Session-3 & 4
2.30-5.00PM
• Wheel Alignment
• Wheel Kinematics and Compliance
• Steering Performance Criteria for Handling
Wheel Geometry
Wheel Alignment
• A wheel Alignment is the adjustment of the suspension and
steering to ensure proper vehicle handling with minimum tire
wear
• A change in alignment angles may result from one or more of
the following factors
– Wear of the steering and suspension components
– Bent or damaged steering and suspension parts
– Sagging springs, which can change the ride height of the
vehicle and therefore the alignment angles
Alignment- Related Problems
• Pull
– A pull is generally defined as a definite “tug” on the steering wheel
toward the left or the right while driving straight on a level road
• Lead or drift
– It is a mild pull that does not cause a force on the steering wheel that the
driver must counteract. When the vehicle moves toward one side or the
other, this is called a lead or drift could be caused by the crown of the
road
• Wander
– A wander is a condition in which almost constant steering wheel
corrections by the drive are necessary to maintain a straight-ahead
direction on a straight level road
Camber
• Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the wheels from true
vertical as viewed from the front or rear of the vehicle
Camber
• If the top of the tire is tilted out, then camber is positive
• If the top of the tire is tilted in, then camber is negative
• If the tilt of the wheel is truly vertical, camber is zero
• Camber is measured in degrees or fraction of degrees
• Camber can cause tire wear if not correct
– Excessive positive camber causes scuffing and wear on the
outside edge of the tire
– Excessive negative camber causes scuffing and wear on the
inside edge of the tire
Camber
• Camber can cause pull if it is unequal side to side. The vehicle
will pull toward the side with the most positive (or least
negative) camber. A difference of more than half a degree
from one side to the other will cause the vehicle to pull
Camber
• Incorrect camber can cause excessive wear on wheel bearings.
Many vehicle manufacturers specify positive camber so that
the vehicle weight is applied to the larger inner wheel bearing
and spindle. As the vehicle is loaded or when the spring sag,
camber usually decreases. If camber is kept positive, then the
running camber is kept near zero degrees for best tire life
Camber
• Many front-wheel drive vehicles that use sealed wheel
bearings often are manufactured to have negative camber.
The purpose of the negative camber angle is to maximize
cornering forces by keeping the outside tire upright or at a
slightly negative camber angle as the body leans to the
outside of the turn.
• Positive camber creates understeer effect, negative camber
creates oversteer effect which can be best explained with the
help of car taking a turn
Negative Camber
Positive Camber
Camber
• Camber is not adjustable on many vehicles
• If camber is adjustable, the change is made by moving the
upper or the lower control arm or strut assembly by means of
one of the following methods
– Shims
– Eccentric Cams
– Slots
• Camber should be equal on both sides; however, if camber
cannot be adjusted exactly equal, make certain that there is
more camber on the front of the left side to help compensate
for the road crown (half a degree maximum difference) in
LHD, opposite for RHD
Toe
• Toe is the difference in distance between the front and rear of
the tires
Toe
• Toe is measured in fractions of degrees or in fractions of an
inch (usually sixteenths), millimeters(mm), or decimals of an
inch (such as 0.06”)
• Incorrect toe is the major cause of excessive tire wear
• Toe causes camber –type wear on one side of the tire if not
correct
Toe
• Incorrect front toe does not cause a pull condition. Incorrect
toe on the front wheels is split equally as the vehicle is driven
because the forces acting on the tires are exerted through the
tie rod and steering linkages to both wheels
• Incorrect (unequal) rear toe can cause tire wear. If the toe of
the rear wheels is not equal, the steering wheel will not be
straight and will pull toward the side with the most toe-in
Toe
• Front toe adjustment must be made by adjusting the tie rod
sleeves correctly
Toe
• Most vehicle manufacturers specify a slight amount of toe –in
to compensate for the natural tendency of the front wheels to
spread apart (become toed-out) due to the centrifugal force of
the rolling wheels acting on the steering linkage
• Some manufacturers of front wheel drive vehicles specify a
toe-out setting to compensate for the toe-in forces created by
the engine drive forces on the front wheels
• Normal wear to the tie rod ends and other steering linkage
parts usually causes toe-out
Caster
• Caster is the forward or rearward tilt of the steering axis in
reference to a vertical line as viewed from the side of the
vehicle. Steering axis is defined as the line drawn through the
upper and lower steering pivot points.
• On an SLA suspension system, the upper pivot is the upper
ball joint and the lower pivot is the lower ball joint. On a
MacPherson strut system, the upper pivot is the centre of the
upper bearing mount and the lower pivot point is the lower
ball joint.
