Abstract
Several studies have shown the great influence that the tyre condition has on the risk of road accident. Wheel alignment affects the tyre wear and defect formation, as well as vehicle’s handling performance. A part from road safety, other aspects as sustainability and environment also benefit from a proper wheel alignment, by reducing the rolling resistance, and therefore fuel consumption.
The Periodic Motor Vehicle Inspection (PMVI) ensures the vehicles’ roadworthiness, for example by checking the wheel alignment (essentially the toe angle). The main organizations on this area, UNECE and CITA, establish recommendations to check the wheel alignment according to the manufacturers’ specification, with the aid of a sideslip tester. Nevertheless, different countries have not applied these recommendations, and generally there is not a clear criterion on when a wheel alignment must be considered faulty because of the sideslip measurement.
Consequently, there is a need to develop new methods to effectively diagnose the condition of the wheel alignment.
In this paper three new methods for evaluating the state of the vehicles’ wheel alignment, which represent an objective criterion for the PMVI inspectors, are proposed.
Keywords: Sideslip tester, Wheel alignment, PMVI (Periodic Motor Vehicle Inspection), Toe-in, Roadworthiness