Modern Equipment Greatly Simplifies the Wheel Alignment Process. But
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TOTAL 4-WHEEL4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT BY MIKE MAVRIGIAN Modern equipment greatly simplifies the wheel alignment process. But it’s still important to understand how alignment angles are measured, as well as their effect on driveability, braking, tire wear and handling. he old method of wheel alignment allows you to adjust and alignment, called center- hopefully correct rear axle thrust angle, line two-wheel align- then to adjust the front wheels parallel ment, should now be to the rear wheels. considered obsolete. •If the vehicle does not allow rear This method does not wheel angle adjustment, take advantage consider the rear wheel positions, and it of a four-wheel thrust line alignment Tsimply isn’t effective, because it ignores approach. the thrust direction of the rear axle. •If the vehicle does allow rear wheel A much more effective method is angle adjustment, perform a total four- called thrust line or thrust angle align- wheel alignment. ment, which considers the actual loca- Granted, a state-of-the-art computer- tion and direction of the rear wheels. ized wheel alignment system will walk a This allows you to adjust the front wheel technician through the steps, perform all angles relative to the rear wheel angles, necessary calculations and instruct the regardless of the geometric centerline. technician to adjust angles in order to If the vehicle in question features meet an OE specification for a specific rear wheel toe adjustment, you can production vehicle. However, it’s also im- achieve optimum wheel alignment using portant to understand wheel angles and the total four-wheel approach, by refer- what these angles represent in terms of ring to and adjusting the vehicle thrust driveability, braking, tire wear and han- angle to as close to zero as possible. dling. In other words, it’s helpful to un- If the thrust angle is off zero, it can derstand wheel alignment theory. Only contribute to vehicle dog-tracking by grasping the rudiments of wheel an- (crooked body relative to direction of gles will you be able to appreciate how travel), increased tire wear and unequal these angles affect a vehicle in motion. left/right turning. Total four-wheel A number of dimensional angles are Engineering Hunter courtesy photo Harold A. Perry; Photoillustration: 30 June 2007 June 2007 31 TOTAL 4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT Before any alignment work begins (especially if the wheels/ tires are being installed during the job), it’s critical to fol- low correct wheel fastener tightening procedures in terms of both torque and sequence. While a problem with either may not directly influence wheel angle, warpage of the wheel or rotor can result in dynamic balance issues and Mavrigian Mike Photos: brake pedal pulsation. And don’t forget the basics: Always Some exotic ultra performance vehicles, such as this check tire inflation and measure vehicle ride height before Porsche Carerra GT (featuring pin-drive wheels), require measuring or correcting wheel angles. special adapters to allow attachment of alignment heads. involved in wheel alignment theory, but control of a vehicle, turning response variances in suspension and steering only three are considered adjustable. and tire tread life. Toe-related tread systems, the goal is to establish a static These are wheel toe, camber and caster. wear will cause a feathering wear pat- toe angle that will result in a zero toe We’ll explain each of these adjustable tern across the tread. With too much condition when the vehicle is driven in angles, then follow with an overview of toe-in, the feathering will angle in- a straight line. how these wheel angles affect optimum ward, toward the center of the vehicle; Speaking in general terms, a rear- handling, braking and tire life. too much toe-out causes feathering drive vehicle would likely require a front that angles outward. wheel toe-in (positive) setting, and a Wheel Toe Because of the compliance in con- front-drive vehicle would likely require a Wheel toe describes the relationship of trol arm bushings and other dynamic slight toe-out (negative) setting. The rea- the right and left wheels on the same son? Commonly, as a rear-drive vehicle axle, as viewed from overhead. It’s mea- moves forward, the front wheels tend to sured by comparing the distance be- try to push outward (to crawl away from tween the center of the front of the tires each other); and a front-drive vehicle’s to a distance between the centers of the front wheels tend to try to crawl inward. rear of the tires on the same axle. Toe-out (negative toe) is present Camber when the wheels are farther apart in As viewed from the front or rear of the front of the axle centerline