BASIC WHEEL ALIGNMENT

M
odern steering and ples. Therefore, let’s review these basic the effort needed to turn the wheel.
suspension systems alignment angles with an eye toward Power steering allows the use of more
are great examples of typical complaints and troubleshooting. positive caster than would be accept-
solid geometry at able with manual steering.
work. Wheel align- Caster Too little caster can make steering
ment integrates all the factors of steer- Caster is the tilt of the steering axis of unstable and cause wheel shimmy. Ex-
ing and suspension geometry to pro- each front wheel as viewed from the tremely negative caster and the related
vide safe handling, good ride quality side of the vehicle. Caster is measured shimmy can contribute to cupped wear
and maximum tire life. in degrees of an angle. If the steering of the front tires. If caster is unequal
Front wheel alignment is described axis tilts backward—that is, the upper from side to side, the vehicle will pull
in terms of angles formed by steering ball joint or strut mounting point is be- toward the side with less positive (or
and suspension components. Tradi- hind the lower ball joint—the caster more negative) caster. Remember this
tionally, five alignment angles are angle is positive. If the steering axis tilts when troubleshooting a complaint of
checked at the front wheels—caster, forward, the caster angle is negative. vehicle pull or wander.
camber, toe, steering axis inclination Caster is not measured for rear wheels.
(SAI) and toe-out on turns. When we Caster affects straightline stability Camber
move from two-wheel to four-wheel and steering wheel return. High posi- Camber is the tilt of the wheel from true
alignment, we add setback and the ve- tive caster makes the front wheels vertical as viewed from the front of the
hicle thrust angle into the equation. want to go straight ahead. A normal vehicle. Like caster, camber is measured
Rear wheel camber and toe also must amount of positive caster provides sta- in degrees of an angle. If the tire ap-
be checked for a four-wheel alignment. bility and makes the steering wheel pears to tilt outward at the top, the cam-
straighten out after turning. On the ber angle is positive. If the top of the tire
Tire Wear & other hand, positive caster increases tilts inward, the camber angle is negative.
Directional Control
Camber, toe and toe-out on turns are
tire-wear angles. If they’re incorrect,
Caster Camber
the tires will wear unevenly and faster Caster Angle Camber Angle
than normal. Because camber is relat-
True Wheel
ed to steering axis inclination, SAI also Vertical Centerline
can be considered a tire-wearing angle. True Vertical (0°) Ball Joint (0°)
Caster and setback are not tire-wear Centerline
angles unless extremely out of specifi-
cation. All alignment angles are direc-
tional control angles, which means
they affect steering and vehicle control.
Troubleshooting a complaint about
vehicle handling, ride or vibration starts
with knowing what a particular align-
ment angle does and how all the angles
work together. Before you plunge into Front
system diagnosis, take a moment to of Car
think about the system operating princi-

BY KEN LAYNE
June 2002 43
 Toe Toe Change
Zero Toe Tie Rod
Too Short Suspension
Travel
Front of Car
Tie Rod
End Travel

Toe-In

Outer Tie Rod Suspension

End Too High Travel

Toe-Out Tie Rod

End Travel

Zero camber—a perfectly vertical affects straight-ahead stability and race cars and some high-performance
wheel and tire—causes the least tire steering wheel return. As the vehicle street vehicles have negative camber.
wear. Positive camber causes the outer turns, the outside suspension tends to Rear wheels usually have zero cam-
tread of the tire to wear more than the rise on the wheel because of positive ber, but some independent rear sus-
inner tread; negative camber has the camber. When the wheel returns to pensions are designed with some
opposite effect. Engineers design small straight ahead, the vehicle’s weight amount of (usually negative) camber
amounts of positive or negative camber presses down on the steering axis and angle. If front camber angles are un-
into vehicle suspensions to aid handling helps straighten the wheel. equal side to side, the vehicle pulls to-
and steering. Normal camber angles Negative camber resists the tendency ward the side with the greater positive
have little visible effect on tire wear, but of the tire to slip sideways during cor- camber. Unequal rear camber also can
extreme camber causes noticeably ab- nering. It also can increase steering ef- affect vehicle handling.
normal tire wear and shortens tire life. fort. Most cars and light trucks are de-
Positive camber, like positive caster, signed with positive camber, but many Toe
Toe is how the wheels are aimed, as
Toe-Out On Turns viewed from above. A pair of front or
rear wheels aimed inward at the for-
ward edges have toe-in; wheels aimed
outward have toe-out. The toe angle
Centerline of Right Front Wheel for front or rear wheels is measured in
fractions of an inch, millimeters or
fractions of a degree.
Zero toe—wheels aimed straight
ahead—causes the least tire wear. Ex-
Turning Center treme toe-in or toe-out causes feather-
edged wear across the tire tread. Too
much toe-in wears the outside tread
edges, with feathered edges on the in-
side of each tread row. Too much toe-
Centerline 20°
of Left out has the opposite effect.
18° Front wheels are usually toed in on
Front Wheel
rear-drive vehicles and toed out on
front-drives to compensate for changes
Centerline of in the steering linkage and tires when
Rear Wheels the vehicle is moving. When the vehi-

44 June 2002
cle is moving, toe decreases (or disap-
pears) because the wheels straighten Steering Axis Included Angle
out under acceleration and the steer-
ing linkage flexes slightly.
Inclination (SAI) 0°
0° Included
Toe change, or bump steer, occurs Steering Axis Angle
Inclination Vertical Camber
when a steering tie rod is the wrong
Steering
length or is installed at the wrong an- Steering Axis
gle. The outer tie-rod end moves up Axis Inclination
Centerline
and down as the suspension compress-
es and extends. If tie-rod length or an-
gle is incorrect, it pulls or pushes the
steering arm and aims the wheel in a
new direction. The driver feels this
when the steering wheel jerks to one
side as the car goes over a bump or dip.

