Tsukasa’s blog is one of the best resources for information about keeping your favorite imported car running smoothly. • Toe – Front and rear toe alignment will not affect vehicle drift or pull performance. Restoring a 1966 Chevelle SS396. Tire and wheel misalignment along with excessive positive caster can worsen the tire wear issue. This is good for cornering as it maximizes the area of tire that is in contact with the ground on the outside front wheel, which is under the most load during the turn. In this case, the steering axis tilts behind the vehicle’s vertical axis. Mechanical Trail is defined as the distance between the intersection of the steering access and the ground measured to the center of the contact patch, viewed perpendicular to the vertical longitudinal plane. Hi. Negative Caster makes steering exceedingly sensitive at high speeds and reduces the wheel’s directional returnability once turns are completed. Credit. Uneven caster side-to-side: Too much cross-camber can cause a vehicle to pull to one side. The caster angle[1] or castor angle[2] is the angular displacement of the steering axis from the vertical axis of a steered wheel in a car, motorcycle, bicycle, other vehicle or a vessel, measured in the longitudinal direction. Once the caster is adjusted to your liking, check the camber, toe, and ride height again and make necessary adjustments to ensure that all measurements are within spec for the vehicle. There are special tools available to do so, such as the bubble gauge and turn plates. This angle evaluates the back and forth incline of the axis. A car that pulls to one side when traveling in a straight line may have negative caster. Caster is positive if the line is angled forward, and negative if backward. The power steering system is a revolutionary addition to modern vehicles. Zero caster is when the steering axis is at 0 degrees. Modern cars use positive caster in order to resist unintentional turning of the vehicle, or wandering/straying from the intended path, when traveling straight at speed. Positive caster is crucial in enhancing the cornering and handling performance of a vehicle. This axis connects the lower pivot point (often the lower ball joint) with the upper pivot point (often the upper ball joint), and forms an angle with the vertical line going through the lower pivot point. Caster is one of them, while the other two are camber and toe. Positive Camber Effects A positive camber of your front wheels means they’re inclining away from the chassis. Three common measurements form the suspension geometry of a motor vehicle. Brought to you by BestTireAndWheelShop.com in Temecula, California. Negative caster is abnormal in modern cars, so if you suspect this is present in your vehicle it should be checked out by an alignment shop or a professional mechanic. Trying to get alignment done and caster is negative now at 2.5 degrees. However, you don’t need to worry about this in modern vehicles as they have a power steering system to cancel the heaviness in the steering wheel. If one wheel has more positive caster than the other, that wheel will pull toward the centre of the vehicle. What is the definition of positive and negative total toe? Another problem is it can hasten tire wear, although the effect is not direct. A driver can distinctly feel the effects of a positive caster when driving the car in a forward movement. If the caster is out of adjustment, it can cause problems in straight line tracking. Tsukasa Azuma is an awesome car blogger of Car From Japan. Cars with power steering should have positive caster, so this vehicle should have its suspension checked and realigned by a mechanic. Caster that is not symmetric on the car also needs to be corrected for safety reasons, as the car will wander toward the side with less caster. 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