Caster angles?

[plkracer]

I've heard that the normal caster angle is around 6 degrees for an off-road car. Is this seperate from my rake? Say if I have 15 degrees of rake, will I have 15 degrees of caster? Or Can I put 15 degrees of rake, then I have to move the top arm back to get 6 degrees of caster?

[Bugpac]

set the rake angle from the ground, 15 degrees from parallel to grond, set the caster from the ground say 96 degrees from ground, or you get the idea, set the caster as if the car didnt have rake, or whatever, just set with an angle finder with frame level... 8)

[tenaja]

Bug, I think it's too early in the morning for you...can't figure out what you were saying!!!

Anyway...Rake and Castor are totally independant. You can design in as much or as little of either as you wish.

[yoshi]

Here is a simple way of thinking about it. Say a rail has 10 degree of rake and 5 degree of caster. If the car is setting at ride height and you stick an angle finder on the spindle, it will read 5 degrees, if you set an angle finder on the a-arms (which is actually the invisable line going through the front and rear frame mount a-arm heims), they will read 10 degrees. Both numbers are seperate and are read off an invisable verticle line of zero. OR, if you wanna get technical, the verticle line is actually 90 degrees and the spindle would read 95 degrees while the rake reads 100 degrees (or the spindle would read 85 degrees and the rake would read 80 degrees depending on which side you are gauging).....


I have 15 degrees rake and about 9 degrees caster in my design. I didn't mean to put that much caster in my first build, but since it helps with high speed stability it seems to prevent the front wheels from following the ruts as much which is a problem more for mini rails, so I just kept the numbers for my new design. 6 degrees is the norm, but 6 to 10 degrees is the norm for rake as well.......

[Bugpac]

ya, what he said, lol, i think i got 12 degrees of rake and 8 degrees of caster right now, tho with the new spindles and a arm geometry will likely change, tho the rake will still be 12 degrees...

[plkracer]

So if I want 15 degrees of rake, and 6 degrees of caster, I would still move my top arm back, or forward?

[Bugpac]

yes! to make it more legible, if you measured your caster from the rake, you would see a negative angle, if from the floor with chasis level you will see the 6 degrees... 8) do you fully understan the angle theroys now? i had a hard time when yoshi explained to me, as he never clarified it being from level, so i was thinking 15, + 6, then he finally told me from floor or level....