Steering

 

Basics of Steering Fundamentals

(camber angle, caster angle, toe in and toe out, kpi and sai)

Steering system consists of :-

1. camber angle 
2. caster angle
3. toe in and toe out
4. kpi and sai

steering fundamentals

CAMBER ANGLE 

The angle made by the wheel axis to the road normal axis is called the Camber angle.

camber angle

If the wheel is tilted outside, then it is called the positive camber angle.

positive camber angle

If the wheel axis is coinciding with the road normal axis it is called Zero camber.

Zero camber

If the wheel axis is tilted inside then it is called the negative camber angle.

negative camber angle

 Normally the positive camber angle is used because during turning it plays an significant role.

CASTER ANGLE

The angle made by the steering axis of the car with the road normal axis is known as the caster angle.

If the steering axis is tilted backside, then it is called the positive caster angle.

positive caster angle

If the steering axis is straight it is known as zero caster angle.

zero caster angle

If the steering axis is tilted forward side is known as the negative caster angle.

 negative caster angle

TOE IN & TOE OUT

If you see the vehicle from the top you think that the wheels are at the same distance. But practically this is not the case, to increase the handling of a vehicle the distance between the wheel is decreased from the front side . This process is known as TOE IN

TOE IN

If the distance between the wheel is increased from the front side, then it is known as TOE OUT.

TOE OUT

STEERING AXIS INCLINATION [SAI] AND KINGPIN INCLINATION [KPI].

   When a car is about to take a turn, the Wheels turn about the center axis. This axis is called a steering axis 

The distance between the wheel axis and the steering axis is called the scrub radius. 

If the scrub radius is more than it will take more effort to rotate steering.So to decrease the scrub radius steering axis are always inclined to wheel axis which results in easy turning of a vehicle and it also helps to bring the steering back to initial position .