Are Wheel Alignments Really Necessary?

If you have taken your car in for a routine service and the mechanic suggested a wheel alignment, you might wonder if it is really necessary. The fast answer to this question is yes, but it helps to understand why.

Extending Tire Life

Buying new tires is usually an expense people don't like to make. The best way to make sure that you are getting all of the mileage out of your tires is to ensure that you are using them correctly. Ideally, tires should be using their entire tread surface when driving. A proper alignment is very important to ensuring that the entire tread is hitting the road evenly. There are many little things that can throw off the alignment like hitting pot holes, a curb, or concrete parking stalls. Simply driving over time will misalign tires as well because as rubber starts to crack and lose elasticity when it ages.

Something else your mechanic might suggest in conjunction with a tire alignment is a tire rotation. Vehicles do not always have weight evenly distributed, forcing tires to run down the tread unevenly. If tread is being worn more on the outside edges, rotating the tires to put the thicker tread on these areas helps preserve tires and their alignment for longer periods of time.

How Can You Tell When You Need An Alignment?

The best rule of thumb for getting your wheel alignment adjusted is every other oil change. Most people have a hard time remembering to do it on a certain mileage, so this is the easiest way to remember. If you are the type of driver that likes to go off-roading a few times a year, it's usually a good idea to have your alignment checked afterward. Following a car accident is usually another good time to check alignment, even in a fender bender. These and other types of rough activities are harder on tires and their bearings, requiring an adjustment more frequently.

Another important thing to know is that you may not always know when your vehicle needs an alignment done. Spotting this with your eyes is not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes you can see if tires are quickly wearing on one edge and not another, but usually it isn't noticeable for a long time.

Mechanics have highly sophisticated equipment that helps them more accurately assess what kind of an alignment needs to be done. Each job is going to be different than another because of make and model of a vehicle, but also because not every vehicle goes through the same driving conditions. So the next time they suggest you get an alignment done, know that they have done a diagnosis. For more information, contact a specialist like Alaska Chevron Service.