Front Suspension

WHEEL ALIGNMENTS: GENERAL INFORMATION

The specifications given are based on the car and chassis being in normal condition. Normal condition means an empty, unladen car, on a flat surface and that the chassis does not lean laterally or have an abnormal front-rear position. The petrel tank should be between half and full. When checking the wheel alignment the fuel tank need not be empty.

CASTER ANGLE:

Caster angle (B) is the angle between vertical line (A) and an imaginary line which goes through the center of the lower ball joint and the upper bearing. Caster makes the wheels try to go straight forward and in this way eases steering. In addition the greater the caster angle the greater the self-centering effect. The caster angle cannot be adjusted.

CAMBER ANGLES:

Camber (C) refers to the wheel leaning in or outwards. The angle is considered positive if the wheel leans outwards and negative if the wheel leans inwards.
A. Vertical line
C. amber

NEGATIVE CAMBER ANGLES:

Road holding is better with negative camber because the wheel stands upright when the body rolls.

POSITIVE CAMBER ANGLES:

Positive camber gives better feel for the road through the steering wheel. With an extreme wrong camber the tires wear unevenly. If the difference in camber angle between the right and left-hand side differs more than permitted in the specifications it can make the car pull to the side.

TOE-IN:

With toe-in the front part of the wheel points inwards.

TOE-OUT:

Toe-out or incorrect toe-in cause vibrations that increase tire wear. Tires slide sideways. Too much toe-in causes wear to the outer shoulders of the tires.

KING PIN INCLINATION:

Originally king pin inclination (D) referred to king pin lean. Because these cars do not have king pins the angle is taken as the angle of lean between vertical line (A) and a line through the spring strut body work mounting and through the ball joint. A real king pin inclination ensures that the wheel turns easily and retains a self centering effect. King pin inclination cannot be adjusted.

ACKERMAN ANGLES:

The wheels follow different radii when cornering. The inner wheel turns more than the outer wheel. In order to ensure that they turn at the same center, and to minimize tire wear, the front wheels must be offset from each other. This relationship is determined by the design of the tie rod and steering arms and cannot be adjusted.

WHEEL OFFSET:

Because of the new front suspension the wheels have a greater offset (a), that is to say the wheels are further from the brake discs.