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how does the NCT measure wheel alignment?

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  • 15-06-2007 11:07am
    #1
    peasant
    Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭


    This is just a technical curiosity question:

    If you get your wheels aligned in a garage, they attach all sorts of rulers and gauges to your wheels and then measure angles and such with mirrors and lights and god knows what.

    If you go to the NCT, they drive on a pad, shine a light somehwere and they get a result.

    How does this work?


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    #2
    littlejukka
    Closed Accounts Posts: 423 ✭✭littlejukka


    the nct only measure divergence, whether or not the wheels are pulling away from each other or towards each other as you drive forwards. the reading is taken as +/- Xmetres per kilometre.

    the garage not only has to read the divergence, but also measure where it is divergent, why it is divergent and what exactly has to be done to get it straight.


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    #3
    daedalus2097
    Registered Users Posts: 615 ✭✭✭daedalus2097


    They basically measure how far off straight the wheels are my measuring how much they wander to the side while on the rollers... There's a lot more to it when you want to realign them, lasers and mirrors are used on all 4 wheels to get a reading of angle rather than misalignment per km (though I suppose you could calculate it from that). To be honest, the laser method might be less severe an outlay for a garage to set it up, and can measure things like camber etc. that the NCT won't check.


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