Do you need a wheel alignment?
Does your vehicle’s steering suddenly have a mind of its own? Is it pulling or shimmying? Your car could be telling you something happened and it needs a wheel alignment.
It doesn’t take much to knock a vehicle out of alignment: potholes, curbs and everyday wear and tear can take a toll on your vehicle’s suspension system and steering components. Once that happens, your tires, your vehicle and your hands on the steering wheel will soon feel it.
How can you tell if you need a wheel alignment?
- Your vehicle is pulling to one side
- Your front end is shimmying after hitting a bump
- Your steering wheel won’t line up straight
- Your front tires are showing signs of uneven wear
If you are experiencing any of these signs, a wheel alignment performed by certified technicians is recommended. Proper alignments require sophisticated equipment to abide the manufacturer’s preferred specifications and provide an exact wheel alignment.
At Kal Tire, our technicians perform computerized wheel alignments that use state-of-the-art technology to ensure:
- All four wheels are parallel
- All four wheels are sitting flat on the road
- The steering wheel is centred
Why is a wheel alignment so important?
Wheel alignment plays a critical role in your vehicle’s performance:
1. Tire life and savings. When your vehicle’s suspension system is out of alignment, it can lead to one-sided wear because the tire is leaning away from or toward the vehicle. Uneven wear can shorten the life of your tires, but regular alignments promote longer tire life and savings.
2. Safety. When your wheels aren’t aligned, it can cause your vehicle to pull right or left, undermining your control and handling.
3. Comfort. Aligned wheels improve driving safety but they also make driving easier and more comfortable because you don’t experience steering pulls or wheel shimmying.
Can you have preventative alignments performed?
Between potholes, gravel roads and everyday winter driving, regular alignments can go a long way toward taking care of the critical systems and components of your vehicle as well as your tires and wheels—helping you save big on major repairs with preventative maintenance.
We recommend checking your owner’s manual to learn how often the manufacturer recommends alignments, and also checking to see if an alignment is needed during your winter tire changes or every fall/spring if you run one set of all-weather tires year round.
