Wheel Alignment On-The-Fly

Nerding out on you just a little here but I think this is really interesting, especially as I recently spent an entire day with my alignment team (yes, it requires a team) getting my 300ZX properly adjusted after a big round of suspension changes. A proper 4-wheel-alignment is complicated and fraught with imperfections, and even the best technicians always seem to require a few iterations to get it just right. And then you change something (or hit a pothole) and screw it all up again.

This AWAS (Active Wheel Alignment Technology) technology currently in development by Australian husband and wife team Geoff and Priscilla Rogers and their business partner Dr Paul Dowie conducts computer-controlled wheel alignments all the time. This means not only keeping alignment on spec, but it could also mean thinking of suspension geometry as a more dynamic thing than simply “correct” or “incorrect”. The ideal tire-to-road angle for an off-the-line launch would be as flat as possible to maximize tire contact patch, but in a banking turn a bit of reverse camber would accomplish that better. You could optimize your setup for one or the other, or compromise somewhere in the middle. But what if you could have both?

These clever Aussies currently have a version with 3 on-the-fly camber adjustments between Normal (0 degree), Sport (-1.5 degree) and Sport+ (-3 degree) and even that can net a 15% increase in handling and 10% reduction in tire temps.

If the Doftek team are able to see this through, AWAS might be an option on new cars in the future and (perhaps even more exciting) an aftermarket option might be possible, as well, including systems using MacPherson struts, double wishbones, multi-link and even with rear-wheel steer systems (!) I’m actively watching this one and will let you know when pre-orders start.

More info the Doftek active wheel alignment system (AWAS) here at New Atlas.