Quote:
Originally Posted by DBordersX
caster (not entirely clear what that is still either)
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Hi,
Caster is the angle between the steer axis of the steering system and a line that is perpendicular to the road at the tire contact patch, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (looking at the side of the car in other words)
In other words, draw a line connecting the center of the lower ball joint and the center of the upper ball joint. This is the steer axis. Then draw a line that goes through the center of the contact patch and is perpendicular to the contact patch. The angle between these two lines is the caster angle.
Caster is used to add self-aligning torque to steering systems, along with other things. The self-aligning torque helps in straight line stability, and it is the reason why your steering wheel wants to make itself "turn back" to straight when you are in a turn, hence self-aligining torque.
Hope that you understand caster better now. Sorry I couldn't help with your actual problem.
Bill