Suspension and Alignment questions.

[imported_vr6]

All the car gurus out there can you guys explain to me how aligment works?

Heres the story, I replaced the factory Shocks/struts/springs on my 2000 Jetta about a month ago. Now that its all settled in, its time for an aligment. However i am not sure how various part of the suspension system works. I did install everything myself but, i don't know the technical items.

I tried howstuffworks.com, but they don't even bother with suspension stuff. So howfully you guys can help me out.

Some terms i am unclear about.

Front Camber? Rear Camber? how do they work?
Toe - in ?
toe - out?

 

[JC]

Camber is where the tire 'leans' in or out at the top, relative to the bottom.
Toe-in is just what you'd expect, toe-in being the tires closer at the front than the rear.

Camber relates mostly to handling around corners, helps keep the tire perpendicular to the road.
Toe-in affects straight-line stability, as well as tire wear (too much = bad)

Just a quick explanation.

 

[imported_vr6]

so how is camber and toe in/out measured by? Degrees? MM?

 

[JC]

Camber is measured in degrees, negative camber being 'leaning in at the top'.
Toe-in us typically measured in inches (or, I suppose, mm).

JC