Why do you need caster on front wheels?

The front wheels positioned forward of the upper ball joint/strut mount produces a self-aligning torque on the front wheels and tires. This is a fairly complicated engineering concept, but the idea is that positive caster creates a tension that wants to return/keep the front wheels pointed straight ahead while at speed.

Which is better positive caster or manual wheel alignment?

On the other hand, positive caster increases the effort needed to turn the wheel. Power steering allows the use of more positive caster than would be acceptable with manual steering. Too little caster can make steering unstable and cause wheel shimmy.

What’s the best caster angle for power steering?

If you are not running power steering, a caster setting of 3 – 4° is a good setup to reduce the weight of the steering and maintain the benefits of positive caster angle. Negative caster is when the steering axis is behind the vertical. This is generally only found on older vehicles due to tire technology, chassis dynamics, and other reasons.

Why is caster increase important in performance driving?

In performance driving circles a caster increase – sometimes to the maximum available setting that the vehicle will accommodate – is credited with improvements in vehicle handling, maximum traction, and steering responsiveness. What is negative caster?

What happens if you increase the caster on a car?

Increasing the positive caster too much is not a good idea because it will make the steering heavier and hard to rotate. 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.

Can a caster setting cause uneven tire wear?

Of all of the alignment settings, however, caster is the least likely to be a cause of uneven or abnormal tire wear. A holistic alignment approach involves verification of caster settings that are to your vehicle’s specification.

What happens when a caster setting is negative?

The self-aligning torque and straight-line stability that is characteristic of positive caster are absent in a negative caster setting. In fact, a “loose” steering wheel and immense front wheel instability would result from a negative caster setup. Caster’s influence on tire wear Caster settings are not a primary, direct factor in tire wear.