Everything To Know About Wheel Alignment

 Wheel alignment, also known as tyre alignment, is a service that allows your wheels to rotate properly by ensuring that they are fixed on the axle at the optimal angle. When you are driving your car, correct alignment ensures that your tyres won't be stressed and thus are able to roll effortlessly. This will reduce the pressure on the engine and prevent it from burning additional fuel, hence saving you money. So, wheel alignment is something that affects your car’s overall performance, your safety, and even your finances. But what is it, how it is done, and when to know you need this service? Today, we are going to look at wheel alignment a little closer with the help of the following blog, which discusses everything to know about wheel alignment. It is best that you read the blog before going for Wheel Alignment in Preston. 

What Is Wheel Alignment?

For those who might not know, wheel alignment is a tyre maintenance service that prevents car tyres from wearing out faster and unevenly. It is mostly done annually and involves initial inspection, angle correction, and adjustment. You should know that every car that comes off the manufacturing table has its wheels mounted on the axle at a very particular angle. This angle is calculated after extensive research and testing and thus allows your wheels to rotate optimally, ensuring that your engine has to spend the least energy. However, with time, as you keep driving the car, the wheels might get misaligned due to physical damage, shock from external impact, or driving over potholes and such. When it happens, the engine has to burn additional fuel to compensate for the increase in rolling resistance of these wheels. This makes it harder not only for your engine but also for your wheels and tyres. This is when wheel alignment comes into the picture. Once you find that your tyres are no longer aligned properly, you have to go for wheel alignment services and get them corrected. But what does this service involve and how it is carried out, let’s find out. 

What Is Done During A Wheel Alignment

When you go for a wheel alignment, the technician will first measure the angles of your wheels, and this involves checking the following:

Camber

This is the outward and inward tilt of your tyres. It is the angle at which your tyres are tilted towards the outside and inside when looked at from the front. As such, the technician has to ensure that your tyres don't have a huge inward or outward tilt, as it will cause issues when you drive, particularly with the steering, as a greater camber will force the car to veer to one side of the road. This is mostly a result of worn-out parts like joints, bearings, ball joints, and other suspension components as well. Furthermore, if you continue driving a camber issues, your tyres will also have to pay the price as they will start to wear off faster and unevenly. 

Toe

This is yet another angle, which basically measures the degree your tyres are able to turn either inwards or outwards, when looked at from above. Both toe-in alignment and toe-out alignment have to be in line with the recommended values as prescribed in the car manual, otherwise, it can lead to problems such as your car losing road grip at corners and becoming prone to accidents. When you take your car for wheel alignment, the toe-in and toe-out angles are accurately measured and then adjusted with a computer-operated machine, as even the slightest deviation in the angle can cause irreparable harm to your tyres as well as your car.

Caster

Finally, there is the caster, which is quite crucial for your car to remain balanced when driving and attain stability at the corners. It is the angle of your steering axis to the wheel axis, when viewed from the side. As such, any deviation in the caster can make it harder for you to drive your car straight. Thus, ignoring wheel alignment, especially problems pertaining to caster, can be quite dangerous. When you go for wheel alignment, if it's found out that you have a positive caster, which means the steering wheel tilts towards you, or a negative caster, where the steering wheel tilts away from you, it will have to be corrected so that you are able to drive without any problems. 

Signs That Indicate Misaligned Wheels

Now that you know what wheel alignment is and how it is carried out, you should also learn a bit more about the signs that indicate alignment issues. When you spot these signs in your car, you should immediately head to an auto repair shop and get a wheel alignment service. 

• Uneven tread wear: One of the most obvious signs of alignment issues is your tyres wearing out unevenly. This happens because your tyres are stressed when the wheels are misaligned. So, when you notice your tyres getting worn out, you should go for wheel alignment. 
• Vibrations in the steering wheel: You might also notice undue vibrations in your steering wheel, which can be an indication of alignment issues. 
• Car pulling to one side: Perhaps this is the most obvious sign of wheel alignment issues. When you find it hard for you to keep the car straight and find it steering to one side of the road, you should get your wheels looked at by a professional.