Properly aligned wheels are an important part of vehicle maintenance. When wheels are out of alignment it can cause both premature wearing of the tires as well as issues with the steering. In severe cases, a tire can blow out unexpectedly.
Camber refers to the vertical tilting of a vehicles wheels when seen from the front of the car. If the wheels tilt outward at the top of the tire, the camber is referred to as positive. If the tire tilts inward, then the camber is called negative. A camber alignment aligns the camber of the wheels so they are parallel to each other.
The camber settings on a vehicle can influence the control of the vehicle as well as tire wear. If the camber is positive, the tire will wear prematurely on the outside of the tire. It can also cause wear on the vehicle suspension. Negative camber will cause wear on the inside of the tire.
If the camber of a vehicle is off by more than 1 degree, the vehicle will pull to the side that has positive camber. Camber is aligned during a routine wheel alignment. During a wheel alignment, in addition to camber, the toe and caster of the wheels are aligned.
A wheel alignment is the adjusting of the wheel angles so they are perpendicular with the ground and parallel to the other wheels. While it is possible to do a wheel alignment at home, most experts agree that wheel alignments should be done by a professional.
