Over the past thirty years that Supertracker have been supplying wheel alignment equipment the advance in vehicle technology has continually moved forward - however it is now moving at a much faster pace. 

The advances we are now seeing is in the electronic technology on cars and trucks. Newer vehicles are often sold with additional technologies such as adaptive cruise control, lane assist, park assist, adaptive headlights etc. These new systems rely on the vehicle having the steering geometry correctly set and the radar camera and its systems calibrated so everything functions as it was designed to do.

There are several ways to mount the ADAS radar sensors - to the roofs header, the rearview mirrors, in the front grill of the vehicle or to a glass bracket on the inside surface of the windshield.

When should ADAS systems be calibrated?

Any vehicle that mounts the ADAS camera to the glass requires that the camera be re-calibrated if the windscreen is replaced to ensure proper operation. If the windscreen hasn’t been replaced the camera should still be in calibration.

Let us look at the situation with the same logic with regards to the other mounting options. Cameras  and alignment are set during manufacture. Alignment is set during manufacture. If during the life cycle of the car the alignment needs correcting and the cameras have remained undisturbed then a four wheel alignment adjusted to the vehicle thrust angle (centreline) is all that is required (as long as the thrust angle remains unchanged from the factory setting).

The basis of all of these procedures is the starting point - making sure the wheel alignment angles are correct with a zero thrust angle. From here the cameras may or may not need resetting. If resetting is required an additional piece of equipment is required to carry out the camera calibration process which are available as a separate cost.

The conclusion is you do not always need to reset ADAS cameras every time a wheel alignment is carried out.

As one of the leading equipment suppliers in the UK, Supertracker are able to offer this equipment to allow each customer to be at the forefront of vehicle adjustment.