Effects of Front Total Toe-In Angle on Tire Wear and Emissions for a Light-Duty Vehicle

Abstract

An experimental investigation is carried out in this study to investigate the effect of wheel alignment, particularly the front total toe-in angle, on tire wear and emissions for a light-duty vehicle. Such investigations reveal that there is a substantial correlation among rolling resistance, energy consumption, tire wear, tire travel life, and the total toe-in angle of the front wheel. It is observed that the rate of loss in tire travel life with regard to a condition without misalignment is up to 98.33% when the front total toe-in angle is out of alignment (ranging from 0.00° to 4.20°). It is found that rolling resistance increases by about 128.86%, while CO2, CO, and NOx emissions rise by nearly 36.67%, 26.83%, and 31.25%, respectively, as the front total toe-in angle increases from 0.00° to 4.20°. The experimental results also reveal that tire circumferential groove wear is observed at 0.04 mm after the vehicle’s travelling distance of 500 km, where the front total toe-in angle is 0.00°, and the tire travelling life is 92250 km. In addition, the tire circumferential groove wear is investigated as 2.40 mm after the vehicle’s travelling distance and tire travel life are recorded to be 3,500 km and 1537.50 km, respectively, due to the occurrence of misalignment (the front total toe-in angle is 4.20°). Finally, a regression model is proposed using the test data. Such a model would be useful to explain the relationship between the related factors and determine the rate of tire wear and emissions. It is noteworthy that the wheels should always remain aligned in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications in order to ensure optimal performance and longevity of the tires