When Should You Check Your Wheel Alignment?

If your vehicle moves to one particular side and you’ve to turn your steering wheel away from center position for driving straight, it is a signal that your car’s wheels needs to be realigned. Probably it is the outcome of hitting a pothole or scoring a hit on the curb when parking.

However, before heading off to a shop that offers vehicle repair services in South Hedland for having your wheels realigned, it would really be great if you check out the pressure of your tires. Underinflated tires may even cause the automobile to pull to a particular side. So, look out for this first before heading towards an auto repair shop.

Inspect the tires in order to check if there is any uneven wear like the tread being worn off along an edge, which is indeed another indication that the wheel needs to be aligned. However, it may be tough job for you to separate a normal tire from the one that has undergone too much of wear. Thus, you need to have good knowledge about tireology before jumping to any conclusion.

Vibrations in the wheels are quite different from the alignment issues. Probably vibrations are caused when the wheels bent or when they are out of their balance. Sometimes vibrations are also caused when the suspension parts get worn up. In all these cases, even if you get your car’s wheels aligned, your problems won’t be solved.

Some of the vehicles need only the front wheel to be aligned and many models need four wheel alignment. The alignment specifications vary by vehicle. Depending on the motor vehicle, proper alignment is all about setting camber, caster and toe-out or toe-in. The adjustments in vehicle are typically measured in even fractions of an inch and need specialized equipment for alignment. 

The wheel alignment is not generally listed by the manufacturers of vehicle on their recommended maintenance plan. Thus how often should it be done is undefined. If the vehicle moves straight, you can be sure that your vehicle wheels are aligned properly. But it is a great thought to have the alignment checked yearly at the time when the tires are rotated. You can do it when you purchase new set of tires so that they do not start wearing unevenly immediately. Many of the shops guarantee on their alignment job for only a year. So, before the guarantee period comes to an end bring the vehicle back to have the alignment rechecked.