and closer vehicle, camber refers to the “lean” of together behind it. Toe-in (positive toe) the wheel from top to bottom. A wheel is when the two wheels on the same that leans outward at the top (compared axle are closer together at the front and to true vertical) has positive camber. wider apart at the rear. When the mea- One that leans inward at the top has sured distance between the front of the negative camber. If the wheel is oriented wheels (ahead of the steering axle cen- in a true vertical, it’s called zero camber. terline) is identical to the distance be- Camber must always be adjusted to tween the wheels behind the axle cen- maximize the tread contact patch terline, the condition is called zero toe. based on the driving requirements. In All front suspensions, regardless of most cases, OE specifications will rec- Photo courtesy Hunter Engineering Hunter courtesy Photo design, feature toe angle adjustment, at Measuring angles on all four wheels ommend a slightly positive or zero a location on the steering tie rods or tie (even if the rears are not adjustable) camber to maximize tire wear and trac- rod ends. Live rear axles feature no toe permits a four-wheel alignment, al- tion, and to provide easier steering and angle adjustment, but independent rear lowing front wheel alignment adjust- greater resistance to directional darting suspensions usually do offer the feature. ments to compensate for a slightly in a straight line. The toe angle affects the directional incorrect rear thrust angle. If the wheel features a static negative 32 June 2007 TOTAL 4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT camber angle (vehicle sitting idle), this places more tread load at the road sur- face on the inner shoulder and tread area. Negative camber is regularly em- ployed on performance vehicles (espe- cially race cars on road courses) in order to increase the tire contact patch during hard turns. Since lateral loading (when a car goes into a hard turn) will try to push the top of the inside tire outward, an adequate negative camber angle may be dialed in to compensate for this. So, while the front wheels may display neg- Fig. 1: Examples of camber angles are (from left): ative camber as the vehicle rolls negative camber, zero camber and positive camber. straight, when it goes into a hard turn, the wheel facing the direction of the lower arm would move further outward. with an independent rear axle, camber turn will try to “straighten up,” achiev- If more positive camber is needed, the should be adjustable either via eccentric ing maximum tread contact with the upper arm would move outward, or the bushings at the inboard control arm piv- road. If camber isn’t sufficiently nega- lower arm would move inward. ot points or by means of an eccentric at tive, this tire would lean too far, causing On strut-equipped vehicles, camber the strut-to-rear upright. If adjustment the inside of the tread to lift and placing can be adjusted in one of two ways—by is available (either through OE design excess stress and load only on the out- adjusting the top of the strut mount in- or with the use of aftermarket ad- side of the tread and outer shoulder. ward or outward at the upper towers or justers), it’s best to always adhere to OE Either by using OE adjustment provi- by adjusting an eccentric bolt at the specifications for street driving. sions or aftermarket custom adjustment lower mount, where the strut attaches Camber directly affects tire wear, components, all front suspension cam- to the steering knuckle upright. If the since an improperly adjusted camber ber angles are adjustable. If an upper or vehicle’s OE design provides no adjust- angle may contribute to excessive inner lower control arm is involved, the arm ment, aftermarket adjusters and kits are or outer tire tread wear. will be adjustable by either adding or re- readily available for either top-strut or moving adjuster shims between it and bottom-strut applications. Caster the frame, or by rotating an eccentric Rear camber may or may not be ad- The steering axle’s caster involves the re- shaft or eccentric washers. In some cas- justable, depending on the type of rear lationship of the upper ball joint (or top es, the lower arm may be adjustable via suspension on the vehicle. If a live axle of the strut mount) to the lower ball an eccentric shaft or washers. If more is present (a rigid one-piece axle hous- joint as viewed from the side of the vehi- negative camber is required, the upper ing on a rear-drive vehicle), camber cle. Using a true vertical drawn through arm would move further inward, or the likely won’t be adjustable. However, the hub center as a reference, caster an- Original equipment MacPherson struts are notorious for Some OE suspensions feature a handily adjustable ec- lacking a provision for camber adjustment.