Wheel Alignment - Check Suspension Settings After Changing Tires
If the car pulls to the left or right when driving straight on a flat surface, or even worse - the tires squeak in turns, then you need to check the alignment.
Wheel geometry directly affects safety. The purpose of the adjustment is to maximize the vehicle's grip on the road and the durability of the tires and suspension. It also affects fuel consumption and driving comfort. When adjusting wheel geometry, the goal is to set the correct camber angle and wheel parallelism. Four main angles are adjustable: camber angle, toe angle, steering knuckle angle and steering knuckle angle.
See also: Summer tires - when to change and what type of tread to choose? Guide
Camber angle
Tilt angle is the yaw angle of the wheel as viewed from the front of the vehicle. Excessive camber causes uneven tire wear.
Positive camber is when the top of the wheel is leaning away from the car. Too much positive angle will wear the outer surface of the tire tread. Negative camber is when the top of the wheel is leaning towards the car. Too much negative angle will wear the inside of the tire tread.
The correct lean angle is set so that the wheels of the vehicle lie flat on the ground when turning. If the difference between the camber angles on the front axle is large, the vehicle will tend to pull hard to the side.
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Wheel alignment
Toe is the difference in distance between the front and rear wheels on an axle. The toe angle affects how the car behaves when cornering. Toe-in is when the distance between the wheels on the axle is smaller in front than in the rear. This situation causes the car to understeer when entering a corner, i.e. it tends to throw the front of the body out of the corner.
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Too much toe-in shows up as tread wear, starting at the outer edges. A discrepancy occurs when the distance between the wheels on the axle at the rear is smaller than at the front. Divergence causes oversteer in corners, meaning that the rear of the car tends to run out of the corner and slide forward in the corner.
When the wheels diverge, wear of the tread will begin from the inside. This type of wear is called wear and you can clearly feel it by running your hand over the tread.
Steering Angle
This is the angle formed by the steering knuckle with a vertical line perpendicular to the ground, measured along the transverse axis of the vehicle. In the case of cars with ball studs (hinges), this is a straight line passing through the axis of rotation of these studs when turning.
The distance of the points formed by the passage through the plane of the road axis: steering pin and camber, is called the turning radius. The turning radius is positive if the intersection of these axes is below the road surface. On the other hand, how do we decrease if they lie higher.
Adjustment of this parameter is possible only simultaneously with the adjustment of the angle of rotation of the wheel. Modern cars use a negative turning radius, which allows you to drive straight when braking, even if one of the brake circuits is damaged..
See also: Car suspension - a review after the winter step by step. Guide
Steering Angle
The extension of the knuckle pin causes a stabilizing moment from the lateral reactions of the ground, which helps to stabilize the steered wheels, especially at high speeds and with a large turning radius.
This angle is defined as positive (steering knuckle in) if the point of intersection of the pivot axis with the road is in front of the contact point of the tire with the road. On the other hand, stall (knuckle braking angle) occurs when the point of intersection of the steering knuckle axis with the road occurs after the point of contact of the tire with the road.
Correctly setting the steering wheel advance angle allows the vehicle's wheels to automatically return to a straight-line position after a turn has been made.
Click to view camber adjustment pictures
Loss of wheel alignment
A change in the geometry of the wheels of a car, although relatively rare, can be caused by hitting a curb or hitting a hole in the road at high speed. Also, the operation of the car on the pits, roughness of the road means that problems with wheel alignment will increase over time. Wheel alignment was also broken as a result of the accident.
But the wheel alignment can change during normal use. This is due to normal wear of suspension components such as wheel bearings, rocker pins and tie rods.
Wheel alignment is adjusted by checking the wheel alignment and comparing it with the specifications provided by the vehicle manufacturer.
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Setting the correct camber is a simple operation, but it cannot be done at home or in the garage. This requires appropriate factory data and special tools. The entire suspension adjustment takes about 30 minutes. Its cost - depending on the car - is approximately from PLN 80 to 400.
According to the specialist
Mariusz Staniuk, owner of the AMS Toyota car dealership and service in Słupsk:
– Alignment should be adjusted after a seasonal tire change. And this should be done especially now, when changing winter tires to summer ones. After winter, when driving conditions are harsher than other seasons, suspension and steering components tend to fail. In addition, geometry should be checked when installing new tires on wheels. And it is absolutely necessary to go to the adjustment when we see that the tire tread wears out incorrectly, i.e. one side wears out faster, or when the tread is notched. Another dangerous sign of incorrect alignment is creaking when cornering or pulling the car to the side when driving straight. Geometry also needs to be checked when the vehicle undergoes major modification, such as suspension tuning. And also when replacing individual suspension elements - for example, bushings or rocker fingers, rocker arms themselves or tie rod ends.
Wojciech Frölichowski
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