Wheel Alignment &

Balancing
 Introduction
 If a driver were required to expend a lot of energy to run the vehicle on
curves, he would be under a great physical and mental strain.
 The wheels are installed on the body, at certain angles in accordance
with certain requirements to eliminate these problems, as well as to
prevent early wearing of tyres. These angles,in combination, are called
“wheel alignment”.
 Steering is easy as long as the wheels are aligned properly, because the
steering wheel will remain in a straight ahead position on straight roads
with little help from the driver and will require little effort to turn on
curve
 In other words, steering is easy when all of the elements that make up
the angular relationship called “wheel alignment”, are proper.
 Wheel Alignment & balancing are Essential to safety, fuel economy and tire
life
 But if even one of these elements are incorrect, the following problems can
occur:
· Difficult steering · Poor steering stability
· Shortened tyre life · Poor recovery on curves
A vehicle may require an alignment if:
 Damage to any steering or suspension
parts or mounting locations
Engine cradle damage or position change
or suspension or steering parts removed
Damage to major structural components
 CAMBER
 The front wheels of the car are
installed with their tops tilted
outward or inward.
 This is called camber and is
measured in degrees of tilt from the
vertical.
 When the top of a wheel is tilted
outward, it is called positive
camber.
 Conversely, inward inclination is
called negative camber.
PROBLEMS CUASED BY INCORRCT CAMBER

1. Vehicle pulls to one side (with excessively unequal camber

settings on front wheels).
2. Rapid wear on inside of tyre tread (caused by excessive
negative camber).
3. Rapid wear on outside of tyre tread (caused by excessive
positive camber).
4. Increased wear on the wheel bearings.
5. Increased wear on ball joints (incorrect camber creates
increased leverage on spindle and spindle support resulting
in increased loads on ball joints).
 POSITIVE CAMBER
▶ Reduction of vertical load
Giving the wheel positive camber causes the load to
be applied to the inner side of the spindle, reducing
the force acting on the spindle and the steering
knuckle.
▶ Prevention of wheel slip-off
The reactive force, which is equal in size to the vehicle load,
is applied to the wheel perpendicularly to the road. this is
divided into perpendicular force to the axis of the spindle
and parallel force to the axis of the spindle which forces the
wheel inward, helping to prevent the wheel from slipping off
the spindle. The inner wheel bearing is made larger than the
outer one in order to bear this load.
▶ Prevention of undesirable negative camber
When a load is applied to the vehicle, the tops of the
wheels tend to tilt inward due to the deformation of the
suspension components and relevant bushings.
Positive camber also helps to prevent this.
 ZERO CAMBER

It prevents uneven wear of tyres.

 NEGATIVE CAMBER

When a vehicle turns a corner, the camber thrust on the

outside tyres acts to reduce the cornering force due to the
increase in positive camber. Some vehicle models add a
slightly negative camber for straight ahead driving so that the
positive camber will be reduced during turning, reducing the
camber thrust and yielding sufficient cornering force for the
turn.
 UNEVEN WEAR OF TYRE
▶ Positive camber :
The outer side of the tyre wears.
The outside of the tyre turns on a
shorter radius than the inside of
the tyre. However, because the
rotational speed of the tyre is the
same on the inner and outer sides,
the outer side of the tyre must slip
on the ground while it waits for the
inner side to “catch up” with it.
▶ Negative camber
The inside of the tyre is becoming
worn more quickly.
 CASTER
Negative Positive
Caster

• Caster is the forward or backward tilt of the Front

steering axis. Caster is measured in degrees
from the steering axis to vertical as viewed
from the side.
• Backward tilt from the vertical line is called
positive caster, while forward tilt is called
negative caster. The distance from the
intersection of the steering axis center line
with the ground, to the center of the tyre to
road contact area, is called caster trail.
 PURPOSE OF CASTER

1. To aid in the directional control of the vehicle by helping

the front wheels maintain a straight ahead position.
2. To help return the front wheels to straight ahead position
after a turn.
3. To offset the effects of road crown on vehicle direction.
4. To operate in concert with the vehicle suspension design,
camber angle and steering axis inclination angle to provide
the desired camber change during vehicle turns.
 STEERING AXIS INCLINATION

