Camber

Camber is the lean of the wheel seen from directly in front of the car. Negative camber means the top of the wheel leans inward.

Drift setups generally run significant negative front camber, for a simple reason: when the car is loaded up and steering hard, the suspension and the tire sidewall both deflect, and a wheel that started vertical ends up leaning out - putting the load on the outside shoulder of the tire instead of the whole contact patch. Starting with negative camber means the tire is closer to flat on the road at the moment it is working hardest.

How much is too much

Camber is a trade. Too much and the tire runs on its inside shoulder in a straight line, which wears it unevenly and costs you braking grip. Not enough and the outside shoulder takes everything under load. The right amount depends on how much the suspension and sidewall deflect, which depends on your spring rates, your tire and the surface.

The honest way to find it is tire wear and tire temperature across the tread after a day, not a number from a forum.

Where it comes from

Ride height changes camber directly, which is why fitting coilovers means re-aligning. An angle kit changes it by design. Caster adds camber dynamically as you steer. Adjustable upper arms or camber plates let you set it independently.

Rear camber

Less talked about and still a tuning lever: rear camber affects how willing the car is to rotate and how the rear tires wear. On a car with a lot of rear camber and a locked differential, rear tire wear patterns become a useful diagnostic.

Reading it off the tire

The useful diagnostic is tire temperature and wear across the tread after a session. Hotter and more worn on the inside shoulder means too much static negative camber for the load that tire actually sees. Hotter on the outside shoulder means not enough. Even across the tread means you have it about right for that surface and that spring rate.

Why it interacts with everything else

Ride height sets static camber. Caster adds camber dynamically as you steer. Spring rate and sidewall stiffness decide how much the wheel leans out under load. Change any of those and the right static number changes, which is why the alignment comes after the suspension work rather than in the middle of it.