Your car wheels play an important role in ensuring a safe and smooth ride. However, over time, various factors like rough roads, potholes, and normal wear and tear cause misalignment. You can also experience strange sounds if they are not properly aligned.
Having your car wheels aligned can extend the life of your tires and ensure that they perform properly. Aligned wheels also prevent them from pulling in one direction. So, it is essential to get them aligned. Below, we’ll explore six ways to determine if your car wheels need alignment.
Signs to Determine if Your Wheels Require Alignment
It is dangerous to drive out of your lane when your wheels are not aligned, as it can result in collisions. Additionally, overlooking wheel alignment can lead to compromised handling, uneven tire wear, and increased fuel consumption.
It is necessary to recognize the signs to know if your wheels need alignment to prevent all these problems. Some of the common signs are given below:
Your Steering Wheel is Off Center
A crooked steering wheel frequently indicates a misaligned car. Dead center is how your steering wheel was designed to be used. Verify the alignment of your steering wheel while you are traveling along a straight road. Checking to see if the logo in the middle is centered is an easy approach to spot this.
Vehicle Pulling to the Right or Left
You may notice that your wheels are pulling in a different direction from the one you are steering them in if you notice that your wheels are out of alignment. You may not consider this to be a problem, but if you are driving in the rain, your car may hydroplane.
Your vehicle loses traction when it hydroplanes, and it might switch from the lane you are in, resulting in an accident. It is possible to determine whether the vehicle goes straight forward or moves in a different direction by taking your hands off the steering wheel when driving on a straight course.
If this occurs more than once, you may need to book your car to have your wheels aligned. The more your car departs from a straight line, the more unaligned its wheels become.
Uneven Tread Wear
Examine your car to ensure that all wheels are experiencing equal wear and tear. A properly aligned wheel experiences an equal amount of wear and tear. A wheel that is worn out on different sides or angles indicates that it is not aligned properly.
Tires with jagged tears will require you to change the wheels every few months, which can be financially burdensome. When the wheels of a vehicle are properly aligned, the treads wear at similar angles.
You can verify this by measuring the tread depth on each wheel and comparing them. The rubber depth on each tire of a properly aligned wheel is the same.
Vibrating Steering Wheel
You may experience discomfort while driving if your steering is out of alignment. Driving or accelerating should not cause the steering wheel to vibrate so much that you feel it in your hands.
Misalignment is one of the many factors that can cause your steering wheel to vibrate. If you suspect that your vehicle may have a problem, you should have your car mechanic examine it.
Tires Squealing when Turning
A misaligned tire is worn at a different rate and an angle from one another. You may hear a squeal in your tires when turning a corner or accelerating because your tires are not aligned.
Worn-out brake pads may also cause tire squealing. It is best to have your mechanic assess this issue as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
Steering Wheel Doesn’t Return to Center
As you continue driving, the steering wheel should automatically return to the center after you complete a turn. If your steering wheel does not return to the center, it is a significant indication that your alignment is incorrect.
Keep your hands on the wheel to assist your vehicle in accomplishing this faster and maintain control. You should have an alignment check conducted, followed by a full alignment if necessary.
Misaligned wheels require the wheel’s position to be restored to its factory setting. When you purchase your car, it is designed to perform flawlessly for its intended use. We are prone to hitting potholes, bumps, and curbs and, unfortunately, get into accidents with time.
Although they may not appear to be significant at first, they gradually affect the vehicle’s alignment over time. Whenever you suspect that your wheels need alignment, you should consult a professional who will inspect your vehicle and adjust all the wheels to function as they were intended. You will save a great deal of money by aligning your wheels instead of spending it on fuel and tires. Give us a call to have your vehicle checked as soon as possible if it exhibits any of the above symptoms.
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