• The axis around which the wheel rotates as it turns to the right or left, is
called the steering axis.
• This axis is found by drawing an imaginary line between the top of the shock
absorber’s upper support bearing and the lower suspension arm ball joint (in
the case of strut type suspensions).
• This line is tilted inward as viewed from the front of the car and is called the
steering axis inclination.
• Kingpin offset, or steering offset, is the distance between the wheel center
and the point at which the steering axis intersects the road surface. It is
negative when the point of intersection is between the center and the
outside of the wheel.
• The kingpin angle is the angle between the steering axis and the vehicle’s
longitudinal plane. It influences steering force along with caster.
STEERING AXIS INCLINATION
b

a: Kingpin offset
b: Kingpin angle

a
 STEERING AXIS INCLINATION
 SUSPENSION TYPES
Steering axis
▶ Rigid type and steering axis
With rigid axle
suspensions, a part
called a kingpin is Kingpin
included at each end
of the axle. The
kingpin axis is
equivalent to the
steering axis of other
types of suspension.
 STEERING AXIS INCLINATION
 ROLES OF STEERING AXIS INCLINATION

▶ Reduction of steering effort

Since the wheel turns to the right and left with the
steering axis as its center and the offset as the radius, a
large offset will generate a great moment around the
steering axis due to the rolling resistance of the tyre,
thus increasing steering effort.
▶ Reduction of pulling to one side
If the offset is too large, the reactive forces acting on the
wheels during driving of braking, will generate a moment
around the relevant steering axis, causing the wheel to
pull to the side. This moment is proportional to the size
of the offset. As the offset approaches zero, less
moment is generated around the steering axis when a
force is applied to the wheel, and the steering is less
influenced by braking or road shock
 STEERING AXIS INCLINATION

▶ Improving straight line ability

: The steering axis inclination causes the wheels to
automatically return to the straight ahead position after
the completion of turning.
※ In front wheel drive cars, the offset is generally kept small (zero or negative), to
prevent the transmission to the steering wheel of shock from the tyres generated
during braking or by striking an obstruction and to minimize the moment created
around the steering axis by the driving force at the time of quick starting or
acceleration.

- Two methods to make the offset small

1. Give the tyres positive camber.
2. Incline the steering axis.
 TOE

When the front of the wheels are closer together than the rear of the wheels,
as viewed from above, this is called toe-in. The opposite arrangement is called
toe-out. The angle is usually expressed by a distance (b-a).

TOE - IN :a<b Front

TOE - OUT : a > b

b
▶ Role of toe angle
The main function of toe angle is to cancel out the camber thrust
generated when camber is applied.
When the front wheels are given positive camber, they tilt outward at
the top. This causes them to attempt to roll outward as the car moves
forward, and therefore to side-slip. This subjects the tyres to wear.
Therefore, toe-in is provided for the front wheels to prevent this by
canceling outward rolling due to camber.
Since camber approaches zero in most recent vehicles, the toe angle
value is also becoming smaller.

▶ Suspension rigidity and toe angle

During driving, forces from various direction are brought to bear on
the suspension, with the result that the wheels tend to toe out. In
order to prevent this, some vehicles are given a slight toe-in even
when the camber is zero.
▶ Type of tyres and toe angle
The toe angle given to bias-ply tyres differ from that given
to radial-ply tyres, even when the camber is the same. The
reason is that, since the tread and shoulder of a bias-ply
tyre are subject to greater deformation than those of a
radial-ply tyre, the former type generates greater camber
thrust. Therefore, bias-ply tyres are given more toe angle
than radial-ply tyres.
 TURNING RADIUS
If the right and left steering angles were the same, they would
have the same turning radius (r1 = r 2), but each wheel would
turn around a different center, (O1 and O2). Smooth turning
would therefore be impossible due to side-slipping of the tyres.
The result is that, even though the air pressure in each of the
tyres might be equal, and even though the other wheel
alignment factors might1 be correct, the tyres would undergo
unusual wear.
α

β
α=β
r2
r1 r1 = r 2

O1 O2
 TURNING RADIUS

In an actual vehicle, the steering linkage is modified in

such a way that the proper steering angles of the left
and right front wheels are attained, to achieve the
desired turning radii.

β
α<β
r2
r1 > r 2
r1

O
 WHEEL ALIGNMENT SERVICE

 If the tyres are worn unevenly, if steering is unstable, or if the suspension

has had to be repaired due to an accident, the wheel alignment must be
inspected and corrected.
 Wheel alignment covers several items such as camber, caster, steering
axis inclination, toe-in and each item is closely related to the other items.
 Always measure the wheel alignment with the vehicle parked on a flat,
level area.
 This is necessary because, no matter how accurate the alignment tester
is, correct values cannot be obtained if the place where the
measurements are to be carried out is not level.
• INSPECTION BEFORE MEASUREMENT

Before measuring the wheel alignment, each factor that could affect the
wheel alignment, must be checked and necessary corrections made.
Proper execution of this preparatory operation will give the correct values.
Items to be checked before the measurement of wheel alignment are :

