An Experimental Study on Wheel Alignment and Shock Absorber Conditions for Fuel Performance Analysis of a Light Vehicle

Abstract

In this study, an EHCO PLUS- 2ZZ-GE-02 model light vehicle was used to analyze the fuel performance with the consideration of the effect of wheel alignment and shock absorber conditions. In the experimental setup, a computerized machine vision-based wheel alignment measuring system was used to detect the misalignment of the wheels and the fuel performance of the vehicle measured before and after wheel alignment. The analysis results reveal that fuel consumption depends on wheel alignment. Also, the wheel alignment has been greatly affected by shock absorber conditions. Through the experimental process, it is found that wheel misalignment under inflation pressure in the tire and improper shock absorber condition resulted in increasing the fuel consumption rate. However, the fuel consumption rate of the vehicle has significantly improved by adjusting the alignment of wheels.