TYREPOWER NEWCASTLE          "SAY HELLO TO YOUR TYREPOWER PRO"

Cnr. Throsby & Railway Sts Wickham Phone: 02 4961 1550 Fax: 02 4961 1340

	NSW TYREPOWER DEALER OF THE YEAR 2007
	Home Page	Current Specials	About Us	Our Tyres	Our Wheels	Our Services
	Wheel Alignment  |  Suspension  |  Brakes  |  Mufflers  |  Steering  |  Quote Request
	WHEEL ALIGNMENT Alignment is one of the key maintenance factors in getting the most wear and performance from your tyres. In addition, wheel alignment provides safe, predictable vehicle control as well as a smooth and comfortable ride free of pulling or vibration, and improved gas mileage. Today's modern suspensions require a precise four-wheel alignment that can only be achieved through a modern alignment system. This applies to both front and rear wheel drive vehicles. Alignment Basics Aligning a car or truck involves the adjustment of the vehicle's suspension not the tyres and wheels. The direction and the angles that the tyres point in after the alignment is complete are critically important. There are five factors involved in setting the alignment to specification: caster, camber, toe, thrust and ride height. The following brief discussion of each aspect will help you understand the process and spot potential problems. Caster Caster is the angle of the steering axis (the part of the suspension that supports the wheel and tyre assembly). Viewed from the side of the vehicle, an imaginary line drawn between the centres of the upper and lower ball joints forms an angle with true vertical; this is defined as caster. The illustration to the above shows whether this angle is referred to as positive or negative. Caster is important to steering feel and high-speed stability. Camber Viewed from the front of the vehicle, camber describes the inward or outward tilt of the tyre. The illustration below shows whether this tilt is referred to as positive or negative. The camber adjustment maximizes the tyre-to-road contact and takes into account the changes of force when a vehicle is turning. Camber is the one adjustment that can be set according to driving habits. Generally, if you drive more aggressively when cornering, more negative camber can be set. If you drive on highways and do very little hard cornering, more positive camber can be set. Toe Viewed from above the vehicle, toe describes whether the fronts of the tyres are closer (toe-in) or farther apart (toe-out) than the rears of the tyres. The illustration below shows this relationship. Toe settings vary between front and rear wheel drive vehicles. In a front wheel drive vehicle, the front wheels try to pull toward each other when the vehicle is in motion, which requires a compensating toe-out setting. A rear wheel drive vehicle works just the opposite, necessitating a toe-in setting. Stated differently, toe is set to let the tyres roll in parallel (at zero toe) when the vehicle is in motion. Ride Height Ride height is simply the distance between the vehicle's frame and the road. This is the reference point for all alignment measurements. Vehicle customizing very often will include raising or lowering the vehicle. Don't forget to have your vehicle aligned afterward. Also, this rule applies if you  put a taller or shorter tyre on your vehicle. Misalignment and Tyre Wear By now you may have concluded that poor tyre wear and misalignment are closely related. That of course is true. But what can be done to minimize this condition? It turns out that many of these misalignment conditions can be easily "read" by us; and we can recommend the appropriate solution. For your assistance, the following troubleshooting guide will help you. Armed with this knowledge you can check your tyres every so often; a knowledgeable glance at the parking lot can pay big dividends. Misalignment Condition Tyre Wear Symptom Incorrect Camber Setting Premature smooth wear on either inside or outside shoulder. Incorrect Toe Setting Feathered wear across tread; raised tread block edges. Incorrect Caster Setting Excessive shoulder wear; tread blocks show "heel-toe" wear pattern. Unequal Caster setting (either right or left side is out of specification) Sharp pulling necessitates steering compensation and feathered wear. Unequal Toe setting (either right or left side is out of specification) Sharp pulling necessitates steering compensation and feathered wear. Combination of two or more settings are out of specification. Irregular tread wear with feathering and smooth spots. The chart above is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of all the possibilities; but if you learn to spot these symptoms early, you can get a lot more wear from your tyres. Remember tyres take the brunt of many problems; just simply replacing the old ones is not a solution. Very soon afterward, your new tyres will begin to reflect the same problems if you have not made the appropriate remedy. Worn Parts Very often a worn suspension part is the cause of an alignment problem. On older vehicles, worn springs can lower a vehicle's ride height, altering its geometry and creating misalignment (all alignment settings refer to ride height). Weak springs can also contribute to uneven or "cupped" tyre wear. Another common problem is worn ball joints. The symptoms here are erratic handling, slow steering response and irregular tyre wear. Finally, worn tie rods can allow the tyre to wander left to right, effectively changing toe as the vehicle rolls down the road. Irregular feathering will develop on the tyre tread when this is the problem. Again this is not an exhaustive listing, but if you stay alert to these common problems, it may help you schedule an early visit to Tyrepower Newcastle and save on tyre wear.
	Legal Issues and Disclaimers Last updated 22 May 2010. Copyright © 2010 Tyrepower Newcastle (ABN 60 053 388 382). This site requires Java Scripting to be enabled in your browser. Designed and maintained by Mark Peachman | Hosted by IDL Internet