Some of you may remember the Mercedes-Benz F400 Carving Concept from 2002. A very unique concept to say the least. But perhaps the most unique aspect of this concept was the integration of active camber. To my knowledge this is the only vehicle to incorporate such technology. The way the system works is by varying "the camber angle on the outer wheels between 0 and 20 degrees, depending on the road situation. Used in conjunction with newly-developed tyres, it provides 30 percent more lateral stability than a conventional system with a fixed camber setting and standard tyres. This considerably enhances active safety, since better lateral stability equals improved road adhesion and greater cornering stability. Active camber control boosts the research vehicle's maximum lateral acceleration to 1.28 g, meaning that the concept study outperforms current sports cars by some 28 percent." [http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2002-Mercedes-Benz-F400-Carving-Concept.htm]

So why has this technology never made it past the concept stage?
Has it ever been used on a race car?
Do you think it ever will see production?

12/13/2006 8:48:46 AM

HICAS never caught on, this probably won't either. But otherwise, sure, why not.

12/13/2006 9:10:19 AM

you'd never need -20deg of camber.. in the pic above he's clearly using too much neg camber as a demonstration.. he's using like half the contact patch.

12/13/2006 9:13:49 AM

I want a spiffy leather driving cap.

[Edited on December 13, 2006 at 9:16 AM. Reason : .]

12/13/2006 9:16:08 AM

Quote :

"newly-developed tyres"

hence, very much m0 expensive

12/13/2006 9:18:22 AM

^I thought the same thing, but this is the type of technology that would be used in a vehicle segment where price is typically not an issue.

Quote :

"HICAS never caught on"

What is HICAS and when was it used?


[Edited on December 13, 2006 at 9:24 AM. Reason : ]

12/13/2006 9:18:35 AM

Mazda had it 20 years ago chief. It just wasn't as sophisticated, and certainly didn't change camber that many degrees.

12/13/2006 9:25:33 AM

Nissan's 4 wheel steering system. I think the 300zx was the last car to have it. Unlike the 4 wheel steering on gm trucks for parking lots, this system worked at highway speeds for better handling.

In the end it was just one more Nissan piece of shit to give trouble.

12/13/2006 9:25:53 AM

^so did honda prelude. want too widly poplular among consumbers either.

12/13/2006 10:39:07 AM

someone debuted an aftermarket active camber device at SEMA this year. Supposedly was good for a 3 second drop in lap times. Appeared to just be a bar that attached to the top of the strut and allowed movement (a la camber plates without tightening them). Can't remember who it was now unfortunately.

12/14/2006 11:38:40 AM

got any better pics of the spindle assy. i want to see what actually moves.

12/14/2006 4:03:51 PM

Quote :

"^so did honda prelude. want too widly poplular among consumbers either."

I had to align one of those goddamn things once. Not really bad IF you had the right pin to lock the rear box. Which I didn't.

Came in crabbing, left crabbing. Oh well, man. Take it some where that has the right shit, you cheap bastard.

HICAS is a pretty cool concept, but the first gen HICAS was way too troublesome and heavy. HICAS II was all electric, and a much better design. It basically alters toe by a few degrees under different dynamic conditions to improve handling. Talk about splitting hairs for a diddly squat return...

The first-gen HICAS actually routed the clutch hydraulics through a switch so that the computer could tell when the clutch was pressed in. I don't know why they didn't just use the cruise switch on the pedal.

12/14/2006 8:58:44 PM

I think active camber is outlawed by FIA.

It probably didn't make it past concept because of the costs involved with producing the unit.

12/14/2006 9:25:24 PM

HIgh Capacity Active Steering

I remember Super HICAS. I had this on my 91 240SX. It only worked at speeds above 55 and I couldn't get the diagnostics to work to make sure it was functional.

12/16/2006 7:51:36 PM

some infinitis have it too.

12/16/2006 9:41:05 PM