Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jump To Navigationjump To Search: A of The Subject. You May
Jump To Navigationjump To Search: A of The Subject. You May
Jump To Navigationjump To Search: A of The Subject. You May
An increasing number of modern vehicles have advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as
electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and
traction control. These systems can be affected by mechanical alignment adjustments. This has led
many manufacturers to require electronic resets for these systems after a mechanical alignment is
performed.[2]
Contents
1Primary angles
2Secondary angles
3Measurement
4See also
5References
Primary angles[edit]
The primary angles are the basic angle alignment of the wheels relative to each other and to the car
body. These adjustments are the camber, caster and toe.[1] On some cars, not all of these can be
adjusted on every wheel.
These three parameters can be further categorized into front and rear (with no caster on the rear,
typically not being steered wheels). In summary, the parameters are:
Secondary angles[edit]
Wheelbase difference
Frame angle
Setback is the difference between right side and left side wheelbase length. It can also be measured
as an angle. Setback less than the manufacturer specified tolerance (for example about 6mm) does
not affect car handling. That's because, when the vehicle is turning, one wheel is ahead of the other
by several centimetres and therefore the setback is negligible. There are even some car models with
different factory setting for right and left side wheelbase length, for various design reasons. An off-
spec setback may occur because of a collision or a difference between right and left caster.[1]
Measurement[edit]
A camera unit (sometimes called a "head") is attached to a specially designed clamp which holds on
to a wheel. There are usually four camera units in a wheel alignment system (a camera unit for each
wheel). The camera units communicate their physical positioning with respect to other camera units
to a central computer which calculates and displays. [2]
Often with alignment equipment, these "heads" can be a large precision reflector. In this case, the
alignment "tower" contains the cameras as well as arrays of LEDs. This system flashes one array of
LEDs for each reflector whilst a camera centrally located in the LED array "looks for" an image of the
reflectors patterned face. These cameras perform the same function as the other style of alignment
equipment, yet alleviate numerous issues prone to relocating a heavy precision camera assembly on
each vehicle serviced. [2]
See also