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There are two ways of checking axle parellelism. The car can be positioned on a flat and level floor area and the chassis pick-up point locations transferred down to the floor using a set square; the car is rolled away and then the points can be connected by lines drawn on the floor. Alternatively, accurate lines are drawn on the floor and the car accurately positioned over them, a set square is then used to transfer the pick-up point locations to the floor. Use the method that best suits the car concerned. In the first instance the chassis is checked by relating the pick-up points of the front and rear suspension to each other. The average wheelbase is between 90-98in/228-249cm long and this length can pose a problem of scale

Parallelism of the planes X-X and Z-Z is required.

stands under the car as a safety precaution before going underneath. Never trust a jack. Measure from the floor to the rear suspension pick-up points. The dimensions for each matching pair of points must be the same. CHECKING CHASSIS INTEGRITY Squareness Squareness, in this instance, relates directly to the parallelism of the front and rear axles axes (theoretical, in the case of the front suspension and for independent rear suspension). If the car has a live rear axle, measurements are taken from the axle and transferred to the front of the car. If the front and rear axle axes are not parallel the car will crab (travel slightly sideways) as it goes down the road or track. The more the error the greater the crab effect. Also the car will tend to turn better one way than the other due to the fact that the wheelbase is different on the car side to side. There is a further consideration

Wheels on each axle should be equal distances from the cars centreline.

regarding squareness and that is the positioning of the cars wheels about the centreline of the vehicle. The front and rear track widths of a car can be different, but both have to be displaced equally about the centreline of the car. If the chassis is bent or twisted in some way, the wheels may well be parallel front to rear but not in line on the basis of the left rear wheel being in the same position behind the left front wheel as the right rear wheel is in relation to the right front wheel.

when absolute accuracy is required. The solution to this is to use a threefour-five triangle (any right-angled triangle is subject to this mathematical principle - see diagram overleaf). For greater accuracy, the proportions of the triangle (its second longest side) can be increased so that it is nearly the length of the cars wheelbase. For instance, the measurements used to construct the triangle can be 6 by 8 by 10 feet/180 by 240 by 300cm (or any size triangle

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RIDE HEIGHT
Swing axle suspension Swing axles are rarely used on modern cars. With this form of suspension the axles (driveshafts) are used as swinging arms, each having a universal joint at the differential end upon which the
Swing axle rear suspension pivots from universal joints (A) on each side of the differential. The wheel axis and the axle axis are the same (no compliance between the two. Diagram shows wheel attitude at the correct ride height, 0.25-0.5 degree negative camber).

Swing axle rear suspension in droop. Suspension travel needs to be limited so that the suspension does not allow the wheels to move more than 2.5 degrees of negative or positive camber. The wheels camber in the right directions for cornering purposes, its just that they camber far too much.

Swing axle rear suspension in compression. Tyres are not in good contact with the ground. The more suspension travel there is, the more the suspension goes negative. The only thing to do is limit the suspension travel using strong springing and, perhaps, an anti-roll bar.

Car is turning left and has 3 degrees of body roll. Wheel on the right has too much negative camber, while wheel on the left has too much positive camber. This view is from the rear of the car. Axles pivot at (A) and (A) only.

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wishbone pick-up points (on both sides of the car) are an equal distance from a level flat surface, the ideal starting point has been achieved. Average suspension travel is approximately a total of 2.5-4in/63-101mm, but, irrespective of this, if the chassis pick-up point and the centre of the ball joint are on a parallel line in relation to the road, the wishbones effective length will be as constant as possible under all operating conditions. This type of design/setting has no real disadvantages. Some suspension systems are not designed with wishbone pick-up points parallel to the bottom ball joint and, instead, have the chassis pick-up point centre higher, by around 0.250.625in/6.3mm-17mm, than the ball joint centre. There is some advantage with this set-up in that, when the car is cornering (exhibits body roll), in effect the bottom arm lengthens whilst the arm on the other side of the car shortens. This has the effect of pushing the bottom of the tyre out on one side of the car and bringing the bottom of the tyre in on the other side of the car: this is all about wheel/tyre attitude while cornering. The slight disadvantage of this design is that when travelling on a straight but undulating road, when the suspension is in compression the wheels display more negative camber. In the same situation, during suspension rise the negative camber is reduced, but this seldom goes too far or causes the wheels to have positive camber. Avoid having the chassis pick-up point higher by more 0.75in/19mm than the stub axles bottom ball joint centre. FRONT WISHBONES (UPPER) The chassis pick-up points should always (if possible) be lower than the centre of the top ball joint of the stub axle. The reason for this is that, when

Bottom arms arc of travel causes effective arm lengthening in suspension compression and shortening in droop because the chassis pick-up point is higher than the bottom stub axle balljoint centre.

Top arm is inclined at the ride height. Suspension arm has maximum possible effective arm length alteration as the suspension goes through its arc of travel (A-B).

Top arm parallel to the ground at ride height. Arm moves through an arc of travel as the suspension compresses or droops. Suspension arm has minimal length alteration.

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Rear wheels (dotted in) with toe-in equally dispersed about the centreline of the car.

Cars with anti-dive geometry may well be able to use softer springing, which means that the wheels will follow the road better. AA are the top wishbone chassis pick-up points, B-B the lower wishbone pick-up points. CG is the position of the cars centre of gravity.

through the true centre of gravity and not just near it), the front of the car hardly dips at all, even under the heaviest braking. The advantages of this system are that no extra spring pressure is required in the front suspension to prevent nosedive, and it avoids alterations in the geometry

caused by excessive nosediving (such as camber changes and excessive toeout) which make the car unstable under heavy braking. Needless to say, anti-dive geometry is well worth having despite the complications involved, especially when the car is frontengined and the engine relatively

heavy (over 300Ib/135kg). TRAILING ARM LIVE REAR AXLE LOCATION The most common method of longitudinal axle location is by trailing links with lateral location controlled by a

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Negative camber, castor & kingpin inclination

NEGATIVE CAMBER The front wheels of virtually all cars are set with negative camber, but the usual question is how much negative camber would be ideal? Frequently, sportscars and other high performance cars are seen with large amounts of negative camber because it is deemed necessary to improve handling and, more specifically, cornering. Negative camber is built into the geometry of the front suspension to improve the attitude of one wheel during cornering. This wheel is the left hand front wheel of a car turning right or the right hand front wheel of a car turning left. The wheel is highly loaded in this situation and, if it has the right amount of negative camber, the tyre will be supported correctly. Support of the highly loaded front tyre is quite important. To take the concept of tyre support to what should be an extreme (unfortunately, it is a reality on some older cars), take the right front wheel of a car turning left as an example. The suspension geometry causes the front wheel to exhibit between 5 and 7 degrees (or more) of positive camber. During hard cornering the tyre looks as though it is going to roll off the rim, and the car is definitely not handling well. Suffice to say that, with some alteration to the geometry and suspension (increased castor to promote negative camber, increased static negative camber, stronger springs to reduce body roll, reduced ride height to possibly allow better geometry, altered top A arm position - to name a few), that same car will have a very different attitude at the same speed and in the same corner. The car will be quite controllable and, in fact, will handle much better than it did originally.

Chapter 5

Car with excessive negative camber under hard braking does not have the tyres in touch with the road or as evenly loaded as they would be if the tyres were vertical or near vertical.

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