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Basic Alignment - Alignment Angles

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Created on Thursday, 06 January 2011 19:07
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Alignment Angles

What is your mechanic talking about when he says your toe angle is off? There are four basic alignment angles:

 
 What is alignment?
 Benefits of a proper alignment
 Tire wear problems and solutions

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Toe
Toe In - Front of tires are shorter distance than rear tires across the axle

Toe Out - Rear of tires are shorter ­distance than front of tires across the axle
 Effects:    
    Most important angle for tire wear
    Excessive toe will wear tires quickly

angles-camber-web

Camber
Camber - Tilt of tire inward or outward
 Effects:
   
Can cause uneven tire wear

Cross camber - The difference in camber from side to side
 Effects:
    Can cause the vehicle to pull to the greater side

angles-caster-web

Caster
Caster - Tilt of the steering axis to the front or back
 Effects:
   
Helps with directional stability
Cross caster - The difference in caster from side to side
 Effects:
    Can cause the vehicle to pull to the lesser side

angles-thrust-web 

Thrust
Path or track of the rear axle compared to the centerline of the vehicle
 Effects:
   
May cause a pull or lead to one side
    May cause a crooked steering wheel