance come from? Is it in the specifications section or somewhere more obscure? That's exactly what I was looking for in my books but couldn't find it.

Thanks,
John

[Peter Cobbold]

The book camber settings will not apply if springs are non-standard or if rear anti-roll bar has been fitted.  Camber changes markedly with body roll and spring compression. Spring compression  makes camber more negative, body roll makes the loaded suspension more positive. Ideally we want the loaded tyre to be flat on the road surface during hard cornering, and that cannot be set statically.

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

This kit will take a lot of the hassle out of doing the rear suspension angles.  As stated above swapping springs away from original standard  is an immediate cause of camber change.   As is worn springs.   Swap the left rear to the right rear and see if the angle difference moves with it.   

https://www.goodparts.com/product/trailing-arm-bracket-kit-adjustable/

 

Edited April 8 by BlueTR3A-5EKT

[michaelfinnis]

The Bentley reprint of the BL workshop manual printed 1972 also quotes 1 deg. negative, +/-  1/2 deg. which seems to be the consensus. However, there is no procedure in the manual for adjusting the camber. I realise camber can be altered by turning the trailing arm brackets upside down, or by swapping the different bracket types around, but that is not described in the Triumph manual. So was camber considered non-adjustable? 

The different brackets are specific to model year according to the parts list.That raises the question of whether camber is the same for early and late cars. Roger Williams 'How to restore Triumph TR5/350 and  TR6' book states that there is a difference in the early and late type trailing arms that accounts for the different brackets. He says that if changing from an early trailing arm to a later one then the brackets also need to be changed to the later arrangement (from 1 notch inner/2 notch outer to 3 notch inner to 1 notch outer). 

Yet when I did just that and replaced an early trailing arm with a later type recently using the later bracket arrangement threw the camber way out. Reverting the brackets to original restored the camber to same as it was with the original camber, within the above specs. In which case the later cars with different brackets would presumably have a different camber angle?

All of which is a bit contradictory. Maybe someone out there can enlighten us?

Mike.

[PodOne]

Hi Mike

Can't enlighten as to the adjustability of the original set up but clearly there was some changes made across the years to improve the handling albeit with some difficulty now in achieving any changes. What I can say is the adjustable brackets make it much easier to adjust the camber using a camber gauge. Setting the toe in isn't too hard.

The front for me has been more problematic.

Andy 

 

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

1 hour ago, michaelfinnis said:

The Bentley reprint of the BL workshop manual printed 1972 also quotes 1 deg. negative, +/-  1/2 deg. which seems to be the consensus. However, there is no procedure in the manual for adjusting the camber. I realise camber can be altered by turning the trailing arm brackets upside down, or by swapping the different bracket types around, but that is not described in the Triumph manual. So was camber considered non-adjustable? 

The different brackets are specific to model year according to the parts list.That raises the question of whether camber is the same for early and late cars. Roger Williams 'How to restore Triumph TR5/350 and  TR6' book states that there is a difference in the early and late type trailing arms that accounts for the different brackets. He says that if changing from an early trailing arm to a later one then the brackets also need to be changed to the later arrangement (from 1 notch inner/2 notch outer to 3 notch inner to 1 notch outer). 

Yet when I did just that and replaced an early trailing arm with a later type recently using the later bracket arrangement threw the camber way out. Reverting the brackets to original restored the camber to same as it was with the original camber, within the above specs. In which case the later cars with different brackets would presumably have a different camber angle?

All of which is a bit contradictory. Maybe someone out there can enlighten us?

Mike.

The brackets changed with spring type and other specification changes during TR6.  The final spring offered was 216275. (350lb).  And according to Triumph, should be used with 3 notch inner bracket and one notch outer.  

[Kenrow]

maybe these will help:

Rear Suspension Geometry

Rear Suspension Camber

Edited April 8 by Kenrow

[JohnC]

48 minutes ago, Kenrow said:

maybe these will help:

They are indeed a good read, and the table should take the guesswork out of camber adjustment. I love the precision of the work. Somebody has too much time on their hands  Anyway, I think I'll go with the brown book spec, following John's recommendation of loading as well.

Cheers,
John

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

11 hours ago, Kenrow said:

maybe these will help:

Rear Suspension Geometry

Rear Suspension Camber

Now there is a wealth of information.  Thanks for posting.

[John L]

Its copied from the MSM TR5-PI supplement,, sorry you should be able to read this down under           

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, John L said:

you should be able to read this down under

[TR NIALL]

12 hours ago, John L said:

Its copied from the MSM TR5-PI supplement,, sorry you should be able to read this down under           

 

[JohnC]

I love that TR drivers are considered so svelte

 

[stuart]

40 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I love that TR drivers are considered so svelte

 

We all were back then.

Stuart.