Front Wheel Alignment

Wheel alignment in a car refers to adjusting the wheel angles in such a manner that they are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. These adjustments are carried out to ensure that tires last long and the car moves ahead in a straight line while driving on a straight and leveled road. Whenever there is unexpected wear and tear of tiers or the car drifts away to one side or vibration at the steering while driving very fast, it is an indication that wheels need to be aligned properly.

It is always better to get an alignment job done from a car shop or a tire specialist. Though the process is not very tough, there is certain amount of basic knowledge required for aligning car wheels back to their ideal position. Wheel alignment requires three measurements - toe, camber and caster. All these are explained in detail below.

Basic Wheel Alignment Terms Explained

Caster
Caster is defined as the tilting of the topmost point on the axis of the car steering. The tilting is either backward or forward when seen from the sides of the car. A forward tilt is denoted by a negative (-) sign, while a backward tilt is denoted by a positive (+) sign. Wearing of the tiers is not affected by caster, but it surely does affect the steering's direction control. The car body has to be kept at its predetermined height as it has a bearing on the caster. A positive caster is a result of the car rear-side being lower than the normal height. In case the rear-side of the car is higher than the normal height, the front suspension shows a less positive caster. If there is a difference between caster values of two wheels, the wheel starts pulling towards the car's center. This makes the vehicle drift towards the side which has a lower caster value.

Camber
The angling of the wheels from the vertical when seen from the front of the car, is known as camber. If the wheels angle inwards from the top the camber value is negative (-), while the value is positive (+) when the wheels angle outwards from the top. Directional control as well as wearing of the tires is affected by camber settings. If the camber is a too much on the positive side, tires then suspension parts will wear off quickly. High negative camber will wear the tiers as well as suspension parts on the inside. In case the difference in camber value for two tires which are side-by-side is more than 1 degree, it will result in the car being pulled to the side which has a higher positive camber.

Toe
Toe measurement defines how much front wheels have turned on the inside or outside from a straight position. If the wheels have turned on the outside, the toe value is negative (-) and when the wheels have turned on the inside, the toe value is positive (+). Usually, the value of toe is only a fraction of a degree. The toe makes sure that the wheels run parallel to each other when the car is moving. Steering imbalance and quick wearing of tires are possible results of a faulty toe adjustment.

How to Re-Align the Front Wheel

It is always recommended to get a re-alignment job done from a professional as it requires some amount of technical knowledge and certain specific equipment as well. However, the method given below can be used to re-adjust front wheels to a certain extent. It should be tried only by people having basic knowledge about cars.

• To start with, arrange for two PU type plastic bags and one laser pointer.
• Park the car on a flat surface and place one plastic bag behind each front wheel.
• The plastic bag helps in keeping the wheel at a minimum frictional position for alignment purposes.
• Reverse the car a little bit to get both front wheels on the plastic bags. Adjust the car steering to its original straight position.
• Using a laser pointer, adjust the beam from the tire's front edge to the rear edge in a little bit downward position, so that the beam falls on the ground and forms an angle.
• Repeat the process for the other wheel to get its total toe angle.
• There will be an adjustment screw under the car wheel which needs to be loosened. Adjust the rod as per requirements to either increase or decrease the toe angle.
• For cars with a back wheel drive, the ideal angle is 0, but the angle for front wheel drive cars need to be calculated and adjusted accordingly.

Re-alignment Cost

Wheel alignment costs involves mainly labor expenses and hence cost differs from place to place depending upon the standard of living in the particular area. There are several tire centers and car shops which provide this service, details of which can be found online or in any business directory. The cost ranges from US $30 to US $70, depending upon the area. For people wanting to align all four wheels, the tire alignment cost could be anywhere between US $50 to US $100, again depending upon the area.

Information on when to do a re-alignment will be provided in the manual. Generally, alignment needs to be done once a year or after every 10,000 miles the car runs, whichever is earlier. Modern cars have an advantage as they require only a toe adjustment and no caster or camber adjustments.