Yes.
@Ridox2JZGTE : Not sure if caster is involved.
Caster should be in the physics, when the front wheel is turned and positive caster, there should be camber gain and it affects the inner wheel as wheel as well outside wheel ( turn in, grip + load ) Road condition also will have great effect ( banked turn, dip in the apex, curb etc ) Cars with high caster would benefit from lower steering ratio ( faster turn lock to lock ) to make use the added stability ( centering more pronounced ), but this really depends on the driver too.
Past discussion about centering on the wheel and camber benefit in corners vs straight line might be largely affected by how caster is simulated
Picture both axle camber has their own pros and cons, rear camber ( rear grip on corner vs straight line braking/accel, tire wear/even temp ) and front camber ( turn in, corner grip/contact patch, tire wear/temp, braking / corner entry )
This is a good read about caster, camber and toe
Just basic easy to understand article :
http://www.aligncraft.com/terms/terms.html
Caster Definition
Caster can be defined as the forward or rearward tilt of the projected steering axis from true vertical, as viewed from the side. This line is formed by extending a line through the upper and lower steering knuckle pivot points. For vehicles with front control arms, visualize the line extending through the upper and lower ball joints. On strut equipped vehicles, the line extends through the lower ball joint to the center of the upper strut mount. Caster
is always viewed from the side of the vehicle.When the upper pivot point is rearward of the lower pivot point, caster is positive. If the upper pivot is forward of the lower pivot point, caster is negative. When the two points are straight up and down from each other, the caster is zero. A maximum side to side variation of ±.5° is recommended on most vehicles. Caster is NOT a normal tire wearing angle and is used as a directional control for stability and steering returnability.
Front of Vehicle Caster Effect
Caster effect is necessary so that the load of the vehicle is "carried" through the steering axis line formed on the upper and lower pivot points. Positive caster gives a vehicle directional stability because the tire is being pulled along by the load which is projected in front of the center of the tire contact area. This causes a vehicle with positive caster (point of load ahead of the point of contact) to be harder to steer away from the straight ahead position.
With Positive caster, road surface variations have a minimal effect on the tire, the tire will continue to go straight. When a tire has a
Negative caster condition, where the projected steering axis point of load is behind the tire point of contact, a vehicle will have a tendency to be easier to steer but will lack directional stability. A vehicle with negative caster is affected by any road surface variation such as small road irregularities or bumps. With the point of load pushing the tire along (negative caster), any bumps or road irregularities which are encountered have a tendency to immediately affect directional stability and vehicle handling.
Front Caster Effects
Effects of Positive Caster
Vehicles usually have some positive caster specified since this promotes directional stability, however, excessive positive caster can cause two problems. The first is that excessive caster will cause a high level of road shock to be transmitted to the driver when the vehicle hits a bump, etc. The second problem is that a tire/wheel assembly with positive caster has a tendency to toe inward when the vehicle is being driven. If one side has more positive caster than the other, this causes it to toe inward with more force than the other side. This will cause a lead or pull to the side with least amount of positive caster.
Effects of Caster on Tire Wear
When set with a substantial amount of caster, the spindle travels in a vertical arc, causing it to move up and down and raise and lower the wheels as the steering wheel is turned. Because of this, camber changes occur.
With a high amount of positive caster, the camber changes that occur, especially at low speeds in tight turns, cause the tires to show wear on their shoulders. In high speed cornering, the vehicle tends to continue straight ahead when the steering is initially turned. Due to this, and the amount of camber change that takes place when a spindle travels through its arc of travel, the shoulders of the tires on a vehicle may scrub and wear. When a left turn is made at a fairly high rate of speed with a vehicle which has positive caster, the caster of the left front wheel changes toward positive but the momentum of the vehicle is in a straight ahead direction. This causes the inside of the left front tire to scrub as it is turned. Just the opposite effect takes place on the right wheel as the vehicle is turned left at high speed. The right front wheel's camber will go negative but the outside edge of the tire is scrubbed because of the vehicle's momentum to go straight. On some vehicles setting caster more than +2.5° will cause scrub problems.
