Wheel alignment
Wheel alignment, sometimes referred to as wheel tracking, is a vehicle maintenance procedure involving adjustment of the geometric angles of a vehicle’s wheels.[1] Proper alignment helps prevent abnormal tire wear and assists in maintaining stable vehicle handling and straight-line travel without pulling to one side.[1]
In some specialized applications, such as motorsport or off-road use, wheel alignment angles may be intentionally adjusted outside manufacturer specifications to obtain particular handling characteristics.
Primary angles
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:
- Front: Caster (left & right)
- Front: Camber (left & right)
- Front: Toe (left, right & total)
- Rear: Camber (left & right)
- Rear: Toe (left, right & total)
Measurement
During Vehicle inspection, manufacturers may require that these alignment angles remain within specified tolerances.[1]
Modern wheel alignment systems use a variety of sensors (including machine vision and inertial sensors) to measure geometric properties of the wheels, and software processes these measurements to compute alignment angles such as camber and toe.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (2025). Vehicle Inspection Manual (PDF) (Report). Vehicle Inspection Regulation. Victoria, British Columbia: Province of British Columbia.
- ^ Chatur, Sonali (2015). "Computer based Wireless Automobile Wheel Alignment system using Accelerometer" (PDF). The International Journal of Engineering and Science. 4 (9): 62–69. Retrieved 2026-03-07.