Has your wheel alignment been checked?
It is recommended to check the wheel alignment at least every year, in order to optimise the handling and the lifespan of the tires.
Our wheel alignment service includes checking the alignment of the 2 axles (front and rear).
Wheel alignment is recommended if the tire you are changing shows signs of abnormal wear.
It is important to have your wheel alignment checked if:
You hit a pavement or drove over a pothole.
Your tires wear abnormally from edge to edge.
You have steering or handling problems, for example:
- Your vehicle pulls to one side.
- The steering wheel does not return easily to the centre position after a turn.
- The steering wheel is not centred in a straight line.
You are purchasing new tires and want to optimise their longevity.
You are replacing elements of the suspension or steering.
How to adjust the wheel alignment?
In the wheel alignment of a vehicle there are 2 adjustments to take into account: alignment and camber.
Wheel alignment involves adjusting the angles of the wheels of your vehicle according to the different recommendations of your car manufacturer.
Camber
This is the inclination of the wheel of your vehicle, compared to the vertical when looking at the vehicle from the front.
If the camber is out of adjustment, this means that your tires are wearing unevenly. Its role is to optimise the vehicle's handling.
The camber angle is studied and adjusted for each vehicle, to keep the tire flattest on the ground in a straight line and when cornering.
If the difference in angles between the front wheels is too great, your vehicle will tend to pull to one side.
The effects of an incorrect camber angle: the vehicle may pull, the tires will have abnormal and premature wear.
Parallelism
This is the angle formed by the 2 wheel axles on a horizontal plane. Depending on the vehicle, adjustment is only carried out on the front axle.
An imbalance in alignment results in abnormal and premature wear of the two tires on the same train, as well as poor handling.
Adjusting the alignment of the wheels has consequences on the handling of the vehicle and on tire wear which may be irregular.
Only the front toe angle is adjustable on all vehicles. For those who have several adjustable angles, it is essential to make all the adjustments, and not just the parallelism.
Hunting
The caster angle is the angle formed by the pivot axis and the vehicle vertical seen from the side.
It is used for good stability of the vehicle as well as for wheel recall after steering.
The effects of an incorrect caster angle: the vehicle may be unstable, poor steering feedback, pulling on the side where the caster angle is the weakest.