What exactly are Camber, Caster, and Toe?. When a vehicle’s wheels are out of alignment, either due to wear over time or recent suspension work, it means they aren’t seating properly relative to the body. This can cause problems with tire wear, handling, braking capability, and high-speed stability, therefore it’s important to address.
When you send your car in to be aligned, the mechanic will evaluate what suspension modifications to make based on three key angles — camber, caster, and toe — which together indicate whether the wheels are in the appropriate locations.
Here, we go over each in detail.
CAMBER
How It is Measured
Camber is perhaps the easiest of the three angles to see. It describes how far the wheels/tires deviate from the ideal upright posture. The best way to see it is to look at the car from the front or back. Negative camber occurs when the top of a wheel tilts inward. If it leans outward, it has positive camber. Factory alignments typically call for zero to -1 degree of camber.
What Camber affects
The size and shape of the tire’s contact patch are directly proportional to its camber angle. As a result, it has an impact on grip — cornering, acceleration, and braking — as well as the tire’s primary functions. Camber also has an impact on tire wear; too much in one direction or the other, and the rubber wears unevenly.
CASTER
How It is Measured
Caster is the side-on angle between the wheel centerline and the upper steering pivot of a car. If you need a picture, envision a bicycle and draw a vertical line across the middle of the wheel and another from the top of the front fork. The caster is defined as the angle formed by those lines.
Positive caster positions the wheel center ahead of the pivot point, whereas negative caster positions it behind. All cars have some positive caster angle; otherwise, they would be uncontrolled. (Imagine attempting to steer a bicycle with the front fork pointed backward.)
What Caster affects
Caster angle has a significant impact on steering performance and vehicle stability at high speeds. More caster angle generally indicates better stability, but it reduces steering response, therefore the angle is a compromise dependent on the vehicle’s intent and use.
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TOE
How It is Measured
Toe is best understood by gazing at your feet. It describes the angle between the wheels and straight ahead as seen from above. Toe in is when the front of the tire points inward (like pigeon-toed). If it points out (think duck-footed), that means toe out.
What Does Toe Affect
On road vehicles, automakers typically set the toe to a neutral position, close to zero. This makes logical, as the wheels should be parallel to avoid colliding with one another while the car moves straight. If the toe angle is too large one way or the other, the tire may wear out prematurely and reduce fuel economy since it will spend energy attempting to follow a different route than the vehicle.
Manufacturers configure the suspension with a factory alignment that is both safe and adequate for the majority of users. So, when you take your automobile to be aligned, the shop will look up these data and utilize them to bring everything back into, well, alignment. If you’ve upgraded or replaced the suspension, the angles may alter, which is desirable for a track-prepared vehicle. These angles frequently range between the front (steering) and rear axles, and they can even vary from one side of the vehicle to the other.
