Wondering if anyone can share knowledge / experience re: if the rear wheel camber can be adjusted on a 5.0 supercharged or xfr style suspension. when i look at the rear tire (and i know this is far from a precise way to measure this) is has a very negative cambered stance as compared to sighting it down to the front tire on the same side. I dropped it off at local tire shop today for a state inspection and some wheel swapping and asked them to do an alignment and get the rear wheels more parallel with the earth. (i figure i must have at least some loss of potential traction with an uneven weight distribution across the contact patch). Anyway, the store manager (i do trust him) advised that all 4 wheels indeed had need for toe adjustment but there actually wasn't an adjustment for rear wheel camber. Does this line up with info you've received and alignment's you've had done? And can anyone add info if this is the case - why so much tilt on the rear tire? or theory as to the performance intent of the factory in doing so? thanks!!

 

Yep, confirmed by me and many others, there is zero camber adjustment available on the rear of any XF.
You have no choice but to put up with the existing negative camber which gets much worse if you fit lowering springs and results in the inside edges of the rear tyres wearing out very quickly (don't ask how I know this!).

 

That is correct. As far as I remember it's true on all the XF specs, not just the SC / XFR. Rear camber is not adjustable...

It shouldn't need it. Has your car been lowered aftermarket? Or are there issues with worn suspension?

 

nope, none of that, was just trying to optimize for better launches in a straight line and also trying to figure out why so much camber by design..

i figure it's to provide best contact patch mid corner?

 

Who knows.
Remember the XF chassis and suspension was a joint Jaguar and Ford design back in about 2006 which was also used on the Lincoln LS, so I doubt it was engineered for cornering prowess. I have no idea why they made the rear camber non-adjustable, maybe it was simply a cost saving?

 

Although you're correct about the origins of the current XF platform, your time line is a little off. The original design goes back to the Jag S-Type and Lincoln LS, which were introduced to the public at the beginning of the 2000 model year. Therefore, their design was being engineered, most likely, 3-4 years prior to that.


As a current owner of an XF, as well as a long-time previous owner of a 2000 Lincoln LS, this lack of rear camber adjustment has always been a pet peeve of mine. Not because of the negative camber setting, because that actually aids in cornering, but due to side-to-side variances, which can't be adjusted out. My LS had a camber difference of 0.4*, between the left and right sides, and my current XF is somewhat similar....