Advanced Wheel Alignment Calculator
Four-corner camber, caster, and toe calculator with unit conversions, tire-wear predictions, thrust-angle, scrub radius, and setup presets for street, track, drift, drag, and off-road builds. Includes top-down + front + side SVG visualizers.
How to Use
- Pick a setup preset to start (Street, Track, Drift, Drag, Off-road) — fills all four corners with sensible values.
- Adjust each corner: camber (degrees), toe (per-wheel degrees / mm / inches), caster (front only).
- Tire size sets the diameter used for toe-mm ↔ toe-degrees conversions.
- Read the live results: total toe per axle, thrust angle, predicted tire wear, scrub radius, recommendation alerts.
| Axle | Total toe | Camber Δ (L−R) | Avg camber | Avg caster |
|---|
| Measurement | Value | Spec range | Status |
|---|
| Wheel | Inside edge | Centre | Outside edge | Scrub /1000 mi | Life vs ideal |
|---|
Conversions & formulas
Spec ranges by setup
| Setup | Front camber | Front toe (total) | Caster | Rear camber | Rear toe (total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEM Sedan | −0.5° to 0° | +0 to +2 mm | +3° to +5° | −1° to −0.5° | +1 to +3 mm |
| Sport / Daily+ | −1° to −1.5° | 0 mm | +5° to +6° | −1.5° to −2° | +1 to +2 mm |
| Autocross | −2° to −2.5° | −1 to 0 mm | +6° to +8° | −1.5° to −2° | +1 to +2 mm |
| Track day | −2.5° to −3.5° | −1 to +1 mm | +6° to +8° | −2° to −2.5° | +1 to +2 mm |
| Drift (FR) | −3° to −5° | −4 to −2 mm | +7° to +10° | −1° to −2° | 0 to +1 mm |
| Drag race (FWD/RWD) | 0° | 0 mm | +3° to +4° | 0° | 0 mm |
| Off-road / lifted | 0° to +1° | +2 to +5 mm | +3° to +5° | 0° | +2 to +4 mm |
| Stance / show | −5° to −12° | 0 mm (cosmetic) | +3° to +5° | −5° to −10° | 0 mm |
Symptom diagnosis
| Symptom | Likely cause | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Pulls right (or left) | Caster mismatch L vs R, or camber mismatch | Side with LESS + caster pulls. Or side with MORE + camber pulls. |
| Pulls left + tire pressure even | Road crown (most US roads crown right) compounded by setup | Increase right-side caster 0.3–0.5° to compensate. |
| Steering wheel off-center | Total toe is fine but split unevenly L/R, OR thrust angle | Equal toe each wheel; verify rear thrust = 0. |
| Inside edge wear (front) | Too much negative camber, or toe-out | Decrease camber and/or move to neutral toe. |
| Outside edge wear (front) | Positive camber, or extreme toe-in | Add negative camber; check toe. |
| Cupping / scalloping wear | Worn shocks / bushings + slight toe error | Replace shocks first, then re-align. |
| Centre wear only | Over-inflation, NOT alignment | Check tire pressure. |
| Both edges wear (centre fine) | Under-inflation, NOT alignment | Check tire pressure. |
| Heavy / vague steering after corner | Insufficient positive caster | Add 1–2° positive caster (if adjustable). |
| Twitchy at speed | Excessive toe-out front, rear thrust angle | Set front toe to slight + (in); verify rear. |
DIY string-line check
- Park on flat ground. Roll the car forward 3 m and back to settle suspension.
- Suspend two strings parallel to the body, equidistant from each wheel hub centre. Use jack stands at ride-height.
- String-to-rim distance: measure at front edge of wheel (Dfront) and rear edge (Dback). Same horizontal plane.
- Per-wheel toe (mm) = Dback − Dfront. Positive = toe-IN.
- Camber: place a digital level on the rim's outer face (clean it first). Read directly in degrees.
- Caster: needs to turn each wheel through ±20° while measuring camber change. Caster (deg) = (camber@−20° − camber@+20°) × 1.5.
- Adjust by turning the tie-rods (toe), shimming the upper control arm or adjusting the camber bolt (camber), and the strut top mount (caster).
Always re-tighten jam nuts and torque to spec (typ. 60-90 ft-lb tie-rod jam nut), then re-measure.
About this calculator
Modeled after the four-corner alignment displays on commercial Hunter / John Bean alignment machines, this tool computes everything those machines display — total toe, thrust angle, included angle (when SAI is supplied) — plus extras like predicted tire-wear bias, scrub distance per 1000 miles from toe error, and pull diagnosis from camber / caster splits. The visualizers are intentionally exaggerated (5× to 10× the actual angles) so small differences are easy to read.
All math is client-side. No telemetry, no upload, no cookies. Useful for setting up a build before paying for a shop alignment, for verifying your printed alignment slip matches your spec, or for diagnosing why a freshly-aligned car still pulls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Negative or positive camber?
Negative camber (top tilts inward) increases cornering grip — under load the tire flattens against the road. Track cars run −2° to −4° front, −1.5° to −3° rear. Street cars stay closer to 0° (−0.5° to −1°) to maximise tire life. Positive camber is rare on modern vehicles, used mainly on heavily-loaded farm equipment for stability.
Toe-in vs toe-out?
Toe-in (front edges closer) gives straight-line stability, dampens steering, increases understeer. Toe-out (front edges farther) sharpens turn-in, increases oversteer, wears inside edges quickly. Daily drivers run 0 to +2 mm total toe-in front; track cars run 0 to −2 mm front, +0 to +2 mm rear.
What does caster do?
Positive caster (steering axis tilts backward at the top) gives the wheels a self-centering torque after a corner — the same effect as a shopping-cart caster. More positive caster = heavier steering effort but better high-speed stability. Most cars run +3° to +7° front. Negative caster is unstable and basically never specified.
How does alignment affect tire life?
Toe error is the #1 wear cause: every 1 mm of total toe-in error = roughly 5–10% increased tread wear. Camber error wears one shoulder — −2° camber wears the inside edge ~30% faster than centre on a typical performance tire. Bad caster doesn't wear tires directly but causes pull and uneven cornering wear.
What is thrust angle?
Thrust angle is the direction the rear axle is "pointing" relative to the vehicle centerline. If the rear axle is angled, the car drives slightly crab-walked — front wheels must be steered off-center to compensate, causing crooked steering wheel and uneven front tire wear. Spec: thrust angle should be within ±0.06° (±0.06 degrees, or about ±1 mm offset).
String / DIY alignment?
You can DIY toe with two strings parallel to the car centerline (suspended at hub-height). Measure string-to-rim distance at front and back of each wheel. Difference between front and back = toe in mm. Camber needs a digital level on the rim (with the wheels straight). Caster can't be DIY'd easily — it requires turning the wheels through known angles.
Common Use Cases
Daily driver
Set conservative camber and zero toe to maximise tire life. Predict wear cost over 30k miles.
Track day setup
Aggressive negative camber + slight toe-out front, slight toe-in rear. See what the tire wear will look like over a 4-day weekend.
Drift build
Massive toe-out on front for sharper turn-in and steering angle, neutral rear, high caster.
Drag race
Zero camber and toe everywhere to reduce rolling resistance. Aim for straight-line minimum scrub.
Off-road / lifted truck
Caster compensation after lift kit, slight positive camber from suspension geometry, toe-in for stability.
Diagnose a pull
Car pulls right? Use the diagnosis section to identify camber / caster mismatch as cause.
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