Reading the angles is half the job — knowing which bolt to turn is the other half.
Each angle has its own adjusters, and they differ by suspension type. Toe is always the tie rods. Camber and caster depend on whether it's a MacPherson strut or a short-long-arm (SLA) setup — and some vehicles ship with no factory adjustment at all, which is where aftermarket kits earn their keep.
⚑ Set them in the right order
Adjust caster and camber first, toe last. Changing camber or caster moves toe, so if you set toe first you'll just have to redo it. And center the steering wheel while you set toe by splitting it between the tie rods.
02 What Moves What
Pick a suspension type and an angle. The corner lights up the adjusters that change it.
Suspension
Adjust
03 What If…
Reason first, then reveal.
?On an SLA suspension you move a shim from the front of the upper arm to the rear. What changed?
Caster. Adding or removing shims equally at both bolts moves camber; changing them unequally (front vs rear) rocks the arm fore/aft and moves caster. Same shims, different distribution, different angle.
?A strut car is out of camber spec and has no factory adjustment. What gets you there?
A camber/crash bolt kit (slots the strut-to-knuckle hole) or an offset strut mount / offset ball joint. These add adjustment range where the factory left none — never bend parts to fake it.
?You nailed camber and caster, then set toe. On the road test the wheel is off-center. Why?
Total toe can be right while the two tie rods are split unequally, which cocks the wheel. Re-divide the toe evenly between left and right tie rods to center the steering wheel without changing total toe.
04 Practice
ASE-style. Pick an answer to see why.
05 Recap
Toe = tie rods, on every vehicle. Set it last.
Strut camber: elongated slots / camber bolts / offset strut mount. Strut caster: strut rod or slotted mount.