It’s a term you might hear every time you visit an auto repair shop, but what is wheel alignment all about and why is it necessary? In the simplest terms, it ensures that all four wheels and tires are rolling in exactly the same direction. Over time, wheels can become off-track and even the slightest misalignment can affect your vehicle’s performance and drivability.
Here we’re going to lay out all of the benefits of wheel alignment, which involves making adjustments to your vehicle’s suspension system – the connection between the vehicle and the wheels.
Benefits Of Wheel Alignment
Here are the 5 benefits of wheel alignment:
#1. Increase Fuel Efficiency.
Your wheels will not usually work properly together if they are not aligned correctly. As a result, the engine has to work harder due to increased rolling resistance, decreasing your car’s fuel efficiency. In fact, a misaligned car can drop gas mileage by as much as 10%.
By aligning your wheels properly, you evenly spread the power and torque, which means you conserve fuel.
#2. Longer-Lasting Tires.
Improper alignment can lead to premature and uneven tire wear. If you wait until it’s too late to do a wheel alignment, you may end up buying new tires more often. While you are near your vehicle, check your tires to see if they show any signs of these three types of uneven or premature tire wear:
- Feathering: Tires are ” feathered ” when the tread is smooth or worn on one side and sharp on the other. This type of tire wear occurs when there is a combination of incorrect alignment settings.
- Camber wear: Does the inside or outside edge of your tire tread look much more worn than the center of the tread? This may be due to fall wear. Camber refers to the angle of your tires on the vehicle frame and can be positive or negative depending on the angle. Positive camber (leaning outward) is usually helpful in keeping recreational vehicles stable, while negative camber (leaning inward) helps high-performance vehicles negotiate corners. While some positive or negative camber is good, too much of either is bad.
- Heel and toe wear: Take a picture of your tire treads and zoom in. These individual sections are called tire “tread blocks”. When one side of a tread block in the direction of travel of your tire seems to be wearing faster than the other, it is referred to as heel and toe wear. A symptom of heel/toe wear can be noise or vibration.
#3. Improved Vehicle Steering.
Steering your car is often more difficult when the wheels are out of alignment. The misalignment of your vehicle may require you to hold the steering wheel at an uncomfortable angle in order to steer properly.
Compensating for an improper alignment by adjusting your steering is tiring and distracting and increases the risk of a road accident.
Therefore, align your wheels as needed. By aligning your wheels properly, you can maintain stable control of your vehicle.
#4. Smoother Ride.
Misaligned wheels often fight against one another and even drag while you drive. As a result, you can feel the effects directly while driving.
When your car’s wheel alignment is off, your vehicle tends to pull to one side or the other, causing you to have jarring, bumpy, or even vibrating rides.
Aligning your wheels helps make your behind-the-wheel experience smoother and more enjoyable.
#5. Reduce Expensive Auto Repairs.
Driving with poor alignment will cause the parts in your car to wear out unevenly and prematurely. Every time you hit a pothole or bump in the road, you’re steering and suspension systems take a hit.
If your tires don’t help evenly during impact, certain areas of these systems will take impact harder than others, causing them to fail sooner than they should. If they fail completely, you face an expensive auto repair service that could have been avoided.
It is important as a car owner to be able to identify the signs of your wheels being misaligned. Typically, it is recommended to get your wheels aligned every 2 to 3 years. However, to ensure the optimal safety of your car, yourself and others around you, it is best to opt for a wheel alignment every time you go to change your oil of the vehicle.
It is also important to visit a reputed service centre for your cars wheel alignment. The skilled and experienced car technicians will be able to align your wheels as necessary. You should avoid doing this by yourself as you might end up causing more damage to your vehicle. Find the best service centre near you and take your car for regular servicing and wheel alignment to ensure optimal maintenance and use of your car.
