Many people get confused, thinking wheel alignment is something related to their car tyres Coventry. The proper alignment of your car is determined by five factors: ride height, thrust, toe, camber, and caster.
1. Ride height
All alignment measurements are based on ride height, which is the distance between the chassis and the road. All cars are built from the factory with a specific ride height range in mind for regular suspension travel.
Adjusting the aftermarket adjustable suspension system, for example, might raise or lower the car’s chassis, which will have an impact on your wheel alignment.
A car’s tie rods, which regulate your toe-in on your steered wheels, may lose their capacity to maintain proper alignment as the suspension cycles up and down if it is raised or lowered beyond factory specifications.
This can result in bump steer and other erratic steering behaviours.
2. Thrust
The toe and the thrust angle are tightly connected. The result of an improper thrust angle is evident if you have ever followed a car that appears to be "crabbing" down the road because its chassis is out of alignment with its direction of movement.
It happens when one wheel is toe-in while the other is toe-out. This usually happens on cars with solid axles (damaged suspension) that are not exactly perpendicular to the centerline of the car.
Your mechanic will use a thrust angle alignment to ensure that all four of your wheels are square with one another if your car has a solid rear axle.
3. Toe
The centerline of your car should be exactly parallel to each set of wheels. By measuring the distance between the front and rear of the same tyres, one may determine how far out they are. This measurement is known as the toe measurementt.
Toe-in or toe-out refers to any difference that is measured in degrees. When it comes to tyre longevity and car handling, the toe is one of the most significant metrics, if not the most significant. To optimize the life of tyres, the toe should ideally be positioned at or almost at zero degrees.
Tyre wear on the inner or outer edge of the tread will occur very quickly if there is excessive toe movement in either direction. Suspension tuning with toe settings is a wonderful approach to fine-tuning the car’s handling in corners for performance-oriented applications.
Adjusting the toe at either end of the car can result in a little variation in handling feel. Toe-out, for instance, will make a car more likely to be "twitchy" or eager to turn into bends quickly, which will encourage oversteering.
A car can be equipped with a toe-in to increase its high-speed stability in straight lines. This will reduce the likelihood of the car being "tramline," but the steering will feel duller.
4. Camber
When viewed from the front or rear of a car, camber refers to the inward or outward tilt of the wheels. When the top of the wheel leans inward toward the centre of the car, it is said to have a negative camber; when it leans outward from the car, it is said the car has a positive camber.
The majority of cars come with a very small amount of negative camber (less than 1.5 degrees) from the factory. This is done so that as the car "leans" into a corner, the outer wheel will be perpendicular to the ground, maximizing safety and grip.
Since most of the roads have a natural camber and are rarely level, it is normally preferable to have a negative camber to improve tyres in Coventry grip in practical scenarios. Modern cars with independent suspension systems need to take ride height into account because the camber of each wheel can vary greatly.
5. Caster
The measurement of a car’s steering wheels' vertical pivot is called a caster. The "caster angle" is the angle of this pivot when viewed from the side. Positive caster occurs when the steering angle leans toward the back of the car, while negative caster occurs when the angle leans toward the front of the car.
The handling of your car may suffer significantly if the caster exceeds the manufacturer's recommended limits. The steering will be extremely light, and the car will "wander" if the caster is set too negatively.
This will require regular adjustments to keep the car on a straight path. When a caster is set too much to the positive side, the car will experience heavy steering and jerking every time it hits a bump.
Most passenger cars do not have adjustable casters; however, they should always be examined while having wheels aligned. It is likely that the car has worn-out suspension parts or has damage if the caster is not within tolerances or changes from side to side.
