ALIGNMENT

Caster

Caster is the angle of the steering axis (the part of the suspension that supports the wheel and tyre assembly). Viewed from the side of the vehicle, an imaginary line drawn between the centers of the upper and lower ball joints forms an angle with true vertical, this is defined as Caster. The illustration to the right shows whether this angle is referred to as positive or negative. Caster is important to steering feel and high-speed stability

Camber

Viewed from the front of the diagram, camber describes the inward or outward tilt of the tyre. The illustration to the right shows whether this tilt is referred to as positive or negative. The camber adjustment maximizes the tyre-to-road contact and takes into account the changes of force when a vehicle is turning. Camber is the one adjustment that can be set according to driving habits. Generally, if you drive more aggressively when cornering, more negative camber can be set. If you drive on highways and do very little hard cornering, more positive camber can be set.

Toe

From the illustration above, the vehicle, toe describes whether the fronts of the tyres are closer (toe-in) or farther (toe-out)apart than the rears of the tyres. The illustration below shows this relationship. Toe settings vary between front and rear wheel drive vehicles. In a front wheel drive vehicle, the front wheels try to pull toward each other when the vehicle is in motion, which requires a compensating toe-out setting. A rear wheel drive vehicle works just the opposite, necessitating a toe-in setting. Stated differently, toe is set to let the tyres roll in parallel (at zero toe) when the vehicle is in motion.

Ride Height

Ride height is simply the distance between the vehicle’s frame and the road. This is the reference point for all alignment measurements. Vehicle customizing will often include raising or lowering the vehicle. Don’t forget to have your vehicle aligned afterward. Also, this rule applies if you put a taller or shorter tyre on your vehicle.

Misalignment and Tyre Wear

By now you may have concluded that poor tyre wear and misalignment are closely related. That is correct!

But what can be done to minimize this condition? It turns out that many of these misalignment conditions can be read by a tyre expert, and he can recommend the appropriate solution, which will definitely be “get your alignment corrected” For your assistance, Armed yourself with this knowledge to be able to check your tyres periodically. Thus a knowledgeable glance at your tyres on occasion can pay big dividends.

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