An aligned wheel steers fluidly. Making turns should be seamless. A driver should never be battling their own vehicle and physically have to force a turn. For purposes of safety, comfort, and practicality, as a driver you need your wheel alignment to be intact so your steering functions effectively and easily. Unfortunately, it is easy to disrupt the functionality of your steering wheel, at which point it is critical to professionally service your car to identify what type of realignment needs to be performed.
How easy is it for my wheel to become misaligned?
The possible causes that can affect your wheel alignment are very common daily driving occurrences. In fact, the act of driving itself is a cause because wear and tear on your tires can progressively influence your wheel alignment. Some other specific potential influencers include:
- Potholes
- Speeding over speed bumps
- Road accidents
- Worn out parts
- Hitting a curb
The more severe the occurrence of one of these potential alignment influencers, the more severe your wheel alignment is affected. Similarly, a series or combination of the very common events over a duration of time can just as heavily influence your wheel alignment.
Warning Signs my Wheel Alignment may be off
There are some key warning signings to look out for. Signs you are dealing with problematic wheel alignment include:
- Crooked steering wheel
- Vehicle pulling
- Unleveled tires
- Tire wear
- Tire squealing
Determining how to repair the wheel alignment of a vehicle is specific to the condition, situation, and type of vehicle being examined. The type of wheel alignment your vehicle needs to be determined professionally by a mechanic. This may be dependent on the specific damage done to your vehicle. When bringing your vehicle in, depending on these factors, the mechanic may have a series of manual processes he or she goes through and then should ultimately connect the car to an alignment machine that will specify the necessary type of adjustment needed to be performed. There are three different types of wheel alignment procedures.
3 Types of Wheel Alignment:
1.When the front axle is adjusted, a front-end wheel alignment was completed.
2. When all wheels are checked and a front-end alignment is conducted, it is a thrust alignment
3. When the rear axle angles are arranged and a front-end and thrust are conducted, it is a four-wheel alignment.
A professional will determine which alignment procedure is necessary for your vehicle. It is important as a driver or owner of an automotive vehicle to be proactive and aware of possible warning signs. Regardless if a warning sign is noticed, routine maintenance should include wheel alignment examination as it is a driving factor that is easily influenced.