To prevent vibration, skidding, noise, and abnormal wear, wheel alignment inspection is necessary.
Caster angle settings when compared (from the side) allow the vehicle manufacturer to balance steering effort, high speed stability and front end cornering effectiveness. Increasing the amount of positive caster will increase steering effort and straight line tracking as well as improving high speed stability and cornering effectiveness, whereas decreasing positive caster results in less steering stability.
The camber prevents tire abrasion and increases steering manipulation. According to the angle at which the top or bottom portion of a tire pulls inward or outward when the car is on a flat surface, there are three types of camber: positive, negative and neutral.
With the development of suspension and auto technology, most vehicles today have negative camber. In the case of negative camber, the car tilts when cornering due to centrifugal force. The outer tires area of contact with the road surface increases, which allows for safe cornering.
The toe refers to the directional difference between the front and back of a tire formed by the upper part of an axis on a flat plane. There are two types of toe: toe-in and toe-out. Toe-in indicates the tires front part pulled inward and toe-out indicates the tires front part pulled outward. In the case of severe toe-out, abrasion occurs on the tires inner surface. In the case of severe toe-in, abrasion occurs on the tires outer surface. Both cases experience a high degree of resistance from the road surface, which results in decreased drivability and greater fuel cost. A controlled degree of toe-in increases safety in straight line driving and offsets inner abrasion that occurs due to negative camber.
The purpose of wheel alignment is to adjust front-wheel handling while driving. If wheel alignment is off, tire life is shortened while car and mileage performance also decrease.
To find out more about tire balance, click ‘Balance’
We recommend checking wheel alignment during an annual inspection or for every 20,000 km.
An inspection is required when,