Alignment specs
But you should expect it to be like your '09 Challenger, because it can be. And in fact, the only reason its NOT like that is because you have the wrong alignment.
The self-centering action that your '62 B body lacks is simply a function of the caster specification. That's it. If you set the caster to say, +3*, you would have a self-centering action. And your car would be easier to drive. And there's no reason not to. Caster is not a tire wearing adjustment. It effects how stable your steering is, so more positive caster, more stable feeling. Crank it up too much and it can make the steering effort harder, but that's only really an issue on manual steering cars. I run my power steering Challenger at +5* caster, and its a huge improvement over the factory setting.
The factory alignment specs were determined solely on the capabilities of the bias ply tires. Bias ply's can't handle negative camber and positive caster. Conversely, radial tires NEED negative camber and positive caster to perform correctly. The tires set the alignment specs. Sure, you can drive your car with the incorrect specs, but your car's performance suffers. The only reason the factory alignment specs are what they are is because they were for bias ply's. If the factory was using radials back then, the factory specs would probably be somewhere between "granny" and "typical performance street" on the SKOSH chart. And based on my experience, the caster settings on the chart are conservative, or better matched for manual steering. Additional + caster helps dial down the overboosted factory power steering. I'd run more if I could get it.
But you should expect it to be like your '09 Challenger, because it can be. And in fact, the only reason its NOT like that is because you have the wrong alignment.
The self-centering action that your '62 B body lacks is simply a function of the caster specification. That's it. If you set the caster to say, +3*, you would have a self-centering action. And your car would be easier to drive. And there's no reason not to. Caster is not a tire wearing adjustment. It effects how stable your steering is, so more positive caster, more stable feeling. Crank it up too much and it can make the steering effort harder, but that's only really an issue on manual steering cars. I run my power steering Challenger at +5* caster, and its a huge improvement over the factory setting.
The factory alignment specs were determined solely on the capabilities of the bias ply tires. Bias ply's can't handle negative camber and positive caster. Conversely, radial tires NEED negative camber and positive caster to perform correctly. The tires set the alignment specs. Sure, you can drive your car with the incorrect specs, but your car's performance suffers. The only reason the factory alignment specs are what they are is because they were for bias ply's. If the factory was using radials back then, the factory specs would probably be somewhere between "granny" and "typical performance street" on the SKOSH chart. And based on my experience, the caster settings on the chart are conservative, or better matched for manual steering. Additional + caster helps dial down the overboosted factory power steering. I'd run more if I could get it.
