Importance of a wheel alignment

10/07/2019

What is wheel alignment?

Wheel alignments ensure that the greatest amount of tyre makes contact with the road. Correct alignment of your car’s tyres helps your car to maintain a straight course on the road. When your wheels are properly aligned to your specific car, you will notice it is easier to drive.

When wheels fall out of alignment, they can wreak havoc on your car’s steering and suspension. Mis-alignment contributes to unnecessary wear and tear on your car’s tyres and suspension. When left misaligned, your wheels will cause greater fuel consumption, vibration and pulling on your steering wheel. In the worst cases, wheels that are mis-aligned are downright dangerous.

Why do I need to have a wheel alignment?

There are so many factors that can put your wheels out of alignment. Everyday driving alone causes slow and gradual mis-alignments in your car’s wheels. Bumps, dips, holes, gutters, and kerbs all put pressure on your wheel alignment.

Even your driving style can cause mis-alignments. If you turn left more often than you turn right then your wheels will go out of alignment. If you drive on uneven road surfaces then your wheels will go out of alignment. Even driving on a smooth highway that has a steep camber for drainage will put your wheels out of alignment.

How do I align my wheels?

Enough with what puts your wheels out of alignment, how do we get them back into alignment?

Fortunately, all you have to do is to take your car to Regos Plus Tyre and Mechanical. Our technicians will drive your car to see how it reacts on the road and check how the tyres are wearing. And then put the vehicle on our new 3D aligning machine and attach sensors to your wheels. Then your car is measured by the aligner, where the sensors will detect your wheel’s alignment relative to your car.

Then, from the data they collect on the alignment machine, the technicians will adjust each wheel’s camber, caster, and toe angles to achieve the maximum amount of tyre contact with the road.

As part of the service, the technician will also inspect your car’s suspension, your tyre’s pressure, condition, and finally take your car for a short drive to make sure that everything is in order.

How often should I have my wheels aligned?

Because mis-alignments can happen gradually without you noticing them, it is also a good idea to have your wheel alignment checked every six months. Anytime you hit a large pothole, or run into a kerb are good times to have a technician check your car’s wheel alignment.

Pat, Tyler and the team at Regos Plus Tyre and Mechanical are always happy to help you get the most from your car. Give them a call on (02) 6862 2811 and book in for a wheel alignment today.

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