Nowadays, high-quality wheel alignment is a rarity among motorists. There are now a lot of service stations, in almost every city in Russia. Of course, everyone has the most modern equipment, but unfortunately, not everyone has real, professional craftsmen. Therefore, car enthusiasts, as well as professional drivers, in addition to advertising, mainly have to be guided by such a concept as “word of mouth.” Recommendations from acquaintances and friends.

Here’s what you need to know about wheel alignment before visiting your auto repair shop.

All tires on your car must match your model and be the same size. The wheel rims must also be identical in all respects (width, diameter, etc.). These requirements are especially important for wheel alignment performed on a computer stand.

The disc parameters must meet the technical requirements of your car. We strongly do not recommend installing “classic” wheels on a VAZ-2109(08), as well as installing “Volga” wheels on a “NIVU” due to the fact that the offset of the wheels is less than the standard one. This may entail a change in the wheel running arm corresponding to the suspension design.

If you are planning to install a new set of tires and decide to do a wheel alignment, then before installing the tires, eliminate all faults in the chassis and repair it. Otherwise, a situation is possible when you arrive on brand new tires to undergo a wheel alignment, but at the station they discover a global malfunction that cannot be eliminated on the spot and which will not allow you to perform a wheel alignment. And you will have to drive for some time on new tires without camber, which can be very destructive for the tires and will entail additional material costs.

Here are a few tips to consider before going to any auto repair shop for a breakdown. To protect yourself, play it safe and not fall for incompetent “specialists”:

• Before visiting a service station, equalize the pressure in the wheels of your car and check the movement of your car in a straight line, namely, fix the position of the steering wheel of your car and count the number of revolutions to the right and left. The quantity must be equal. This information must be reported to the master. A good master will track this anyway, but it’s better to play it safe and be on the safe side.
• Ask whether the car service has a certificate for this service.
• Find out what work is included in the service and their prices. You can end up with unscrupulous “distortionists” who limit themselves to either camber or toe-in, but they haven’t heard about caster and the displacement of the rear and front axles.
• If possible, observe the inspection and adjustment process.

Wheel alignment adjustment

Before starting the adjustment process, an experienced technician must check the technical condition of the car, diagnose the chassis and check the tire pressure. Identified malfunctions must be eliminated before the wheel alignment begins, informing the client about them. Of the preparatory operations, the operation of “compensating for wheel rim runout” is considered particularly important and mandatory. This operation is carried out in order to eliminate the influence of the geometric shape of the wheel rim.

The next thing is to diagnose the geometry of the chassis based on instrument readings. We detect and eliminate deficiencies such as displacement of axles or side members and other faults that can affect the handling and stability of your car, regardless of the wheel alignment adjustment.

Which wheel alignment stand to choose?

I would like to note that it does not matter which stand you ultimately choose, computer or optical (laser). The main thing is what kind of master “breaker” will do it. A good and experienced master will do equally well on any stand, if he is a true professional, i.e. treats his profession and his equipment with soul and love. The stand of such a master is always precisely calibrated and you can safely entrust your car to him.

The main difference between an optical stand and a computer stand is the accuracy of measurement. The advantage of an optical stand is that it is simpler in design and, as a result, more reliable in operation. The downside is that the optical stand can simultaneously diagnose only one of the axes, front or rear. If we make the front axle, then we will miss an important parameter, the angle error of the rear axle. The rotation of the rear axle directly affects the driving angle, stability and controllability of the vehicle. Therefore, when making adjustments on the optics, you need to take into account the likelihood that the steering wheel will have a slight tilt when the car is moving in a straight line.

The computer stand is more accurate in measurements and does not have the disadvantage of one axis and can diagnose two bridges at the same time. Because the adjustment takes place along two axes simultaneously, their location relative to the axis of symmetry of the car is taken into account, and if the car was in an accident and the geometry of the body is broken, then an experienced specialist will immediately determine this. It is worth noting that all this applies only to modern computer stands with a closed measurement loop. Old stands have an open circuit and outdated software. Therefore, immediately pay attention to what equipment is available at the service station.

A modern computerized wheel alignment stand allows you to get the adjustment results in printed form. Such a report will contain certain parameters and definitions. Let’s explain some basic parameters.

