Proper automotive front end alignment of wheel camber angle is important for reducing wear of tire and improving grip of the tire with the road.
How to Calculate Camber Angle
Camber is the angle between the centre plane of a tire and the vertical plane viewing from the front or rear of the vehicle.
Image source: wiki
The camber angle shows the tilt of the tires. So, in order to perform the camber angle measurement you have to measure simply the tilt.
Many sophisticated camber angle measuring gauges are available in the market but if you don’t have any and still want to do it yourself the camber angle measurement for a relatively less accurate measurement then do as follow:
- Take a big precession metal square (the L shaped metal rule). It should be big enough in the order of your wheel diameter.
- Park the vehicle over a flat surface with the tires pointing straight ahead.
- Place the metal square passing through the center line of the axle.
- Locate the uppermost point (D) on the rim and find the projection of that on the metal square (A).
- Similarly, locate the lowermost point (C) on the rim and find the projection of that on the metal square (B).
- Measure and note down the distances BC, AD and AB.
- Now, if the camber angle is θ, then
Tan (θ) = (AD-BC)/AB
- If the top of the wheel is tilted inside of the vehicle then the camber angle is negative and if the top of the wheel is tilted outward from the vehicle then it is positive camber angle. Always you have to look either from the front or rear of the vehicle.
The accuracy of the above method is around 0.5 degree and the accuracy can be increased by taking the readings at different location of the wheels by turning it.
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