|
|
| |
Aligning a vehicle's front wheels is the job of balancing the
steering angles with the physical forces being exerted. The steering
angles are; caster, camber, toe-in, steering axis inclination, and
toe-out on turns. The physical forces are gravity, momentum,
friction, and centrifugal force. Since so many factors are involved
in front wheel alignment, it is also called front end alignment,
steering alignment, steering balance, or steering geometry. Alignment
is more than just adjusting the angularity of the front wheels. With
steadily increasing production of front wheel drive vehicles with
independent rear suspension, four wheel alignment is often required.
For ideal wheel alignment, certain conditions would have to be met.
Both front tires will be the same brand, size, and type. Each will
have the same degree of tread wear, and be inflated with the same
pressure. Each wheel is properly and equally adjusted for angularity,
each tire will maintain the same area of tread contact on a smooth
road surface. Obviously, it is impossible to maintain all these
requirements.
The steering control rods are used to adjust toe-in and toe-out. The
upper and/or lower control arms are adjusted to affect the camber
angle. Caster is usually not adjustable.
With all the weight balance factors to be checked out and corrected,
it is obvious that wheel alignment is more than just an adjustment of
the steering angles. The whole theory of wheel alignment revolves
around balanced weight distribution on the wheels and proper tire
tread contact with the road surface while the vehicle is in motion.
|
|
|
|
|