* Tyre inflation pressure (under standard condition)

* Uneven wear of tyres or difference in tyre sizes
* Ball joint play due to wear
* Tie rod end play due to wear
* Front wheel bearing play due to wear
* Lengths of left and right strut bars
* Deformation or wear of steering linkage parts
* Deformation or wear of parts related to front suspension
* Chassis-to-ground clearance
MEASURING RESULTS AND HOW TO USE THEM

 In the case of factors for which there are adjustment mechanisms,

make corrections using those mechanism.
 In the case of factors for which there are no adjustment mechanisms,
such as steering axis inclination, find the part which is faulty, then
replace or repair it.
 However, even in the case of factors with adjustment mechanisms, if
the deviation exceeds the adjustment range of the adjustment
mechanism, the faulty part must be found and either replaced or
repaired.
Whell Alignment Machine
• FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT

TOE ANGLE
To adjust toe-in, change the lengths of the tie rod connecting
the steering knuckle.

- In the type in which the tie rod is behind the spindles :

increasing the tie rod length, increases toe-in.
- In the type where the tie rod is in front of the spindles :
increasing the tie rod length, increases toe-out.

a a

Short Long
b b
• REAR WHEEL ALIGNMENT

Rear wheel alignment of an independent rear suspension is

accomplished by adjusting the camber and toe angle. The method of
adjusting the camber and toe angle differs depending on the type of
suspension. Some models have no mechanism for adjusting the
camber.

TOE ANGLE
By turning the eccentric cam, the
arm can be moved to the left or right
to change the direction of the wheel,
thus adjusting the toe-in.
REAR WHEEL ALIGNMENT SERVICE

As with front toe-in, if the

Front
length of the rear arms are not
made the same in order to
adjust the toe-in of the rear α a β
α =β
wheels separately, the angles (correct)
of the left and right wheels will
differ no matter how correct
the toe-in is. For this reason,
first of all, correct the angles of
the left and right wheels, then
b
adjust the toe-in.
 What is wheel balancing?

 Wheel balancing is the operation performed in order to attain

uniform traction and to avoid vibrations in automobiles by
addition of balancing weights on the rim in order to distribute
the wheel mass evenly during rotation.
 When to balance a wheel:

 Vibration in the steering wheel at certain highway

speeds.
 Vibration in the seat or floorboard at certain highway
speeds.
 Scalloped or cupped wear pattern on the tires.
Scalloped tyre
DYNAMIC BALANCE

*Dynamic balance describes the forces generated by asymmetric mass

distribution when the tire is rotated, usually at a high speed.

*In the tire factory the tire is mounted on a balancing machine test
wheel, the assembly is accelerated up to a speed of 300 RPM or
higher, and sensors measure the forces of unbalance as the tire
rotates.

*Dynamic balance is better (it is more comprehensive) than static

balance alone, because both couple and static forces are measured
and corrected.
EFFECTS OF WHEEL MISBALANCING

• When the tire rotates, asymmetric masses cause the

wheel to wobble, which can cause ride disturbances,
usually vertical and lateral vibrations. It can also
result in a wobbling of the steering.
• Wheels that are not balanced or are out of balance
generally produce a vibration that is uncomfortable to
drive in and results in premature wearing of
suspension and steering components, rotating parts
and tyres.
WHEEL BALANCING MACHINE

 A balancing machine is a measuring tool used for balancing

rotating machine parts such as wheels, rotors for electric
motors, fans, turbines, disc brakes, disc drives, propellers and
pumps.
 The machine usually consists of two rigid pedestals, with
suspension and bearings on top supporting a mounting
platform.
Wheel Balancing Machine
 PROCEDURE FOR BALANCING
AN UNBALANCED WHEEL

• The tire is made free from all the small stones, if any .
• The wheel is fixed to spindle of wheel balancing machine by use
of quick cone lock nut.
• Quick cone lock nut ensures fast mounting and fast removal of
tire.
• Wheel balancing machine is switch on.
• The spindle is made to rotate at speed of 400 rpm.
• The rotation of the spindle is stopped.
• Wheel balancing machine determines the size of weights
and where to locate weight on the wheel.
• The size of the weight and location of the weight to be
placed is shown on the monitor of the wheel balancing
machine.
• The weight is fixed to rim at exact location which is shown
on the monitor.
• And wheel is removed from the spindle of wheel balancing
by the use of quick cone lock nut.
• Now the wheel is balanced.
• Now it can be used for comfortable driving.
Weight on rim
 Material of balancing masses

• Previously lead is used as a material

for manufacturing a weight. Because
lead is toxic material so zinc is used
for preparing weights.
Weights of Different size