Getting the Wheel Alignment Done Regularly

Have you been traveling down the road and gotten behind a car that just looked like it was traveling crooked, yet still headed straight on the road? That car might have had a problem with the frame from a car accident. Sometimes the problems with going straight down the road aren't so obvious, such as in the case of your tires. The tires need to be regularly aligned so that you know when you go down the road; you are going in a way that all tires are evenly touching the surface of the road. Not having your tires properly aligned can cause all sorts of issues from low gas mileage to uneven wear on the tires that could result in getting a flat or needing a new tire.

What is a Wheel Alignment?

A Wheel Alignment is a process that auto mechanics do on a machine to keep your tires in balance. When you get a new set of tires or have your current ones rotated, it isn't as simple as simply stuffing them back over the rims and sending you away down the road. The tires need to be carefully checked so that they all face the same angle and will wear in the same manner as the car goes down the road. Even being off a degree or two from the rest of the tires could cause uneven wear. The ASE master technician will drive your car up on a device with a measuring plate under each tire. It weighs and checks the angle of the tire in degrees and compares it to that of all the other tires and where they should actually be when on the road.

Why Get an Alignment?

When you get your tires aligned it means that all of the tires are in the correct balance. When they are not in the correct balance, then the problems can creep up. One tire might wear faster than another one, making you have to buy tires sooner rather than later because one is worn out. And improper Wheel Alignment can also mess with the gas mileage your car gets. If the tires are fighting each other to go down the road, it is extra work the engine is doing that you aren't even aware of. By having the tires with the right tire pressure and being balanced, they will get optimum fuel efficiency and gas mileage. Everybody wants to get great gas mileage these days, so why not go out and spend a little bit of money on an alignment?

Problems from Unaligned Tires
Tires that remain unaligned for a significant amount of time will wear unevenly. Even if you get the tires rotated, it could be enough to set the tire apart from the others so that it is not usable within the set of four you have. Since you are having the tires checked and rotated, it just makes sense to have them place the car on the machine and check the balance and alignment of them. It usually takes less than an hour to complete, including the corrections, so it doesn't have to take up a lot of your time.

tags: wheel aligner