Wheel Alignment

Andrew Sarangan
asarangan@gmail.com


Wheel alignment sounds a bit mysterious, but it really quite simply. I had orginally bought some cheap alignment plates on ebay, but that was not really that useful because there were far too many variables to get repeatable measurements. Eventually I bought the TMR alignment plates. This was sturdy and accurate, made in the USA, and bolts directly to the wheel hub. Because it bolts to the hub, it does take a bit more effort. The wheels have to be removed, and in my case, the brake calipers also had to be removed to make room for the plates.

Yet, there were several issues. First, the gear shift has to be neutral or else rotating one wheel causes the other wheel to turn in the opposite direction, making it impossible to set the two plates parallel. Even in neutral, one wheel has to be held with an object to prevent it from turning. Second, when the plates were parallel, there were some obstructions below the vehicle that prevented the tape from running straight. The plates had to be tilted slightly to get a clear path for the tape. Since both plates has to be at the exact angle, I used a bubble level held at an angle with a piece of scrap plastic. Despite all these troubles, the alignment accuracy was very good, and the vehicle drove perfectly straight after the alignment.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *