AutoXpress

What are wheel alignment, camber and castor?
The wheels of a vehicle have much to do - they rotate, they provide steerage, they go up and down with the suspension, they carry the vehicle's weight, they handle the braking force, they grip on corners and they transmit the driving power. The front wheels perform most of these functions.

To provide all these services with precision and efficiency they must remain parallel (toe) and vertical (camber) at all times. To allow straight-line stability and relaxed cruising their mountings must be tilted at a particular angle (castor). These three angles constitute the vehicle geometry.

What can go wrong?
Even in normal use, the alignment (of the front wheels in particular) can be put out of parallel by impact (striking kerbs, bumps, holes and stones) or by wear on tyres or parts of the steering system, such as ball-joints. Read More || Close

Even if the misalignment is so slight that it cannot be detected by the naked eye, it causes many negative effects. Whether the wheels are pointing inwards or outwards, even by as little as a quarter of a degree, they are heading in different directions, causing the tread to scrub and wear both very rapidly and unevenly, increasing rolling resistance to the detriment of both performance and fuel consumption, and as each wheel fights for supremacy the steering will tend to wander or pull to one side. This is sufficiently common that all vehicles have adjustable rods in their steering system, to allow alignment to be corrected quickly and easily.

While changing the alignment is simple, adjusting it to exactly the right position requires sophisticated equipment and skilled technicians.

What about camber and castor?
These settings are less fragile, but impacts severe enough to "bend" steering, suspension or axle components, or extreme wear or partial failure of these components, can put camber and castor geometry out of true. Read More || Close

Incorrect camber angles cause severe steering pull and uneven tyre wear; they can affect both straight-line and cornering stability. The effect of castor angles is to ensure the vehicle naturally goes and stays straight, especially at high speeds, unless it is being deliberately steered. If these angles are incorrect, natural stability is lost and the vehicle tends to wander off-line, making driving more difficult and stressful.

Some vehicles have a ready "minor" adjustment for camber and castor; others can be rectified by addition of shims. Some vehicles cannot be adjusted and require an engineering workshop and possible replacement of major components to remedy the problem.

In all these cases, the first step is to be able to diagnose and precisely measure the degree of error.

AutoXpress has what you need
AutoXpress have the most modern and precise measuring equipment in the market that not only corrects alignment with digital accuracy, but checks camber and castor angles too, both front and rear. AutoXpress technicians can make the normal checks and adjustments exactly in a few minutes and give sound advice on the remedy for more serious problems.