Friday 9 April 2021

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Wheel alignments ensure your tyres are hitting and rolling along the road at the correct angle to give you a comfortable ride and provide longer tyre life.

This customer was extremely lucky; he identified a problem with his vehicle, which we were able to solve. His vehicle’s alignment toe and camber adjustments were so badly out of alignment that it had caused the tyre’s belt and rubber to detach and wrap itself around the rack end and tie rod end. Over a short period, this could have been disastrous, and if he hadn’t been so observant, this story could have had a much less happy ending. You can see the tyre doesn’t have much age and has plenty of tread – aside from the part of tread missing from the tyre.

This is just one of the reasons we recommend getting a wheel alignment when you have new tyres fitted to your vehicle.

This wear pattern is a classic sign of misalignment. The toe and camber of the vehicle’s alignment have been put out, perhaps from driving into a pothole, hitting a gutter, being involved in an accident, or general wear and tear over time. If your tyres look like they are balding on the inside or outside edges, it’s worth getting a tyre professional to check it out for you.

HOT TIP: Rotate your steering wheel to full lock so the tyre tread is completely visible so you can check the inside edges of your tyres. The tyre may look like it has plenty of tread from the outside, but it’s usually the inside edge that’s hiding a few bald patches. When you need to view your rear tyres, do so from under the rear of the vehicle, just as pictured.

What Is a Wheel Alignment?

Wheel alignment, also known as tracking, is a massively important part of any car’s maintenance. It essentially means the direction and the angle that your tyres are set at, and if the alignment is wrong, your vehicle can be difficult to drive, you can have higher fuel consumption, your tyres will wear quicker and more unevenly, and in the worse cases it can even be dangerous, giving you far less control than usual.

Wheel alignment is the job of ensuring that your tyres are in the right place, in the right direction, and at the right angle to ensure your drive is as smooth, efficient, and safe as possible.

What Causes A Tyre Misalignment?

Misalignments can be caused by several different reasons. Most of the time, you won’t even notice it has happened; it can be a slow process, especially if you drive the same route every day, perhaps more than once a day, driving on the same piece of road with the same problematic road conditions.

In other cases, it can be a much more sudden and obvious issue. It might be driver fault, or it could be that mechanical attention is required. Here are just some of the main reasons for a misalignment to occur:

– Potholes

– Gutters/kerbs

– Off-road driving

– General wear and tear

– Damaged vehicle components, including rack ends or idler arms (mechanical repairs, in other words)

Because wheel misalignment is usually unexpected, it’s a good idea to check your vehicle regularly to ensure that your tyres are not overly worn, especially on the insides, as mentioned above.

When Should I Get A Wheel Alignment?

Fact or Myth: My car is driving straight, I don’t need a wheel alignment?

Answer – Myth, Just because your vehicle feels like its driving straight doesn’t mean your vehicle doesn’t have a mis alignment issue, such as Toe, Camber or Caster problem causing premature tyre wear.

When should I have my Wheel Alignment checked and adjusted to prevent my tyres wearing unevenly ?

  • Any time you have new tyres fitted to your vehicle
  • Any time you have a front or rear suspension component replaced or adjusted
  • If you have been involved in a minor accident
  • If your car has hit a kerb, driven into a gutter, or driven into a pothole
  • Regularly throughout the life of your tyres. At All Coast Solutions, we recommend checking between every 10,000 and 20,000 kilometres. The figure will depend on the condition of the roads you tend to drive on and how many kilometres you drive each year

As with anything in life, prevention is always better than cure, and this is the same when it comes to your tyres. If we can prevent them from becoming too worn by ensuring they are aligned correctly, you won’t have to replace them, which is a much more expensive undertaking.

Tyre wearing unevenly Click here to contact us