subject: Wheel alignment of your Car [print this page] Wheel alignment of your Car Wheel alignment of your Car
Wheel alignment is important for the health of your car. If you hit a pothole on the road, you might bump the suspension out of the carefully calculated locations that the components have been set.
Wheel alignment is a part of standard automobile maintenance that deals with adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they can be adjusted to the car maker's specification. The term Wheel alignment involves 3 measurements -- caster, camber, and toe. These measurements have standards that a technician uses as targets of adjustment. These adjustments are done in order to reduce tyre wear and to make sure that the vehicle travels straight without any pulling towards any side.
To find out if a wheel alignment is required, first check each tyre and look for uneven wear patterns. However, the problem with this method is that if we can find a wear pattern, then it may take more time to save that tyre. So it is better to check the alignment periodically.For the purpose, in each tyre, take a coin and insert it in the tread at the inside, center and outside. If the tread is deeper on the edges than in the center, the tyre is over inflated. If the tread is deeper in the center than the edges, the tyre is under inflated. If the tread is deeper on one side than the other, then it is better to check the wheel alignment soon.
Wheel alignment and Wheel Balancing are 2 different things, but many people often get them confused. As mentioned earlier, Wheel alignment consists of adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. However, Wheel Balancing allows the tyres and wheels to spin without causing any vibrations. This is achieved by checking for any heavy spots on the wheel-tyre combination and compensating for it by placing a measured lead weight on the opposite site of the wheel from where the heavy spot is.
Wheel alignment is a fairly straightforward affair, not rocket science as made by some Car garage owners.
