Wheels Alignment

Often referred to as tracking, Wheel alignment is part of the standard automobile maintenance. It consists of adjusting each wheel angle so they are set to match the car maker’s standard. The purpose of these adjustments is to reduce the wearying of tires and to ensure that vehicle will travel straight. Wheel alignment should be checked whenever new sets of tires or another suspension component were installed. Also, if the vehicle encountered a major hazard or curve and any time unnecessary tire wear patterns appear.

Conditions and Possible Causes of each angle.

Camber is the angle of the wheel, measured in degrees, if the top of the wheel is tilted out then the camber is positive, if it’s tilted in, then the camber is negative. Camber angle alters the handling qualities of a particular suspension design; in particular, negative camber improves grip when cornering. Off-road vehicles such as agricultural tractors generally use positive camber. On most front-wheel-drive vehicles, camber is not adjustable, however there are aftermarket kits that allow sufficient adjustment to compensate for accident damage or the change in alignment due to the installation of lowering springs.

Caster is the angle of the steering pivot, measured in degrees. The caster is the tilt of the steering axis when viewed from the side. It can cause a problem in straight line tracking if the caster is out of adjustment. The vehicle will pull to the side if the caster is different between two sides.

Toe is the most critical alignment of a vehicle. Each tire on the axle will scrub for about 3 ½ feet sideways every mile if the toe setting is just 1/32 inch off of its right settings that will cause reduction in tire life. Just like camber, toe change will depend the speed of the vehicle.