# Crazy negative camber on "project" cars **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714 "2023-03-27T13:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/1 "2023-03-27T13:57:17Z")
OK, so some people like to modify their cars. Useless spoilers/wings in the back because you can pretend you are driving a Formula 1 car. Flashy paint jobs to make a personal statement. Noisy exhausts to make it sound like you have a noisy exhaust. All pretty valid attention-getting devices. But why do people put an extreme negative camber on the wheels? It eats up the tires so much faster, and god-knows-what-else it does to the steering and stability of the car compared to what the engineers intended. It doesn’t even look cool; IMHO it looks downright stupid. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/2 "2023-03-27T13:59:25Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > It doesn’t even look cool … It’s to look cool. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/3 "2023-03-27T14:04:20Z")
To lower the suspension to extreme levels without super-expensive mods you end up having to crank the camber way out that way. And, as @jnglmassiv says, fashion is as fashion does. Always has been, always will be. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/4 "2023-03-27T14:06:23Z")
This must be a regional style thing. I’ve never seen noticeable negative camber (compared to what I just found online) around here (northeast US). If I saw that, I would assume that they had a broken axle or something. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/5 "2023-03-27T14:23:01Z")
Just from seeing the various car gathering photos that show up in my instagram feed, I don’t think the NE is immune to to this trend. You tend not to see the more extreme examples on the road though as they don’t navigate the real world well. Gotta hit the shows, go where the kids go. I’m not a fan of the trend, but I am not the target audience either. It’s no worse than what my peers were doing in the 90s with the small diameter wheels that stuck out from the side of the car several inches or more. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/6 "2023-03-27T14:49:22Z")
Previous thread: > [@The cars with the tires slanted at an angle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cars-with-the-tires-slanted-at-an-angle/817135): > > I’m going to be arrogant enough to assume you’ve noticed their existence without me needing to link to an Example A, Example B. (You can conjure up your own easily enough on Google Images for cars tires slanted angle). Why for they do that? Is it overwhelmingly for the coolitude of the image of having done so, or are people in large quantities seeing these modifications because of alleged tactical advantages, better handling, more competitive driving, etc? I’d think it would burn through tir… ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-negative-camber-on-project-cars/981714/7 "2023-03-27T15:09:53Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > But why do people put an extreme negative camber on the wheels? It eats up the tires so much faster, It might not matter, though. I own a classic roadster, a lot of them are garage queens, logging only hundreds of miles per year. Many of the lower mileage cars are getting new rubber based on age, not wear as even before they dry rot the rubber stiffens up & loses handling ability. If the car in question is a show car or a boulevard cruiser does it really matter how fast the tires wear if you’re not going to keep them until they wear? OTOH, the ones that look like beat-up daily drivers on a NYC interstate? I agree that it’s pretty stupid.