Wheel Alignment
Checking your vehicle’s wheel alignment should be a critical part of your vehicle’s regular maintenance schedule, but most owners tend to neglect this step too often.
It would be best if you did so as it can help keep your vehicle’s long-term costs down while assuring that it stays safe to drive. Nevertheless, before you can truly understand the importance of having wheel alignment, you will first need to know what it is.
What is wheel alignment?
Also known as wheel tracking, wheel alignment involves the process of measuring and adjusting your vehicle’s steering wheel and suspension components according to the manufacturer’s specifications. To put it simply, wheel alignment is changing your vehicle’s wheel’s position concerning one another and the road.
Remember, it is not just the adjustment of your vehicle’s tires themselves but rather the angles of your tires, affecting how they come in contact with the road. Considering that your vehicle’s tires are the only part that connects your car to the road, it would be best for you to keep them in good condition.
Daily Service
Why do you need to get your wheel alignment checked regularly?
Even though you may not realize it, your usual driving can affect your wheel tracking, which is why getting your alignment checked regularly by a DFW mechanic is essential.
Even though your vehicle’s wheels will naturally become misaligned with time, not getting them corrected can lead to premature and uneven wear on your tire.
Nevertheless, when it comes to misalignment of your vehicle prematurely, the following are the most well-known causes:
Damaged or worn suspension
Hitting of pavement or pothole
Toe-out and toe-in
Toe refers to the angle at which each wheel is concerning the vehicle’s centerline running down the middle if you look at your car from above. It is the inward or outward angle of your tire, and, depending on its tilt, it can result in negative or positive camber.
Both of these terms indicate improper front or rear wheel alignment, which needs to be adjusted. Ball joints, worn bearings, and other parts of your wheel suspension can result in camber misalignment.
Toe-in or positive toe can cause tire wear on the outside edges, whereas toe-out or negative toe can lead to tire wear on the inside edge.
Camber or cross camber
Camber is the total amount of tilt in your vehicle’s wheel, which can be seen when the top part of your wheel is leaning away from your car.
This is known as a positive camber, while a negative camber is when your wheel starts to tilt inward at the top. You may not notice if the camber is right, but if it is not, it can also result in excessive tire wear and make your car pull towards a particular side.
Cross camber refers to the overall difference in camber from one side of your car to the other. If your vehicle’s alignment has the appropriate tolerance but at the opposite ends of the scale, the cross camber will be high, which means that your car may start to get pulled.
Cross camber isn’t easy to detect, and most vehicle owners struggle to get it just right, so most vehicle manufacturers now specify this value for your convenience.
Caster
The caster is the angle of your vehicle’s steering axis when looked at from its side. Your vehicle’s caster helps improve the stability of your vehicle and cornering.
A positive caster signifies that your vehicle’s steering access will tilt towards the driver’s side. In contrast, a negative caster means that the steering access will lean towards the front of your vehicle.
An incorrect angle can reduce your vehicle’s overall stability, so you must ensure that your caster is correct for better vehicle control.
The thrust angle refers to your vehicle’s rear wheel’s direction in relation to its invisible central line. Have you ever noticed a vehicle driving in front of you which looks like it’s going a little sideways?
This happens due to having an incorrect thrust angle that may push your vehicle to move sideways from its rear.
Here at Express Auto & Tires, our professional technicians can rectify all types of wheel tracking problems that your vehicle may have using state-of-the-art tools and equipment.
Get in touch with Express Auto & Tires.
If you live in or around Irving, TX, and are looking to get your vehicle’s regular maintenance done by professionals, you can get in touch with Express Auto & Tires. We also serve the cities of Euless and Grand Prairie.
Our skilled team can fix any vehicle that requires service by providing a thorough diagnostic, and executes repairs accordingly.
Want to get in touch? Give us a call at 972-636-4903, and one of our professionals will take care of all your auto servicing needs.
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