Today, people far from the automotive world know about the procedure for adjusting the camber toe. Nevertheless, not everyone understands very well what camber is, what is its importance and when to check and adjust camber. We will talk about this in this article.
What is camber toe
Camber and wheel convergence (or as it is also called wheel alignment), these are the angles of their installation, and the values of these angles will be different for different car models. Camber is the angle of inclination of the wheel in relation to the roadbed. When tilting outward, they speak of a positive camber, when tilting inward, camber is called negative. Excessively positive or negative camber leads to rapid rubber wear, nevertheless, in motorsport, negative camber is used - it allows you to increase the severity of the steering response, and for SUVs, a positive camber angle is sometimes used.
Toe-in is the difference in distance between the front and rear points of the front wheels. In other words, this is the horizontal angle of their installation. Toe-in is positive if the distance between the front points of the wheel rims is less than between the rear ones, but if this distance is greater, they speak of negative toe-in of the wheels. There is also a caster or castor. Its incorrect values can lead to difficulties in driving and a general decrease in the car's controllability in corners. Well, another important theoretical point is that toe-in, like castor itself, is exposed only on the front wheels of the car.
When and why do you need to do wheel alignment
Toe adjustment is carried out in our reality approximately every 15 - 20 thousand kilometers for domestic cars, and every 30–35 thousand kilometers for foreign cars. But, this is, so to speak, a planned check, and meanwhile, in a number of cases, it is necessary to check and adjust the camber and before the due date. Among these cases, the following can be noted:
- a hole in the road or another hard blow to the chassis and suspension;
- repair or replacement of ball joints, silent blocks, levers, and so on;
- repair of the steering rack or replacement of the tips of the steering rods;
- high degree of tire wear;
- problems with the car's handling or keeping it on a straight trajectory;
- unreasonably rapid tire wear;
- change in vehicle ground clearance;
What ensures the correct alignment of the camber and castor?
- longer service life of tires;
- high degree of vehicle controllability in turns and bends;
- stable behavior of the car on the road;
- higher responsiveness of the car to steering commands;
- slight reduction in fuel consumption;
The importance of correct camber alignment can be summed up in two words - safety and economy. Therefore, you should not neglect this procedure in any case.
How to make wheel alignment
Today, the check and adjustment of the camber is carried out at service stations equipped with special stands. The most common now are optical and computer stands for adjusting the toe-in. The debate about where it is better to make such an adjustment has not subsided for more than a year. We will say that everything here depends on the level of skill and conscientiousness of the specialist who performs this procedure. The indisputable advantage of computer stands is that the position of the rear wheels is taken into account when adjusting the toe camber. Nevertheless, on optical stands it is possible to set almost ideal wheel alignment angles. But before adjusting the camber, you should make sure that the front tires are balanced and that the chassis is working properly. Otherwise, there is no point in adjusting the toe camber. After repairing or replacing the necessary components, the procedure will have to be repeated again. Yes, and such an adjustment, if there are problems with the chassis or suspension, will not give the desired effect. If you are not sure whether the cause of the problems that have appeared is a violation of the toe camber, or the reason is in something else, then it is certainly worth checking out.
In addition to everything described above, the camber check procedure carried out by an experienced specialist allows you to determine whether the car has been in a traffic accident. For the violation of the relative position of the side members, curvature of the geometry of the body and other consequences of impacts, at first glance, are very imperceptible. However, they cannot not be reflected on the corners of the wheels.
In the event that during the ride you have caught a sufficiently deep hole or have jammed the disc in any other way, before checking the toe camber, the damaged disc should either be corrected on a special machine or replaced. In addition, before the procedure for checking and adjusting, it is imperative to check the tire pressure. The difference in this pressure can neutralize all the work and even lead to an aggravation of the problems that have arisen. In addition, knowledgeable people advise every ten thousand kilometers to swap the front and rear wheels. This simple procedure allows you to ensure even wear on your tires. The fact is that the rubber on the front wheels always wears out faster than on the rear.
Much in the accuracy and efficiency of toe-out adjustment will depend on the calibration of the stand on which this procedure is performed. But this, as already mentioned, refers to the conscientiousness of the specialist who performs the check. The performance of the tool is primarily the concern of the master.
Video about wheel alignment
conclusions
Checking and adjusting wheel alignment is an important and necessary procedure. Moreover, it is important in our conditions, with our roads and their condition. Setting the correct camber angles allows you to increase the vehicle's handling, stability and stability while driving. Also, due to the correct values of the wheel alignment angles, tire wear and fuel consumption are reduced.
