Camber is viewed from the front of the vehicle and it is the angle of tilt of the wheel from the vertical.
A wheel that leans away from the vehicle at the top is said to have positive camber.
A wheel that leans towards the vehicle is said to have negative camber.
On earlier vehicles with narrow tires with a large diameter, large camber angles were used to bring the centerline of road-road contact closer to the steering axis. It also ensured the vehicle weight was carried by the large inner bearing.
On modern vehicles, however, tires are wider but they are generally smaller in diameter, and large camber angles would produce excessive wear on the outer edges of the tires.
The amount of camber is now reduced, so that most cars have what is called zero average camber, to give long tire life.
This is because, when a vehicle is in motion, zero camber is difficult to maintain. Changes in running camber can be caused by road irregularities, and load variations.
