When you take your car in for a service, you may notice that your mechanic spends quite a lot of time working in or around the wheels. You may have heard that they are making small adjustments to the steering geometry and in particular, the toe, camber and caster angles. While there are specific reasons for each adjustment, what is the caster angle in particular, and why is it so important?
Positive Benefits
The caster angle is typically set to be "positive." This means that, when you view the vehicle from the side, the mounting points of the top suspension upright will be behind a notionally straight vertical line. If the suspension piece is in line with the vertical, this is known as "neutral," while if it is to the front, then this would be known as "negative."
Re-Centring
The goal here is to make your car a lot easier to drive and to ensure that you do not wear out your tyres too quickly. With the geometry pulled back into the positive position, the vehicle will be a lot easier to drive not just in a straight line but also around any corner. Furthermore, it'll be a lot easier to re-centre the steering at the exit of the corner as this type of geometry is known as "self-aligning."
Power-Assisted
You will need to put in more effort to turn a vehicle that is equipped with positive caster, but this is typically no issue on a car fitted with power-assisted steering.
Saving Money
As the tyres are more responsive and meet less resistance when they are cornering, they will tend to last a lot longer, and this will certainly help with those bills. If this part of the geometry is out, then you may notice excessive wear around the edges or the top of the sidewall.
Precise Settings
Automobile manufacturers will typically dictate the caster angle as well as the camber and toe measurements. Your mechanic will be able to refer to these figures when they service your vehicle and will ensure that each particular measurement is complementary to the others.
Regular Adjustment
You may be glad that you do not need to worry about these particular angles and can entrust an expert to set them for you. They will need to be readjusted during every major service visit, however, so make sure that you do not miss any important dates in the future.
For more information, contact a local mechanical service.