CAMBER camber

The angle of inclination of the wheel in the vertical plane relative to the road. If the upper part of the wheel is tilted towards the center of the car, then the camber is negative, if outward – positive, if without angles of deviation – zero. The camber of the left and right wheels should be as equal as possible to each other. For example, the camber of the right wheel = + 36 minutes, and the left wheel = + 33 minutes. Both indicators are within the tolerance range. The difference between them should not be more than 30 minutes; deviation from this norm will lead to the car moving away from straight-line motion and one-sided wear of the tread. Negative camber will have a beneficial effect on cornering stability, and zero camber will ensure minimal tire wear and, as a result, significantly increase tire service life.

Front split toe PARTIAL TOE

The angle between the longitudinal axis of the car and the plane that passes through the center of the left and the center of the right wheel separately.

Front total toe TOTAL TOE

This is the sum of the separate toe values.

Longitudinal inclination of the axis of rotation CASTER (Tilt of the kingpin)

CASTER a very important parameter. Can be positive or negative. This is the angle in the longitudinal plane of the car, between the line passing through the centers of rotation of the wheel and the vertical line. The line that intersects the centers of the wheel can pass through the ball joints of the lower and upper suspension arms (double-wishbone “classic” suspension) or through the mounting points of the shock absorber strut (This type of suspension is called “McPherson”) or along the axis of the kingpin in the longitudinal plane of the car (pivot suspension ).

CASTER calculated from the difference in slope values, subtract the smaller value from the larger caster value. This parameter should not exceed the value of 30. If the difference exceeds the permissible value, this will lead to the car pulling towards the wheel that has a lower value.

Lateral angle of inclination of the axis of rotation KING-PIN

The angle of inclination of the steering axis of the wheel (king pin) in the transverse plane when viewed from the front. An incorrect steering axis angle can lead to the following problems:

• Excessive road feedback;
• Excessive wear and failure of suspension elements;
• Weakening the self-stabilization of the steering;
• Improper wheel alignment;
• Violation of straight movement on uneven surfaces.

Front and rear axle offset SET-BACK

This is the angle between the longitudinal perpendicular line of symmetry of the car and the line that passes through both axles of the car and connecting the centers of the wheels. The closer this parameter is to zero, the better. If the value is positive, this means that the left front wheel is located slightly closer to the rear than the right one. If the values ​​are negative, then the opposite is true. The same applies to the displacement of the rear axle, but is applicable for vehicles with an independent rear axle.

Motion angle TRUST-ANGLE

This is the amount of rotation of the rear axle relative to the axis of symmetry of the car. The closer this value is to zero, the better. If it is equal to zero, then the bridge is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the car. If the value is positive, then the rear axle is turned to the right, negative – to the left. Although the permissible value is up to 20 minutes, it should not be increased to such a value. The car will not handle well on the road and will drive slightly sideways.

Malfunctions that most often appear after adjusting the wheel alignment.

After adjusting the wheel alignment, the steering wheel may not be level when driving straight. This can happen for several reasons:

1. Increased free play of the steering wheel. If the camber is made without taking this nuance into account, then when moving, the free play is selected to the right or left, which entails a slight tilt of the steering wheel.
2. It happens that the steering wheel can change the angle of its position during the normal change of the front wheels among themselves.
3. Tire pressures are not the same. Pressure equalization is performed before adjusting the wheel alignment, every master knows this.
4. There is rotation of the rear axle. The alignment was performed on an optical stand, which does not take this parameter into account, or a computer stand, but with the function of measuring the angle of motion of the car turned off.
5. A car with chassis defects that were not discovered during troubleshooting.

If the car pulls to the side when driving in a straight line:

1. Most likely the front tires are to blame, regardless of whether the tires are new. We suggest changing the left and right wheels with each other. If you move the start in the opposite direction, then the tires are to blame. This reason occurs quite often due to low-quality rubber.
2. The wheel alignment was not done well, ask for it to be redone.
3. When performing the camber, only the front axle was diagnosed. They forgot about the rear one.
4. Defects in the chassis were not detected or eliminated.

You can get high-quality computerized wheel alignment on a modern stand with us, at the WEBER-AUTO service center, at reasonable prices from 600 rubles. – diagnostics and 1200 rub. – one axis.

Call! We always have discounts, we will always be glad to see you!