Study

Study of
of Wheel
Wheel Alignment
Alignment and
and Wheel
Wheel
Balancing
Balancing

Meet
Meet Shah
Shah U12ME194
U12ME194
By
By Krishan Gupta U12ME195
Krishan Gupta U12ME195

Wheel
Wheel Alignment
Alignment

A
A wheel
wheel alignment
alignment consists
consists of
of adjusting
adjusting the
the angles
angles of
of the
the wheels
wheels so
so that
that they
they ar
ar
perpendicular
perpendicular to
to the
the ground
ground and
and parallel
parallel to
to each
each other.
other.
The
The purpose
purpose of
of these
these adjustments
adjustments is
is to
to achieve
achieve maximum
maximum tire
tire life
life
and
and aa vehicle
vehicle that
that tracks
tracks straight
straight and
and true
true when
when driving
driving along
along aa
straight
straight and
and level
level road.
road.
Wheel
Wheel Alignment
Alignment is
is often
often confused
confused with
with Wheel
Wheel Balancing
Balancing
IfIf aa wheel
wheel is
is out
out of
of
balance
it
will
cause
balance it will cause
vibrations
vibrations at
at highway
highway
speeds,
speeds, which
which can
can be
be
felt
felt in
in the
the steering
steering
wheel
and/or
wheel and/or the
the
seat.
seat.

If
If the
the alignment
alignment is
is out
out it
it
can
can cause
cause excessive
excessive tire
tire
wear
and
steering
or
wear and steering or
tracking
tracking problems.
problems.

Important
Important terms
terms in
in Wheel
Wheel Alignment
Alignment

Camber
angle
Caster angle
Toe-in
Toe-out on turns

Camber
Camber angle
angle

Camber is the angle of the wheel, measured in degree

when viewed from the front of the vehicle. If the top
of the wheel is leaning out from the center of the car,
then the camber is positive, if it's leaning in, then the
camber is negative.
If the camber is different from side to side it
can cause a
pulling problem. The vehicle will pull to the
side with the more positive camber. On many
front-wheel-drive vehicles, camber is not
adjustable. If the camber is out on these
cars, it indicates that something is worn or
bent, possibly from an accident and must be
repaired or replaced.
The current trend is to have slightly negative
settings to increase vehicle stability and
improve handling.

Effects
Effects of
of Positive
Positive Camber
Camber
Slight positive camber results in a dynamic loading that allows
the tire to run relatively flat against the road surface.Positive
camber also directs the weight and shock load of the
vehicle on the larger inner wheel bearing and inboard portion of the
spindle rather than the outboard bearing. Positive camber in moderation
results in longer bearing life, less likely sudden load failure, and as a side
benefit, easier steering. Excessive positive camber wears the outside of
the tire and can cause wear to suspension parts such as wheel bearings
and spindles.
Effects
Effects of
of Negative
Negative Camber
Camber
Variations in negative camber can be used to improve the
handling of a vehicle.A setting of 1/2 negative on both sides will
improve cornering without affecting tire life greatly. This
negative setting compensates for the slight positive camber change of
the outside tire due
to vehicle roll, thereby allowing a flatter tire contact patch during
cornering. Excessive
negative camber wears the inside of the tire and similar to positive

Caster
Caster Angle
Angle

When you turn the steering wheel, the front wheels

respond by turning on a pivot attached to the
suspension system. Caster is the angle of this steerin
pivot, measured in degrees, when viewed from the
side of the vehicle. If the top of the pivot is leaning
toward the rear of the car, then the caster is positive
if it is leaning toward the front, it is negative.
If the caster is out of adjustment, it can
cause problems in straight line tracking. If
the caster is different from side to side, the
vehicle will pull to the side with the less
positive caster.
If the caster is equal but too negative, the
steering will be light and the vehicle will
wander and be difficult to keep in a straight
line.
If the caster is equal but too positive, the
steering will be heavy and the steering
wheel may kick when you hit a bump.

Toe
Toe In
In

The toe measurement is the difference in the distance

between the front of the tires and the back of the tires
It is measured in fractions of an inch in the US and is
usually set close to zero which means that the wheels
are parallel with each other.
Toe-in means that the fronts of the tires are
closer to each other than the rears. Toe-out is
just the opposite.
An incorrect toe-in will cause rapid tire wear
to both tires equally. This type of tire wear is
called a saw-tooth wear pattern.
If the sharp edges of the tread sections are
pointing to the center of the car, then there
is too much toe-in.
If they are pointed to the outside of the car
then there is too much toe-out. Toe is always
adjustable on the front wheels and on some
cars, is also adjustable for the rear wheels.

Toe
Toe Out
Out on
on turns
turns

When a vehicle is turned, the inner front wheel

must toe-out more than the outer wheel.The in
wheel must turn this tighter radius to avoid
scrubbing.This is also known as the Ackerman
effect.Viewing the vehicle from the top as it is
turning, the front wheels should turn on two
different radii.

To provide true rolling motion, the inner

wheel must
be turned through a greater angle than
the outer
wheel. This allows the inner wheel to turn
through
a smaller turning radius than the outer
wheel.

Wheel
Wheel Balancing
Balancing

t-of-balance tires will cause a car to vibrate at certain speeds, usually between 5
mph. A tire is out of balance when one section of the tire is heavier than the oth

One ounce (28.3gm) of imbalance on a front tire is enough to cause a

noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at about 60mph.
To balance a
which spins
the wheel to

wheel, the technician will mount it on a balancing machine

locate the heavier part.

He will then compensate for the heavy part by attaching a lead weight on the
opposite side.
Many people are pleasantly surprised at how smooth their car drives after
balancing
all four wheels.