Maintaining the alignment of your car’s wheels not only ensures that you travel straight along the road but also protects the vehicle’s overall health. Incorrect alignment can result in uneven tire wear and negatively influence your vehicle’s handling.
To ensure that your car is well-aligned, you should regularly inspect its wheels and ensure that they’re realigned if necessary.
However, it may not always be easy to determine whether your vehicle needs a proper wheel alignment. Many vehicle owners don’t know that wheels should be aligned to ensure improved handling and safety. This can lead to potentially dangerous accidents on the road.
If you want to stay on the safe side, watch out for these five indicators that your car needs a proper wheel alignment:
1. Vehicle Pulls to One Side
If you can feel that your car is pulling to one side when you accelerate or turn, there’s a chance that it needs a wheel alignment. This is particularly true if the vehicle pulls to one side when the steering wheel is turned but not when the wheel is straight. Similarly, a car that pulls to one side when braking could also benefit from a proper wheel alignment.
2. Driving at High Speeds is Difficult
One of the most tell-tale signs that your car needs wheel alignment is if you find it challenging to drive at high speeds. Travelling up to 60 miles per hour should be possible without feeling a bumpy or rough ride.
However, when the car is not aligned correctly, you may feel a bump or two at that speed. This can increase the risk of you losing control of the vehicle, which is why you should regularly check if your car needs a proper wheel alignment.
3. Steering Wheel’s Imbalance
When the car has a realigned wheel, the steering wheel should be properly in balance when it’s straight. On the other hand, if it’s not aligned correctly, you may find it challenging to keep the steering wheel straight while driving.
4. Tires Wear Unevenly
One of the main reasons for having wheels realigned is to ensure that the tires wear evenly. This can be achieved by measuring the tread on the tire or using a straight edge to determine if the tires are wearing evenly. When the tires do not wear evenly, making turns and other movements will be much more difficult to perform
5. It’s Difficult to Park
To park your car, you need to ensure it’s aligned properly. This means that you should be able to move your car from one side to another while maintaining the same distance from the curb.
If you find it challenging to park, particularly when making sharp steering maneuvers, you may need to check the wheel alignment.
Conclusion
Many people believe that since their car rides a little unbalanced, it can be corrected by turning the front driver’s side wheel a little bit to the inside. This is incorrect because the tire will wear more on the outside edge. In other words, your car will wear out its tires faster.
You need to stop and check if your car needs a proper wheel alignment as soon as possible and have it checked by a qualified technician.
If your car needs to receive expert wheel alignment, Limitless Shop is here to serve you. We are a high-volume tire shop located in central Calgary. Our primary focus is on fast and friendly service! Visit us now!