What do camber, toe and caster actually do?
Alignment angles decide how the tyre meets the road — straight, in a corner, under braking. Road settings favour stability and even wear; track settings trade some of that for grip and response. And alignment cannot be separated from the rest of the chassis: springs, dampers and anti-roll bars change how those angles behave in motion.
Camber
Camber is the tilt of the wheel seen from the front. Negative camber (top inward) compensates for body roll and sidewall deflection in a corner, so the outer tyre stays flatter on the road and generates more lateral grip. Too much negative camber on the road wears the inner shoulder and reduces the contact patch in straight-line braking. Track setups usually run more negative camber, especially at the front.
Toe
Toe is whether the wheels point slightly inward (toe-in) or outward (toe-out) seen from above. Toe-in adds straight-line stability; toe-out at the front sharpens turn-in. At the rear, toe-in stabilises the car under power and in fast corners. Toe is the angle that wears tyres fastest when wrong: a feathered tread edge is the classic sign.
Caster
Caster is the backward tilt of the steering axis seen from the side. It creates self-centring and steering weight, and it adds negative camber to the outer wheel as you steer — useful in tight corners. More caster means more stability and feel, and a heavier wheel.
Stiffness, anti-roll bars and balance
Body roll is controlled by springs and anti-roll bars. The share of roll stiffness carried by each axle shifts load transfer between the front and rear outer tyres: as a general rule, more front roll stiffness pushes the car towards understeer, more rear roll stiffness towards oversteer. Stiffer setups also reduce camber change in roll, so the static camber can be closer to what the tyre needs. Dampers shape how fast load transfers, which is what the driver feels in transitions.
Lowering a car changes its static camber and toe, and on many cars its bump steer and roll centre. After any spring, coilover or ride-height change, the alignment must be redone.