And caster + camber use in stock car :
http://www.joesracing.com/rt-4189-caster-creativity.html
- Caster is measured in degrees
Caster is measured in degrees. When a line is extended from the top ball joint through the bottom ball joint the caster line is created. Zero caste would be when the upper and lower ball joints create a line that is perfectly vertical. Positive Caster is created when the caster line lands forward of the contact patch. Caster and Caster split can be adjusted to find more speed and stability. A common example of caster is a shopping cart. As the shopping cart is pushed forward the front wheels spin back and trail behind the caster line.
Caster creates stability as the geometry created forces the wheels back to straight. The front wheels are “encouraged” to stay straight as turning them involves lifting the car weight. Expensive street cars often have high amounts of positive caster providing them with a superior and stable feel. The drawback comes in the form of added steering effort. The invention of power steering has allowed for more caster to be added. When power steering fails it is easy to see the negative effects. As soon as the dripping wet driver gets out of the car and asks for help opening a beer due to his arms being worn out it becomes clear how power steering has allowed higher amounts of caster.
In stock cars, we can use caster to help our cars going beyond simple directional stability. Caster split is often used as a chassis adjustment. Running more positive caster on the right than on the left is common. The question is how much split and how much positive caster should you run?
Caster split and the appropriate amount chosen is one of those chassis adjustments where there is not a magic amount or a right or wrong answer. If you understand the effects of caster split you can make your own decisions based on your track, driver and goals. Commonly crew chiefs run 3 degrees positive on the right side and 1 degree positive on the left side. At times it may pay to run 4 or 5 degrees on the right and .5 degrees positive on the left. It all depends on what you are hoping to accomplish for your specific chassis needs.
An often overlooked element relating to stock car caster is that the more positive caster you run the more “beneficial” camber gain you will get. As the car rolls you will see more negative camber gain on the right side and more positive camber gain on the left in lock step with running additional caster. Camber gain through travel is typically a good thing but like all adjustments you want to avoid going too far. If you are aggressive with A-Arm lengths that create high amounts of camber gain you want to be careful that you do not get to aggressive with caster. As always balance applies.
- Speed Secrets
You can find a "speed secret" by understanding that more caster beneficially adds to negative camber gain on the right front and more positive camber gain on the left front. You can check this effect by measuring your camber gain at your current setting and recording the numbers. Next - add caster and check your camber gain again and you will see the benefits visually right in the shop. With the knowledge you can tailor your set up package to overcome obstacles presented by your car, track and driver.
To visualize the benefit of the caster induced camber gain it pays to think in extremes. If you are running 3 degrees of positive caster on the right this would be in the normal range. For our visualization, picture adding caster until the caster line is adjusted an exaggerated amount until it becomes completely horizontal. At this hypothetical and exaggerated point, the result would be pure camber change instead of directional change. The benefit is that with more static caster, the right front wheel would gain more negative camber as steering input is increased. The left front wheel gains more positive camber as the wheel is turned. Cool, we get more camber gain when we need it most by running more caster through a left hand turn! Even experienced crew chiefs can be unaware of the relation to caster and beneficial camber gain in left hand turns. Personally, I find understanding the camber gain from caster to be a true “speed secret”.
Running more caster on the right side verses the left is an adjustment tool that can help cars turn left. The amount of caster split can create benefits as the wheels are turned. More split will “de-wedge” the car at maximum steering input helping the car to turn in the middle. As the steering wheel is un-wound - wedge is added back helping the car to hook up better on exit. Wedge is added back as the wheels return to straight or even back through to the right. You can easily see this change when you have the car on scales. The next time you weigh your car and you have recorded your race ready numbers simply turn the steering wheel 10 degrees left and you will see your scale numbers display less wedge when the wheels are turned left.
Most of Pcars default setup has high caster around 6 - 7 degrees.