5 Indicators Of Bad Wheel Alignment

We are going to address the leading problems why your care needs to be re-aligned. We will go over different wheel alignments and why it’s so important you take care of the problem as soon as possible. Let’s get started:

The most common problem of a defective wheel alignment, your car pulls to one side when you are traveling at higher speeds. If your steering wheel is not aligned when driving in a straight line, chances are, your wheel alignment is out of wack.

You might be concerned that the cost will be more expensive than you are willing to pay but you haven’t got a clue what’s causing the problem you will blindly rely on someone to fix the problem. So let’s look at wheel alignment a little closer.

When Your Car Is Pulling To One Side

If you are driving down the road and take your hands off the wheel, your cars should continue in a straight line. Granted there could a small chance that the condition of the road is not great but your car should not pull in the same direction. If your car pulls in the same direction and you are not holding the steering wheel, need to get a wheel alignment.

Your Steering Wheel Is Not Correctly Aligned

If your steering wheel is perfectly centered your front wheels should be centered as well. If you are turning, and it’s not performing properly, you have an alignment problem.

The exact problem could be your wheel alignment, steering wheel alignment, or the steering wheel’s column alignment. Whatever is causing it, getting an alignment performed should take care of the issue.

That said, there are other things that can be going on causing a bad alignment.

Uneven Tyre Wear & Tear

If your tyres are misaligned and you do not have the problem corrected, you will experience unusual tyre wear. Having your tyres rotated will help eliminate the problem. It won’t do much for your tyre’s unusual wear but will prevent even faster wear and tear. What’s probably happening, one tyre is not straight when you are driving, it’s rubbing at an angle. That will lead to earlier wearing and you will end up having to replace your tyres sooner than you expected.

Also, not correcting the problem will put added stress on your steering and suspension components at the wheel. These components will wear out too soon.

You Experience Squealing Sounds While Driving

On top of the misalignment, you are hearing squealing sounds when you drive. The sound is coming from your tyres dragging across the road or pavement instead of rolling like they are supposed to. If you are experiencing squealing the alignment is probably pretty bad. If that’s the case, you need to have this corrected as quickly as possible.

Your Steering Wheel Is Vibrating

If your wheel alignment is getting really bad, you will feel vibrations from the steering wheel as you drive.

The vibrations are being caused by the tyre skipping across the road or pavement when you drive. The skipping is putting a great deal of pressure on your steering components located between the steering wheel and the tyres. That’s exactly what’s causing the vibrations.

The Different Wheel Alignments

There are different wheel alignments for your tyres. There are drivers who are actually creating various tyre conditions that end up leading to poor performance. We will go over these conditions to help you out:

Camber Angle

Camber is how the top of the tyre tilts vs the bottom of the tyre. If the top is sticking out toward the car’s edge, you will have positive camber. If the bottom of the tyre sticks out away from the car’s edge you have negative camber.

Both the negative and positive camber will reduce the amount of traction, leading to early wear on the tyres.

Toe-In and Toe Out Angles

Toe refers to the angle the tyre tilts to the rear of the tyre. If the front of the tyre pints in, you have what is known as “Toe-in”. If the front of the tyre tilts away from the car, you have “Toe-out”. An incorrect alignment will lead to early wear and your tyres will skip when you are driving.

Caster Angle

Caster refers to the way your car suspension mounts to the hub. If the upper part leans toward the rear of your car, you have a negative caster. If it leans toward the front, you have a positive caster.

Unlike other alignments, you always want straight up but in this alignment you want a slight positive caster to help you control your car.

Are Wheel Alignments Important?

Yes, wheel alignments are a critical part of your car. You might think everything would be okay if the alignment is just slightly off but you might not realize the longer you let this go, the greater the problem will be as well as the damage you will cause.

Tyres wearing down too soon is only the beginning. You will wear down your suspension and steering components and if the alignment is really bad, you will break these compo9nents.

Adding to that, you will decrease performance caused by poor wheel alignment. You will experience poor traction which will prevent you from accelerating quickly and increase your braking distance.

Due to these poor performances and early wear, you must get your alignment corrected as soon as you notice an alignment problem. If you are concerned this will be an expensive repair, you’d be wrong.

It’s a small price to pay to get your alignment corrected and get more miles out of your tyres while protecting your suspension and steering components for a longer period of time. As mentioned, getting your alignment corrected is not expensive and will be well worth it over time.

If you believe your vehicle wheel alignment may be causing problems with your vehicle working correctly you can get your vehicle checked and your wheel alignment checked and corrected by booking online today. Learn more about wheel alignment.

For further information on our services you can browse the site or get in touch with us by calling 019253 30468 or alternatively, you can email us directly at service@lowtonmotorcompany.co.uk.