What is a steering castor?

The caster angle or castor angle 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, as seen from the side of the vehicle. ... This is all connected to the front wheels.

1. How does Castor affect steering?
2. What happens if your caster is off?
3. How do you fix a caster alignment?
4. Does caster cause a pull?
5. Is positive or negative caster better?
6. Do cars have positive or negative caster?
7. Does caster affect toe?
8. What happens with too much caster?
9. What does bad caster cause?
10. Does caster affect tire wear?
11. What is a good caster angle?
12. What's the difference between camber and caster?
13. Do you set caster or camber first?

How does Castor affect steering?

Increasing the amount of positive caster will increase steering effort and straight line tracking, as well as improve high speed stability and cornering effectiveness. Positive caster also increases tire lean when cornering (almost like having more negative camber) as the steering angle is increased.

What happens if your caster is off?

Poor camber and caster alignment can cause your vehicle to "pull", and can cause tire tread to wear unevenly. ... It is no different on four wheel vehicles. If you don't have enough positive caster (forks too little angle toward the front) the car will wander and feel unstable.

How do you fix a caster alignment?

One common way to adjust caster is to install an offset caster bush. This bush mounts the back or front of the lower wishbone to the car and has the centre bolt hole offset in a forward direction. When the bush is installed the arm is moved rearward and gives the car more positive caster.

Does caster cause a pull?

So: Camber and caster will cause your vehicle to pull if they're uneven, but will cause little tire wear, while toe in won't cause your vehicle to pull, but can cause extremely fast tire wear. ... However, if you align the car and the tires still have uneven wear, the vehicle will often still pull.

Is positive or negative caster better?

Performance Benefits of Positive Caster

You get better handling when cornering, better stability at high speeds, and better straight-line tracking. The better traction while cornering is similar to a vehicle with negative camber, as it keeps more tread on the ground despite the sharp angles.

Do cars have positive or negative caster?

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. ... A car that pulls to one side when traveling in a straight line may have negative caster.

Does caster affect toe?

Usually they are set so they are parallel with each other. If the fronts of the tires are closer, the wheels are said to be toe-in. If the rears of the tires are closer, the wheels are toe-out. ... Caster, on the other hand, has no effect on how a tire wears, but it does play a role in handling and on center feel.

What happens with too much caster?

Caster settings are not a primary, direct factor in tire wear. However, excessive positive caster in association with other alignment maladjustments can exacerbate a tire wear issue. For example, a tire wear pattern called feathering can result from a combination of too much caster with incorrect toe settings.

What does bad caster cause?

Negative caster improves steering but diminishes handling and stability when driving in a straight line. A vehicle that pulls to one side when moving in a straight line may have a negative caster. If the caster is negative or unequal, the vehicle may be unstable, so it's more likely to wander.

Does caster affect tire wear?

Modern vehicles run a certain amount of positive caster with the steering axis tilted rearward toward the driver. While caster doesn't affect tire wear like camber, it does have a big impact on steering and handling. The higher the caster, the more stability a vehicle will have at higher speeds.

What is a good caster angle?

Positive caster angles run between 3 - 5° on modern vehicles. This gives a good mix of highway stability and steering feel. For a more performance oriented setup on a MacPherson strut you can add a degree or two to have more favorable camber gain at high steering angles.

What's the difference between camber and caster?

Caster is the angle between the verticle line and kingpin centre line in the plane of the wheel when the view from the side is called the caster angle. Camber is the angle between the centre line of the tyre and the vertical line viewed from the front of the vehicle is known as the camber angle.

Do you set caster or camber first?

With front-end alignments, correct caster and camber adjustments first. Certain FWD vehicles do not offer caster adjustments, but correcting the camber may bring the caster within specs.