What is the castor angle that comes on an Atom?

**garef001** · March 29, 2017, 10:59 PM

Hi,
i know that castor is not adjustable on an atom, but I am curious what the angle is.

Also I've searched but I couldn't find a good answer to what a good street/track suspension (camber, castor) set up is.

thanks

**MadMaxAtom** · March 30, 2017, 06:49 AM

I don't believe the Atom has any caster angle,or if it does, it is very little.(1-2 degrees) and it is not adjustable.(unless you bend something.) Camber for street tires would be in the .5-1 degree negative front and rear for best traction and tire wear. Street needs and street tires require different alignment settings than a purely track setup. I run 2-4 degrees of negative camber on my track car with track tires,and they grip and wear 100%. There is NO compromise, IF you need to get the most out of what you are going to do with your Atom. One size (or one alignment)does not fit all.

**timcking** · December 17, 2017, 09:16 PM

Based on this info, because my Atom 3's steering is so light, I began to explore fabricating new upper A-arms to incorporate 3 degrees of castor. During more precise measurements I noticed a perceptible castor. Measuring it turned out to be ~3 degrees. Just an FYI.

**cvjoint** · December 18, 2017, 10:46 AM

Good to know. I was about to say, if it truly was only 1 degree it would have drove like a shopping cart. 3 degrees seems adequate, great turn in. In Riverside at Buttonwillow I can reach peak speeds of well over 110mph while turning, gassing it until it starts to push off the track.

**cvjoint** · January 4, 2018, 06:18 PM

FYI my corner balance shop found that (my SRA 2013's) caster is over 6 degrees with -2.5 camber up front. Given this measurement I think it's safe to say there is plenty, on par with the best production cars.

**timcking** · March 30, 2018, 02:39 PM

I really don't like the light steering. I just installed frt/rear Skunkworx dual-element wings and from 50 mph and above the added downforce makes a difference you can feel.

**cvjoint** · March 30, 2018, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by timcking

I really don't like the light steering. I just installed frt/rear Skunkworx dual-element wings and from 50 mph and above the added downforce makes a difference you can feel.

You just have to trust it will stay on the ground, start easy on the brakes and dig in progressively. My only beef with aero on this car is that we have a wet sump and we're already putting down good lateral G just with wheel/tire change. It takes a $5000+ investment in dry sump to get proper aero.

I regularly take it up to 125 mph. Its fine for me, but I could see with enough power to touch 150 mph it could get a bit dicey.