• Zero Center means that the steering axis is straight up and
down, also called zero degrees or perfectly vertical
Caster
• Positive caster is present when the upper suspension pivot
point is behind the lower pivot point (ball joint) as viewed from
the side
• Negative caster is present when the upper suspension pivot
point is ahead of the lower pivot point (ball joint) as viewed
from the side
• Caster is measured in degrees of fractions of degrees
Caster
• Caster is not a tire wearing angle, but positive caster does
cause changes in camber during a turn. This condition is called
camber roll
Caster
• Caster is a stability angle
– If caster is excessively positive, vehicle steering will be very stable
(will tend to be straight with little steering wheel correction needed)
and help with steering wheel
– If the caster is positive, the steering effort will increase with increasing
positive caster. Greater road shocks will be felt by the driver when
driving over rough road surfaces. Vehicles with as high as eleven
degrees of positive caster usually use a steering dampener to control
possible shimmy at high speeds and to dampen the snap-back of the
spindle after a turn
– If caster is negative, or excessively unequal, the vehicle will not be as
stable and will tend to wander. If a vehicle is heavily loaded in the rear,
caster increase as shown
Caster
• Caster could cause pull if unequal. The vehicle will pull
toward the side with least positive caster
• Caster is not adjustable on many vehicles
• If caster is adjustable, the change is made by moving either the
lower or the upper pivot point forward or backward by means
of one of the following methods
– Shims
– Eccentric Cams
– Slots
– Strut rods
Caster
• Caster affects tire wear indirectly –Changes camber during
turns
Steering Axis Inclination (SAI)
• The steering axis is the
angle formed between true
vertical and an imaginary
line drawn between the
upper and lower pivot points
of the spindle.
• Steering axis inclination
(SAI) is the inward tilt of
the steering axis. SAI is also
known as KPI and is the
imaginary line drawn
through the kingpin as
viewed from the front
Steering Axis Inclination (SAI)
• The front view axis inclination angle add steering returnability
by lifting the front axle in a turn.
Steer Axis Inclination (SAI)
By leaning the steering axis inboard at the
top (or outboard at the bottom) the swivel-
inboard line is projected much nearer the tire
centerline at ground level. That reduces
directional disturbances caused when the tire
encounters an obstacle.
10-15 deg
(steering creates a CW couple and
Positive pivot radius
disturbance creates a CCW couple)
If the steering axis projects outboard past the
outboard tire centerline, an obstacle will create a
steering input toward the inside.
A steering axis that meets the ground at the
tire centerline eliminates the steering inputs
of obstacles, but it also eliminates the "feel"
of the road.
Scrub Radius
Positive scrub Radius
• Scrub radius is also known as steering offset, and scrub
geometry. It is the distance between 2 imaginary points on the
road surface - the point of center contact between the road
surface and the tire, and the point where the steering-axis center-
line contacts the road surface.
• If these two points intersect at the center of the tire, at the road
surface, then the scrub radius is zero.
• If they intersect below the road surface, scrub radius is positive.
• If they intersect above the road surface, scrub radius is negative.
Scrub Radius??
• The effect of scrub radius - positive or negative - is to provide a turning moment which
attempts to turn the wheel away from the central position, when the vehicle is in motion.
• On a rear-wheel-drive vehicle with positive scrub radius, the vehicle’s forward motion and
the friction between the tire and the road causes a force which tends to move the front wheels
back. This would cause the wheels to toe-out.
• If it has negative scrub radius, the front wheels again tend to move back, but this time, they
toe-in.
• On front-wheel-drive vehicles, the opposite occurs. Positive scrub radius causes toe-in, and
negative causes toe-out.
• During braking, on any type of drive, if braking effort is greater on one side of the vehicle
than the other, positive scrub radius will cause the vehicle to veer towards the side with the
greater effort.
• Negative scrub radius will cause the vehicle to veer away from the side of greatest effort.
How much it veers depends on the size of the scrub radius.
• This is why, vehicles with a diagonal-split brake system have negative scrub radius built into
the steering geometry. If one half of the brake system fails, then the vehicle will tend to pull
up in a straight line.
Included Angle
• The included angle is the SAI
added to the camber reading
of the front wheel only.
Included angle is an
important angle to measure
when diagnosing vehicle
handling or tire wear
problems
Turning Radius (Toe-out on Turns)
• Whenever a vehicle turns a corner, the inside wheel has to turn
at a sharper angle than the outside wheel because the inside
wheel has a shorter distance to travel.
• Turning radius is also called toe-out on turns (TOT or TOOT)
• Turning radius is a nonadjustable angle
Setback
• Setback is the angle formed by a line drawn perpendicular to
the front axle
Positive
Setback
Negative
Setback
Thrust Angle
• Thrust Angle is the angle of the rear wheels as determined by
the total rear toe
Tracking
• Tracking is the term used to describe the fact that the rear
wheels should track directly behind the front wheels.
