Does your car exhibit any of these problems- steering wheel vibrations while driving, drifting of the vehicle to one side, uneven wear on tires? If you said yes to any one of these symptoms, you most likely need to check the alignment of your vehicle. But lets first understand what wheel alignment really is.
Wheel Alignment
Alignment or wheel alignment or “breaking” or “tracking” does not necessarily directly relate to the wheels or tires of your car or truck. It is related to the adjustment of the angles of the wheels with the suspensions. The suspensions wear out with continuous driving and mostly get disturbed during an accident. This disruption will damage the highly calibrated components and could change the alignment of the wheels. The wheels will be set at improper angles and will cause a lot of problems.
5 Signs You Need Wheel Alignment
Look for these 5 signs to quickly decide if your vehicle needs alignment services.
- Drifting or Pulling: Is your car pulling or drifting to one side while driving? Drifting is a tell-tale sign that your vehicle needs to be aligned immediately. When the alignment of a vehicle goes wrong, the tires start turning in random directions which causes the pull or drift.
- Vibration of the steering wheel: Pressure on the suspension and axle due to non-alignment can cause the steering wheel to vibrate.
- Uneven wear and tear on the tires: Uneven wear on the tires is the quickest way to predict if your car needs to have an alignment job done. Due to non-alignment the tires will have an irregular wear as they keep drifting at improper angles.
- Steering wheel isn’t centered even while driving straight: The steering wheel should be centered while driving straight but if it is not then the wheels are not aligned.
- Squealing tires: In an un-aligned vehicle, tires tend to squeal while turning the vehicle or at high speeds. This can prove to be dangerous and the alignment should be corrected post-haste to ensure a safe drive.
Advantages of Aligning Your Wheel
Keeping your vehicle aligned and maintained has several advantages.
- Fuel Efficiency: With properly aligned tires, the vehicle will endure lesser resistance from the suspensions and roads which will automatically increase the fuel efficiency.
- Less wear and tear of the tire: Proper alignment of the wheel will lessen irregular wear and tear on the tire.
- Safer driving: An out-of-aligned vehicle is an unsafe one at high speeds particularly while turning because the tires tend to slip.
- Future savings: An out-of-alignment vehicle can cost you a set of tires, poor mileage, bad suspensions, loss of steering and suspension parts, etc which combined will cost you loads of money. As such it is best to correct the alignment of the vehicle every once in a while.
Cost To Align Wheels
Alignment correction of your vehicle can cost you in the range of $50 to $500 depending on the mechanic, garage, extent of damage and type of vehicle. The cost of alignment may also vary according to cities. For example, alignment will cost you significantly lesser in Salt Lake City than in other bigger cities.
Normally an alignment job of a car takes a maximum of one hour under ideal conditions. You can schedule your appointment in advance according to your leisure hours.
Do you need help with wheel alignment?
Steve’s Automotive Specialist’s is a time proven automobile repair and maintenance shop serving cities in and around Salt Lake City and Sandy. We have been helping customers from around our area including as far as commuters from Park City, West Bountiful and South Jordan. We have been providing a range of automotive repairs and services since 1977. For more information, visit our alignment repair section.