What is caster and how does it affect the handling of your rc truck or car.

In many instances caster is one of the more over looked suspension tuning options on many rc vehicles. But having the correct caster angle can greatly improve your handling performance.

So, what is caster? Caster is the angle of your kingpins or steering blocks when viewed from the side of your car or truck.

If the top of the steering block or kingpin is leaning to towards the rear of your car or truck this is positive caster and if it is leaning forward it is negative caster.

Zero caster is when the kingpins or steering blocks are perpendicular to the ground.

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Now do not get confused if you have done any reading about caster, there seems to be no uniform distinction as to what is negative or positive caster. For this page and any other reference that is make about caster will be uniform.

Positive caster will always refer to the kingpin or steering block leaning back, the top of the kingpin or steering block will be farther towards the rear of your car or truck than the bottom.

This will make negative caster just the opposite the top will lean more towards the front of your car or truck.

Just remember that caster is always determined by viewing your rc vehicle from the side.
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While negative caster does just the opposite. If you learn anything about caster at all it should be, never bother with any negative caster angles. Negative caster will make your rc vehicle very difficult to drive in a straight line and terrible in the corners.

Let us look closer at how positive caster can affect your rc car or truck's handling.

Less positive caster will give you more off-power steering into the corner, with less on-power steering out of and in a corner. Plus less caster will result in lower straight line stability.

While more positive caster will give you less off-power steering into the corner and more on-power steering in and out of a corner. Also, it will give you more straight line stability.

Now let us look at how to adjust caster. This is getting more complicated all the time. Manufacturers keep refining and adding many more options to adjust caster angles.



On some models it is very easy to accomplish just add or remove shims from the upper or lower suspension arms. Now remember if you move both the bottom and top forward you just changing your wheelbase, making it longer or moving both towards the rear is shortening the wheelbase. If you want more caster either move the top farther towards the rear or the bottom farther forward.

Adding or removing shims as needed. Now remember to adjust both sides the same if you have one side at one setting and the other side at a different setting your car or truck will be almost impossible to drive.

Another way to adjust caster angle on some models is by changing the front hub carriers or steering block. Some models have front hub carriers or steering blocks that have different degrees of caster build into them.

Refer to your owners manual to see which front hub carriers or steering blocks are installed on your rc vehicle and if there are different front hub carriers or steering blocks included with your rc vehicle.

For an added twist to adjusting caster angles is the new adjustable C-hub from Team Xray™. This new style of front hub is going to make adjusting caster much easier. For now Team Xray™ has a patent on this design and are the only ones to offer it. I do feel that in the near future you will see this options on many others models also.

There is one added twist to adding more positive caster to your front tires. This has to do with your outside tire in a turn.

As you increase steering input in a corner this will increase the negative camber on that tire. To take advantage of this all you need to do is lessen the static negative camber on you front wheels.

To see if you have set your caster/camber relationship correctly is to look at your front tire wear. If the inside of your front tires are showing more wear than the outside you need more camber and if the outside is wearing more you need less camber.

For maximum traction you want your front tires to wear evenly.

When is it time to change your caster settings? Is your rc car or truck feeling a little twitchy or a little too aggressive on turn-in in a corner?

Adding more caster will slow down how quick your car or truck turns. This may cause you to have to add more steering input with your radio to get your car or truck to turn the same as before.

On the other hand if your car or truck feels sluggish in corners lees caster is needed to give you a snappier feel.

Do remember when you make any changes to caster that it is going to make big changes in the handling and performance of your car or truck. This change could be for the better or worse.

With almost all caster adjustments being either 2° or 3° of change, only use caster adjustments when big changes are needed in the handling of your rc vehicle.

Also, remember that any time you change caster you will need to fine tune many other aspects of your suspension.

If you do change your caster keep good notes on what you did, just in case it does not work, so you can go back to your old settings and then try something different.

Keeping notes or setup sheets on all your suspension changes is a very important part of getting your rc car or truck's handling dialed-in.

The last thing to remember about caster is the only way to measure the degree of caster accurately is with a setup station. But, do not worry if you do not have or do not want to get a setup station, almost all caster settings and changes are done in either 2 or 3 degree increments.

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