Ride Height
Alignment Specifications at Curb Height
Suspension Kinematics
• A basic characteristic of suspension system is the change in
orientation and position of the wheel under the wheel stroke,
which is called kinematic characteristic and it strongly
influences the handling and the stability of the vehicle
• Kinematic design of a suspension system involves determining
the positions of hardpoints or kinematic design points
• Suspension static design factors such as toe, camber and caster
are decided by the location of hardpoints.
Suspension Travel
Parallel Wheel Travel
Camber Change
Caster Change
Scrub Radius Change
Steering Angle
A double wishbone suspension can be made to allow camber change by using un-equal
length or diverging/converging arms
Toe Change-MacPherson
Camber Change-MacPherson
Compliance
• Compliance is deliberately introduced into the suspension
systems through bushings to achieve good ride.
• Bushings are rubber members provided in suspension and
steering sub-systems to avoid metal-to-metal friction during
kinematic motion.
• Two types of compliance are of interest – lateral and
longitudinal force compliance.
• Specific Bushings are required to have desirable stiffness in
specific orientations to meet compliance
Bush Stiffness
• For MacPherson Suspension
• Y stiffness of lca_front and lca_rear bushings affects toe and
camber in braking and driving
• X stiffness of rack_house bushing (steering sub-system)
affects toe and camber in braking and driving
• Z stiffness of rack_house bushing (steering sub-system)
affects toe and camber under lateral forces
Kinematics and Compliance Test Rig with Test Vehicle
Steering System
• The steering system must performs important functions like
– Provide precise control of the front-wheel direction
– Jolts from irregularities in the road surface must be damped as
much as possible during transmission to the steering wheel.
However, such damping must not cause the driver to lose
contact with the road
– The basic design of the steering kinematics must satisfy the
Ackermann conditions
At Low speeds
t
Cot 0 Cot i
L
Steering System
• The vehicle must react to minute steering corrections by
means of suitable directness of the steering system and must
transmit road feel (slight steering wheel pull caused by road
surface) to the driver’s hands
• When the steering wheel is released, the wheels must return
automatically to the straight-running position and must remain
stable in this position
• The steering should have as low a ratio as possible (number of
steering-wheel turns from lock to lock) in order to achieve
ease of handling. The steering forces involved are determined
not only by the steering ratio but also by the front suspension
load, the turning radius, the suspension geometry (caster
angle, kingpin angle, kingpin offset) and the properties of the
tire tread and road surface
Basic Steering Systems
• There are two basic kinds of steering systems in wide use
today:
– Linkage (worm gear) steering systems
– Rack-and-pinion steering systems
• They may be operated manually or with power assist
Steering System Nomenclature
Steering Kinematics
• Steering kinematics and axle design must be such that,
although the driver receives feedback on the adhesion
between wheels and road surface, the steering wheel is
not subjected to any forces from the spring motion of
the wheels or from motive forces (front wheel drive)
– Steering –Axis inclination causes the front section
of the vehicle to lift when the wheels are at an
angle. This leads to a caster dependent on the
steering angle (refer SAI slide)
– Toe-in (toe-out) is a slip angle present even during
straight running travel. This tensions the linkages
and causes a rapid build-up of transverse forces
when the wheels are at an angle
– Caster produces a lever arm for side forces, i.e.
speed dependent return torque (Alignment Torque)
– Kingpin offset determines the extend to which the
steering system is affected by interference
factors :brakes pulling unevenly, motive forces
under traction/overrun in front wheel drive
vehicles. In modern designs, the aim is to achieve
a steering offset which is zero to slightly negative
Steering System Forces and Moments
• The ground reactions on the tire are described by three
forces and moments, as follows:
• Normal force Aligning torque
• Tractive force Rolling resistance moment
• Lateral force Overturning moment
• On front-wheel-drive cars, an additional moment is
imposed by the drive torque.
Steering System Forces and Moments
• The forces and moments imposed on the steering system
emanate from those generated at the tire-road interface.
Steering Wheel Torque
• The reaction in the steering system is described by the moment
produced on the steer axis, which must be resisted to control
the wheel steer angle.
• The sum of moments from the left and right wheels acting
through the steering linkages with their associated ratios and
efficiencies account for the steering-wheel torque feedback to
the driver.
