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Its no surprise - the EVO "X" generation of Mitsubishi's popular AWD turbo sports sedan is still very "camber limited" up front, and it can cause gross amounts of understeer at low speed events (autocross) and through higher speed corners (road course) as well. The McPherson strut front suspension design, coupled with a heavy front weight bias and super soft stock spring rates, all work together to cause lots of body roll and loss of wheel camber when cornering. The tire and wheel tilt outwards under load, and the tire's contact patch struggles to stay in contact with the pavement. This causes a loss of front end grip, and ultimately, UNDERSTEER...
To combat this understeer, more front negative camber is crucial
The best cure for chronic understeer when a car is "camber challenged" is by adding a lot more negative camber to the front end via adjustable top hats, or "camber plates". All radial tires like a small amount of negative camber when fully loaded in a corner - even CART and F1 race cars run a huge amount of negative camber on tighter courses, and they have considerably stiffer chassis and suspension bushings than a production street car. The stock EVO chassis and suspension geometry allows for a large amount of camber loss when loaded - as you can see in the pictures of the stock suspended EVO X, there appears to be about 2 degrees of positive camber under a 1.0 to 1.1g lateral load. Hardly optimal for maximum grip!
The EVO X does improve with just a performance alignment, and our 2008 EVO X did drop laps times at ECR with the maximum -2.1° we could achieve up front with a track-side alignment. But it still needs a good bit more - the pictures shown here were with the maximum amount of negative camber the stock suspension would allow. It needs -3° to -4° camber up front to maximize front end grip.
Even with max negative camber in stock form, the EVO X begs for more (stock suspension)
This is where we come in - with our latest camber-caster adjustment plates, shown below. These can be used to add more positive caster and more negative camber to the EVO X. Note: these pre-production units do not have the engraved hash marks (for camber reference) or other markings for orientation, model use or the "VM" logo. They are built from the same super strong alloy steel used in our other proven camber plate designs - this steel is stronger than any aluminum, and provides the lowest stack-up height and longest life due to the material characteristics. We also use the biggest spherical bearings in the industry. All of our camber plates are proudly made in the USA and built like a tank.
Vorshlag EVO X plates with a pair of radial bearing upper spring perches
Detail view showing the robust spherical bearing size and integral bolt ring - make camber changes with just a wrench, in seconds!
These are the first pre-production examples of our new design, about to go on our EVO X along with AST 4200 double adjustable coilover shocks in the very near future. The additional spring rate and negative camber travel should go a long way to improving the test data (lateral grip) and lower lap times.
Lower stack-up height means more suspension travel at the same ride height
Once we get them on the car and verify all measurements we will test them on the street and track, then release them for production. More soon!
To combat this understeer, more front negative camber is crucial
The best cure for chronic understeer when a car is "camber challenged" is by adding a lot more negative camber to the front end via adjustable top hats, or "camber plates". All radial tires like a small amount of negative camber when fully loaded in a corner - even CART and F1 race cars run a huge amount of negative camber on tighter courses, and they have considerably stiffer chassis and suspension bushings than a production street car. The stock EVO chassis and suspension geometry allows for a large amount of camber loss when loaded - as you can see in the pictures of the stock suspended EVO X, there appears to be about 2 degrees of positive camber under a 1.0 to 1.1g lateral load. Hardly optimal for maximum grip!
The EVO X does improve with just a performance alignment, and our 2008 EVO X did drop laps times at ECR with the maximum -2.1° we could achieve up front with a track-side alignment. But it still needs a good bit more - the pictures shown here were with the maximum amount of negative camber the stock suspension would allow. It needs -3° to -4° camber up front to maximize front end grip.
Even with max negative camber in stock form, the EVO X begs for more (stock suspension)
This is where we come in - with our latest camber-caster adjustment plates, shown below. These can be used to add more positive caster and more negative camber to the EVO X. Note: these pre-production units do not have the engraved hash marks (for camber reference) or other markings for orientation, model use or the "VM" logo. They are built from the same super strong alloy steel used in our other proven camber plate designs - this steel is stronger than any aluminum, and provides the lowest stack-up height and longest life due to the material characteristics. We also use the biggest spherical bearings in the industry. All of our camber plates are proudly made in the USA and built like a tank.
Vorshlag EVO X plates with a pair of radial bearing upper spring perches
Detail view showing the robust spherical bearing size and integral bolt ring - make camber changes with just a wrench, in seconds!
These are the first pre-production examples of our new design, about to go on our EVO X along with AST 4200 double adjustable coilover shocks in the very near future. The additional spring rate and negative camber travel should go a long way to improving the test data (lateral grip) and lower lap times.
Lower stack-up height means more suspension travel at the same ride height
Once we get them on the car and verify all measurements we will test them on the street and track, then release them for production. More soon!