Toe-Out on Turns
Toe-out on turns also is called turning
radius, or the Ackerman angle. As a ve-
hicle turns, the outside front wheel
turns at a lesser angle than the inside
wheel. This causes the front tires to toe
out during cornering. Thrust Angle the thrust angle, but the rear suspen-
Some amount of toe-out on turns is The thrust angle is the angle between sion design may not allow toe correc-
necessary because the outside wheel the vehicle’s geometric centerline and tion. If a thrust angle can’t be elimi-
must turn on a larger radius than the in- the direction in which the rear nated, align the front wheels to the
side wheel. If wheel turning angles wheels are aimed. If the rear wheels thrust line rather than to the vehicle’s
were equal, the outside tire would scuff point straight ahead, the thrust line geometric centerline. Aligning the
as it tried to turn on a shorter radius. and the geometric centerline are the front wheels to the centerline with
Toe-out on turns is designed into a same, and there is no thrust angle. the rear wheels driving along a differ-
vehicle’s steering geometry and must When a vehicle is being driven ent thrust line can result in any or all
be equal in both right and left direc- straight ahead, the rear wheels steer of the following: a crooked steering
tions. Toe-out on turns is not ad- it along the thrust line, so a zero wheel, incorrect front camber and
justable. Angles that are unequal from thrust angle is ideal. toe while moving, accelerated tire
side to side or out of specification are Adjusting rear toe should correct wear or pull.
caused by vehicle damage.

Steering Axis Inclination Thrust Angle Setback Right

Geometric Thrust Wheel
Steering axis inclination (SAI) is the tilt Centerline Line Set
of the steering axis from vertical as Back
viewed from the front. It’s an angle
formed by a line through the centers of
the lower and upper ball joints of the
strut mount. Like caster, SAI affects
steering feel and stability. In a suspen-
sion that doesn’t have much caster, Measured
in Inches
high SAI can provide solid steering Behind
feel and stability. Left
SAI plus the camber angle form Wheel
what’s called the included angle. If cam-
ber is positive, the included angle is Thrust
Angle
greater than SAI; if camber is negative,
the included angle is less than SAI.
Knowing the SAI, camber and included
angle can help you diagnose problems
in the steering knuckles and suspension.

June 2002 45
Setback at the bottom of a front or rear rocker ings. Their complaints usually identify
Setback is a condition in which one panel or the top of a wheel well. Be- the effects of steering and suspension
wheel on an axle is in front of or be- cause vehicle body panels are not the problems rather than the causes. Own-
hind the other wheel in relation to the most accurate data points (with the pos- er complaints that relate to wheel
chassis. Setback is actually designed in- sibility of collision damage), ride height alignment generally relate to poor han-
to some vehicles, such as old Ford is more accurately measured from dling, hard steering, vibration or tire
trucks with twin I-beam front axles, points on the suspension or frame. wear. The first step in diagnosing a
but incorrect setback most often re- Many trucks are fitted with a variety problem is to determine the category
sults from collision damage. Extremely of wheel and tire sizes, suspension op- into which it fits. A careful road test
uneven caster also can cause setback at tions and lift kits. Therefore, truck followed by a thorough inspection will
the front wheels. manufacturers often specify different get you off to a proper start.
caster angles for different ride heights
Ride Height on the same basic truck model. A Final Word:
Strictly speaking, ride height is not an Check the Tires
alignment angle. It can, however, affect Start With the Before you begin your road test, take a
other angles, especially caster. Many Customer Complaint close look at the tires. Most cars and
manufacturers specify ride height mea- Customers rarely complain about “an light trucks should have four tires of
surement positions for alignment ad- incorrect Ackerman angle,” “too much the same size and tread pattern. At
justment. Ride height often is measured caster” or even worn control arm bush- least the pair on each axle should be
the same size and have approximately
equal wear patterns.
Ride Height Next, check the tire pressures. Oc-
casionally, you’ll find a tire that’s over-
inflated, but probably two-thirds of the
tires rolling down the highways today
are underinflated. Bring all four tires
Front Rear to their recommended inflation pres-
sures. Most car owners will be sur-
prised by how a simple tire pressure
check can solve problems like vehicle
wander, brake pull, hard steering and a
spongy ride.
During your road test evaluation and
alignment measurements, remember
the basic purposes of alignment angles
Measure and how they all work together to main-
Distance
tain vehicle motion balance.

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article. Copies are also available
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Answers to Previous
Assessment Quiz
(Battery Operation & Testing, Apr. 2002)
1-C 2-C 3-D 4-C 5-B
6-C 7-D 8-B 9-A 10-C

46 June 2002