Normal Force Fz
Longitudinal Force-Fx:
Lateral Force-Fy Traction Force
Overturning Moment
Slip Angle Camber
Aligning Moment (Mz) Rolling Resistance Moment (Mz)
Steering Forces and Moments
Steering Forces and Moments
Mv= Total moment from left and right wheels
Fzl, Fzr =Vertical load on left and right wheels
d= Lateral offset at the ground
= Lateral inclination angle
= Steer Angle
=Caster Angle
Steering Forces and Moments
• The moment arising from vertical force acting
M v ( Fzl Fzr )d sin sin ( Fzl Fzr )d sin cos
• The moment arising from lateral force
M L ( Fyl Fyr )r tan
• The moment arising from traction force
M T ( FXl FXr )d
• Aligning Torque
M AT ( M Zl M Zr ) cos 2 v 2
• Rolling resistance and Overturning moments have second order effect and are neglected
Steering Torque
Steering Torque
Moment about SA due to drive line Torque
• The torque in the driveline produces a moment about the steer
axis.
Td FX r
M SA FX [d cos cos r sin( )]
Steering System Models
• The effects can be modeled and torque feedback to the
steering wheel can be determined
Steering System Performance Measures
• The specific design of a steering system geometry has a
well-recognized influence on steering performance measures
such as
• Center feel,
• Returnability,
• Steering efforts
• Steering ratio to cornering
• Steering ratio to braking
Steering Ratio
• The steering ratio is defined as the ratio of
steering wheel rotation angle to steer angle
at the road wheels.
• Normally these range from 15 or 20 to 1 on
passenger cars, and 20-36 to 1 on trucks.
• Steering ratio allow for easy steering of the
front wheels. Low ratios such as 12:1 give
quick but stiff steering where as high ratios
such as 20:1 provide slow but easier steering
• Because of the compliance and steer torque
gradients with increasing steer angles, the
actual steering ratio may be as much as
twice the designed ratio
• The compliance property is constant on a
vehicle, the torque gradient will vary with
load on the front tires, tire type, pressure,
coefficient of friction, etc. Hence, the actual
steering ratio may vary (always exceeding
the design value) and influencing the low-
speed maneuverability of the vehicle.
Understeer
Oppose Steering
Steering Direction
• Because compliance in the steering system allows the road wheels to deviate from the
steering wheel input, the results obtained are influenced by the steering system properties
• The deviation is equivalent to an apparent gradient of 4 degrees/g at the road wheel
• The difference arises from deflections in the steering linkage as the reactions on the road
wheels act against the steering compliances
•
The understeer gradient
W f ( r p )
K strg
K ss
Where:
Kstrg = Understeer increment (deg/g) due to steering system
Wf = Front wheel load (lb)
r = wheel radius (in)
p = Pneumatic trail associated with aligning torque (in)
= Caster angle (rad)
Kss = Steering stiffness (in-lb/deg) between road wheel and steering wheel
Steering Ratio
Because of the
compliance and steer
torque gradients with
increasing steer
angles, the actual
steering ratio may be
as much as twice the
designed ratio.
Fig shows
experimental
measurements on a
truck which illustrate
the phenomenon
Braking Stability
• Braking is a special case in which steering system design plays an
important role in directional response.
• The tire aligning torques which effectively act like 4-8 degrees of caster
angle (increase pneumatic trail) under free-rolling conditions can reverse in
direction during braking
• Brake force imbalance (due to brake malfunction or a split-coefficient
surface) will also act on the compliant steering system, attempting to steer
the vehicle.
supports Steering
Oppose Steering
Steering Direction
Steering Direction
Braking Stability
• At low braking coefficients the aligning torque acts in the
direction to steer the tire in its direction of travel, which on the
steered wheels attempts to steer the vehicle out of the turn (an
understeer influence).
• But at high braking coefficient, the aligning torque reverses
direction and may reach elevated negative levels, which will
attempt to steer the tire into the direction of turn (an oversteer
influence).
• As a result, the normal stabilizing effects of positive caster and
tire aligning torque may be substantially reduced or eliminated
during high-level braking.
FWD Understeer Influences
• In a front wheel drive vehicle, as per the equation derived the
vehicle oversteers
W f Fxf Wr Fxr
K tf ( )
Cf Cf Cr Cr
• But in most cases, throttle-on produces understeer, and
throttle-off produces oversteer
FWD Understeer Influences
• The primary mechanisms responsible for throttle on/off
changes in understeer of a FWD vehicle are:
– The lateral component of drive thrust – While this mechanism is
relatively weak (<0.5 deg/g), it is oversteer in direction.
– Drive torque acting about the steer axis – Highly dependent on
driveline geometry and the degree of body roll in cornering, this
mechanism is understeer in direction (about 1 deg/g).
– Loss of lateral force – A tire property which causes understeer (about 1
– 1.5 deg/g).
– Increase in aligning moment – A tire property which causes under-
steer (about 0.5-1 deg/g).
– Fore/aft load transfer – Although present on FWD and RWD vehicle, it
is always understeer in direction (about 1 deg/g).
