Home » Articles
Car Articles
Read articles on cars and car industry. Get fully updated on all information related to cars. Read exciting happening in the Indian and Global Car industry, tips to help you and more...
Old Articles
A Short and Knowledgeable Course on Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment is defined as the science of measuring and adjusting the angles of the wheels to keep them in the perfect position. The perfect wheel position is when all the four wheels are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. The primary purpose of wheel alignment is to enhance tyre life and performance.
Most of the people often confuse wheel alignment with wheel balancing but the two are completely different from each other. Wheel balancing is a condition when weight of the wheel is evenly distributed and wheel alignment is a condition when all the four wheels are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. If a wheel is out of balance it causes vibration at high speeds and if the wheel is not aligned it causes excessive wear and tear of the tyre. Both wheel alignment and balancing may have similar causes but definitely have different functions and play different roles in tyre care and maintenance.
The basic symptoms or warning signs that show that wheels are not aligned are as follows:
Most of the people often confuse wheel alignment with wheel balancing but the two are completely different from each other. Wheel balancing is a condition when weight of the wheel is evenly distributed and wheel alignment is a condition when all the four wheels are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. If a wheel is out of balance it causes vibration at high speeds and if the wheel is not aligned it causes excessive wear and tear of the tyre. Both wheel alignment and balancing may have similar causes but definitely have different functions and play different roles in tyre care and maintenance.
The basic symptoms or warning signs that show that wheels are not aligned are as follows:
- Excessive or uneven tyre wear and tear.
- Pulling or drifting away from the straight line in the course of driving.
- Steering wheel pulls left or right while driving.
- Wandering in the vehicle even when on a straight level road.
- Vibration of steering wheel.
Factors Affecting Wheel Alignment
Alignment basically involves adjustment of vehicle’s suspension along with the wheels and the tyres. There are many factors that are actually responsible for hampering the alignment like driving against a kerb or hitting a pothole. Apart from these, the key factors that are actually involved in hampering and setting the alignment to the required specifications are castor, camber, toe, ride height, and worn out parts.
Each of these factors is explained below in details:
Caster
Caster is the angle of the steering axis that is actually an essential part of the suspension that supports the wheel and the tyre assembly. There is an imaginary line drawn between the centers of the upper and lower ball joints and this forms an angle with the true vertical. Caster plays a significant role for maintaining high-speed stability.
If the top of the axis is towards the rear of the car it defines a positive caster and if it leans towards the front it defines a negative caster. If the caster negative the steering will be light and the vehicle may wander whereas in case of a positive caster the steering wheel may kick when the vehicle hits a bump. In both the cases the vehicle is likely to cause an accident so it is very important to keep them aligned.
If the top of the axis is towards the rear of the car it defines a positive caster and if it leans towards the front it defines a negative caster. If the caster negative the steering will be light and the vehicle may wander whereas in case of a positive caster the steering wheel may kick when the vehicle hits a bump. In both the cases the vehicle is likely to cause an accident so it is very important to keep them aligned.
Camber
Camber is the angle that measures the inward or outward tilt of the tyres. If the top of the wheel leans out from the center of the car the camber is positive and if it leans inward it is negative camber. If the camber is negative, it will cause wear on the inside of the tyre tread and if the camber is positive it will cause wear on the outside of the tyre tread.
Adjustment of the camber maximizes the tyre-to-road contact and considers all the change of force that comes into action when a vehicle is running. It can be adjusted in accordance to the driving conditions and habits. If a driver is habituated to drive aggressively when cornering more negative camber can be set and if the driver does more of highway driving with least hard cornering then a positive camber is more beneficial.
Adjustment of the camber maximizes the tyre-to-road contact and considers all the change of force that comes into action when a vehicle is running. It can be adjusted in accordance to the driving conditions and habits. If a driver is habituated to drive aggressively when cornering more negative camber can be set and if the driver does more of highway driving with least hard cornering then a positive camber is more beneficial.
Toe
Toe is actually the measurement of the difference in distance between the front of the tyres and the rear of the tyres. Toe-in is a condition when the distance between the front tyres is less than that of the rear tyres and toe-out means that the distance between the rear tyres is less than that of the front tyres.
If the sharp edges of the tyre tread points towards the center of the car the condition defines toe-in and if they point outside of the car there is too much of toe-out. Toe settings actually differ for different vehicles. In case of a front wheel drive vehicle, the front wheels try to attract when the vehicle is running and this requires a toe-out setting whereas in case of a rear wheel drive vehicle the rear wheels try to pull toward each other which require a compensating toe-in settings.
If the sharp edges of the tyre tread points towards the center of the car the condition defines toe-in and if they point outside of the car there is too much of toe-out. Toe settings actually differ for different vehicles. In case of a front wheel drive vehicle, the front wheels try to attract when the vehicle is running and this requires a toe-out setting whereas in case of a rear wheel drive vehicle the rear wheels try to pull toward each other which require a compensating toe-in settings.
Ride Height
Ride height is actually the distance between the vehicle’s frame and the road. During customization any change of measurement in the ride height can hamper the alignment of the suspension and reduce tyre life as well as performance. The wheels and the suspension should be aligned immediately after customization.
Worn Parts
Any kind of worn out parts in the suspension may cause an alignment problem. Worn springs result in lowering of vehicle’s ride height and alter its geometry causing a misalignment and weak springs cause uneven tyre wear. Worn tyre rods keep on changing toe when the vehicle rolls down the road and this causes the vehicle to wander.
Types of Wheel Alignment
There are basically three types of wheel alignment offered for the modern wheels. All the three are explained below:
- Front-End Alignment: Front-end alignment is the type of alignment where the angles of only the front axle are measured and adjusted. This type of alignment is mainly used for vehicles where the front tyres are positioned directly in front of the rear tyres.
- Thrust Angle Alignment: Thrust angle is the direction in which the rear wheels point in relation to the vehicle’s center line. If the thrust angle is zero the steering wheel will not be centered and to adjust this thing first the rear toe should be adjusted to the center line and then the front toe.
- Four-Wheel Alignment: This is the most common type of wheel alignment that is used in all vehicles with four-wheel independent vehicles or front wheel drive vehicles with adjustable rear suspensions. It follows the same procedure as that of the thrust angle alignment and further to that it includes measurement and adjustment of the rear axle angles as well as the front axle angles.
Advantages of Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment is one of the key tyre maintenance factors that offer a host of advantages apart from improving tyre’s life and performance.
Following are the key advantages of the wheel alignment:
- It results in reduced tyre wear.
- It helps improve fuel efficiency as the rolling resistance reduces with properly aligned wheels.
- Wheel alignment also helps improve handling because aligned wheels can handle shocks and bumps more efficiently.
- Leads to a safer and more comfortable driving.
