Blog

When was the last time you had your vehicle's wheels aligned? Have they been re-aligned since you purchased the car?

As one of the best tire shops in Cedar Park, one thing we've noticed is that drivers often neglect the alignment of their vehicle's wheels - and that's a bad thing for numerous reasons! Poorly aligned tires will cause unnecessary wear and tear, leading to early wheel changes. Worse, poor alignment can also cause safety issues by potentially impacting your handling and road grip.

So, it's important to periodically have your wheels aligned at an experienced Cedar Park tire shop. In this article, we'll cover what wheel alignment does, how often you should do it, and the dangers of driving on misaligned wheels.

I. What Is Wheel Alignment?

Simply put, wheel alignment refers to how your wheels are pointed when they're in motion. Ideally, each tire should be exactly parallel to its opposite on an axle, as well as being precisely perpendicular to the road.

Even minor misalignment issues can cause driving problems, which will only get worse as the alignment problem persists.

Wheel alignment is not something you can "eyeball." Alignment issues are subtle enough that they need precise tools to notice and measure. If the alignment is so bad you can see it with the naked eye, your vehicle is probably unsafe to drive.

You must take your vehicle to a quality Texas tire shop, or another experienced repair center, for them to be properly aligned.

II. The Types of Wheel Mis-Alignment

There are three basic ways that tires can be misaligned.

1. Camber

Camber describes whether the tires are pointing inward or outward when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Any camber, positive or negative, will harm your tires and your driving experience. In particular, camber tends to cause tires to wear unevenly, putting too much pressure on one edge of the tire while taking weight off the other.

2. Toe

Toe is the tilt of the tires, inwards or outwards, when viewed from above. Positive or negative toe can cause significant handling issues, as well as harming your fuel economy - which we'll cover in more detail later on. Too much toe can also cause uneven wear on the tires.

3. Caster

Caster is trickier, because it involves how your wheels are mounted relative to the steering assembly. If the wheels are misaligned on the steering axis, that too can strongly affect your handling and performance. However, proper caster will vary between different types of cars, so you need experienced auto technicians who can distinguish between good and bad caster and align the wheels properly for your vehicle.

III. When You Should Have Your Wheels Aligned

How often do you need to have your wheels aligned? It depends on the situation.

1. Routine alignment every year

Wheels will fall out of alignment over time, even if nothing is particularly wrong. Best practice is to have them aligned around once a year, to keep your vehicle performing at its peak. You might push this to two years, but if so, be very aware of the signs of poor alignment. (Discussed below.)

2. You've been in any kind of collision

Just about any collision, even a minor fender-bender, will tend to throw your alignment off. If you're ever in a collision, it's best to take your car to a repair shop for an inspection and check-up, even if everything seems fine. At the least, the alignment will probably be off, and there may be other unnoticed damage as well.

3. You drive over a lot of potholes or speed bumps

Physical impacts on the wheels will also quickly harm their alignment, particularly potholes and speed bumps. Try to take them as slowly as possible, as it will reduce damage to the tires and wheels. If you ever take a speed bump or pothole at high speeds, or do a hard curb check, you definitely need to have your alignment checked.

IV. Dangerous Signs of Poor Wheel Alignment

So, what happens if you ignore alignment on your wheels, or drive a vehicle that's recently taken a hard hit? These are the red flags that your wheels have become dangerously misaligned.

1. Pulling to one side

The biggest and most dangerous side effect of poor wheel alignment is that you may struggle to simply drive straight down the road. If your vehicle constantly pulls to one side, that suggests a major issue with the wheels - with the alignment being the most likely cause. Take it to the shop immediately!

2. A crooked steering wheel

Does your car drive straight, but your steering wheel is always turned a bit to one side or the other? This is a less extreme version of the basic alignment issue discussed above - and ignoring it could lead to your car pulling to the side over time. Get it taken care of before the problem grows worse.

3. Shaking and vibrations in the steering wheel

If your steering wheel shakes or vibrates, particularly when making a hard turn, that's a sign of serious issues with the wheels or steering assembly. It's not necessarily an alignment issue, but that's one of the most common causes - and also one of the cheapest to repair. Take it to a Texas tire shop before something goes wrong.

4. Significant mismatched wear on your tires

Ideally, your tires should wear down at roughly the same rate, all around the tire. If you notice your tires are suddenly a lot more worn than you remember, or you notice one side of the tire is much more worn than the other side, that's a sign of alignment issues. It's also cutting into the lifespan of your tires and could mean an early unnecessary wheel change to fix them.

In short, wheel alignment is a serious part of vehicle maintenance, and should not be ignored! If you're experiencing any of the problems mentioned above, or it's been more than a year since your last alignment, come to the Wheel & Tire Superstore in Cedar Park for easy affordable assistance.