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Abstract
A vehicle’s suspension can experience slight variations in geometry due to a myriad of different conditions. The fluidity of a vehicle’s suspension has led to the experimentation of what causes wheel alignment variability and how those changes affect variability. This study focuses on how load positioning and load magnitude affect standard deviation of camber, caster, and toe measurements. The vehicle chosen for this study is a 1999 Porsche Carrera 911 (996). Due to the nature of studying standard deviation, a large number of wheel alignment measurements were necessary; a new system was created for lifting the car and conducting wheel alignments. This was comprised of a four-post lift, custom crossbeams, and a custom inner stand. In regards to the experiment, each case, not including the base case, had load added in separate locations (front trunk, left side, right side, and rear) of the vehicle from 150 lbs. to 600 lbs. For each case, individual wheel loads were measured. Initial results showed that camber and toe variability increased with increasing wheel load. Under further investigation, neither wheel load magnitude nor load position influences wheel alignment variability. However, suspension geometry does influence wheel alignment variability. Multi-link suspensions are more susceptible to higher levels of wheel alignment variability than MacPherson strut suspensions.