Wheel Alignment: Understanding the Basics

Have you ever taken time to consider how your vehicle’s tires meet the road? Many Lincoln, NE-area drivers haven’t, but that doesn’t make this factor any less important. When your wheels are poorly aligned, you could suffer from all sorts of issues as a result, ranging from reduced gas mileage to rapid tire wear.

With all that in mind, local motorists need to make wheel alignment a crucial part of their tire maintenance schedule. Before your next tire alignment appointment rolls around, here’s what you should know about this essential tire service (and how to find an alignment shop that can handle it for you).

What To Expect During Your Wheel Alignment Appointment

Though you might expect wheel alignment service to involve direct adjustments to your wheels, that isn’t actually the case. Instead, the mechanics handling this work will focus on your vehicle’s suspension system, which connects your vehicle’s body to its tires.

During your tire alignment appointment, technicians will make changes to these tire angles:

Camber

Camber is a tire’s vertical-axis (or inward/outward) tilt, as seen from the front of your car. When this angle isn’t where it should be, your vehicle could run into serious problems related to handling and tread wear.

If your car’s tires have “positive camber,” their wheels are tilted away from the center, giving your vehicle’s overall stability a boost. On the other hand, “negative camber” describes wheels tilted toward your car’s center, improving your control over your car. Negative camber is often seen on the tires used in high-performance vehicles.

Your vehicle’s ideal camber range has already been determined by its manufacturer. If your camber is outside that range, you’ll want to visit an alignment shop to set things right.

Caster

Caster expresses the angle of a wheel’s steering axis, or the imaginary line that starts on the ground and runs vertically through its center. In tires with a “negative caster,” this line tilts toward the front of the vehicle. Meanwhile, in tires with a “positive caster,” it tilts toward the driver’s seat.

Normally, caster shouldn’t affect your tire wear, but it can have an impact on your car’s steering and handling. If this angle falls out of alignment with your manufacturer’s recommendations, you’ll need to get professional alignment service to fix it.

Toe

Toe describes your tires’ angle/direction as viewed from above your vehicle. If your tires have a “toe-out angle,” they’re pointing away from your car’s center; if they have a “toe-in angle,” the opposite is true. Most cars should have a “zero toe” (a toe angle that isn’t a toe-out or toe-in angle).

How Wheels Get Misaligned

Now that you know a thing or two about wheel alignment, it’s time to shift gears and look at what happens when your tires aren’t properly aligned. Some common factors behind car alignment issues include:

• Everyday usage. Wear and tear is a fact of life for regularly used vehicles, and this can easily have an impact on your suspension. When suspension components such as control arms, tie rods, and ball joints start to wear out, your wheels will have trouble staying aligned.
• Changes to your suspension. Since tire alignment is so closely linked to your car’s suspension, it stands to reason that modifications to this system could impact your alignment. For example, your wheels could easily get misaligned after you lower or lift your car.
• Car crashes. If you’ve been involved in a collision recently, your tires may be misaligned. That applies to both major car crashes and fender benders.
• Seemingly minor impacts. Car crashes aren’t the only impacts that can affect your alignment. Even hitting a curb or pothole on the road could cause your suspension components to bend or break.

When Do You Need Wheel Alignment?

Have you been in a car crash or made changes to your vehicle’s suspension lately? If so, it goes without saying that you’ll want to get your tire alignment inspected. Since alignment issues originating from wear and tear can be a bit harder to spot, it’s wise to get your wheel alignment looked at on a regular basis. 

In most cases, setting up appointments for this work every six months or 6,000 miles should do the trick. Between appointments, be sure to watch out for alignment-related red flags such as:

Discomfort While You Drive

Under normal circumstances, you should be able to enjoy a smooth driving experience while traveling on paved roads in and around Lincoln. However, poor wheel alignment could make it harder for your car’s suspension to function as intended. In that case, you could feel extremely uncomfortable while driving around the area.

A Steering Wheel That Won’t Stay Straight

To test your tire alignment, park with your wheels straight and take a look at your steering wheel. Normally, your steering wheel should be straight in this situation — if it’s not, misaligned tires may be to blame.

Pulling to the Side of the Road

If everything is working as intended in your vehicle, you shouldn’t have to fight against your steering wheel in order to drive in a straight line. But when your vehicle pulls to one side of the road while you drive, you could be dealing with tire misalignment.

Accelerated Tire Wear

The average set of tires should provide three to five years of service before needing to be replaced. If your tires aren’t lasting nearly that long (or if they have uneven bald patches), you might need to get your wheel alignment adjusted.

Know What To Look For in a Tire Alignment Shop

As you can see, wheel alignment should be an essential part of your auto maintenance strategy. But to truly reap the benefits of this service, you’ll need to choose a business you can trust to handle this task. When you’re trying to find an alignment shop in Lincoln, make sure the shop you select delivers:

• Knowledgeable mechanics. In the field of auto maintenance and repair, no one knows more than ASE-certified technicians. If your shop hires these mechanics, your next tire alignment appointment will go off without a hitch.
• Convenient locations. Do you live in Lincoln or a nearby community like Central City, Hutchinson, or Saint Paul? In either case, you deserve an auto shop with locations near you.
• Money-saving opportunities. When an auto shop truly cares about its customers, it will go above and beyond to help them save with benefits such as coupons and financing options.

Are you looking for all these benefits and more? If so, you’re in the right place — schedule an appointment for wheel alignment at T.O. Haas Tire & Auto today!