Why is there a sweet spot (50-60mph) where a vehicle will shake when the alignment is off? How does the shaking start around 50/55 and get better after going over 60?
In: Engineering
It usually has nothing to do with alignment, but balance (imbalance actually) of the wheels and tires or other spinning driveline components.
The “sweet spot” is when it hits a resonant frequency that makes it most noticable. Above or below that and it gets absorbed or dampened by other vibrations.
In the rare event you do feel a vibration caused by alignment would most likely be attributed to extreme toe-in. Camber and caster aren’t going to cause a vibration. In the case of toe, if it’s so far in that the tires are scrubbing along the pavement, that could potentially be perceived as a vibration in the steering wheel, but it’s not common, and it’s more likely to just wear the tires prematurely.
What you’re describing is very typical of first order driveline vibrations.
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