Something You Need To Know About A Wheel Alignment

Something You Need To Know About A Wheel Alignment

In automotive repair and maintenance projects, wheel alignment is an essential item. Moreover, how much do you know about four-wheel alignment? Did you know what wheel alignment is? When should you get your car aligned? Moreover, did you learn anything about the importance and reason for wheel alignment? Here, let us get to know four-wheel alignment together.

What Is Wheel Alignment?

Four-wheel alignment refers to adjusting the angle of the vehicle wheels based on the parameters of the four wheels to ensure good driving performance and certain vehicle reliability. Specifically, there is a specific safety position between the steering wheel of the vehicle, that is, the front wheel, the steering knuckle, and the front axle, and their relative positions are relatively determined. The same goes for the rear wheels and rear axle. The front and rear wheels are all adjusted to the best position, and the vehicle reaches the best balance, called the vehicle’s wheel alignment.

When Do You Need A Wheel Alignment?

As we all know, proper wheel alignment will not only improve your vehicle’s performance and safety. It will extend the life of your tires. So, what time to bring your vehicle in for a four-wheel alignment? The following content maybe can solve your doubts.

1. During driving, your steering wheel is off-center, and the car will deviate from the direction.

The four-wheel alignment parameters of automobiles include front wheel camber, front toe-in, kingpin inclination, kingpin caster, rear camber, and rear toe-in.

 

Depending on the positioning of the vehicle, its toe-in will be different. When the difference between the toe-in angles of the vehicle’s front wheels exceeds a standard value, the vehicle will deviate from the smaller toe-in angle.

 

The toe-in structure of the rear wheel is not much different from the toe-in of the front wheel. The toe-in of the rear wheel is used as the basic angle of the four-wheel alignment. If the thrust line does not adjust to the vehicle’s geometric centerline of the body, it will also cause vehicle deviation.

2. The tires have abnormal uneven wear.

When the front and rear wheels of the vehicle have a large camber or inclination angle, the corresponding wheel has a large toe-in. The situation, such as the small contact surface between the tire and the ground, and the incorrect wheel posture, will lead to greater wear on the edge of the tire. These shorten the tires’ lifespan and are prone to punctures, posing a threat to the safety of occupants in the vehicle.

3. The vehicle handling feels loose.

If the steering in your car feels a little loose or unstable, one of the possible causes is poor wheel alignment. It will feel like wandering all over the road when driving, or the car feeling very loose and sloppy around corners. If your vehicle feels unstable while driving, regardless of driving straight or turning, you should have the alignment checked, then corrected if necessary.

4. Your steering wheel does not return to the center.

After you complete a turn, the steering wheel should naturally start to return to center on its own as you keep driving. Of course, you need to keep your hands on the wheel to help it achieve this quicker and control the car, but if your steering wheel does not even attempt to move back to the center, it is a good indication that your alignment is off. If this is the case, you should have an alignment check and a complete alignment performed if necessary.

5. Damage to the chassis and suspension caused by accident.

In order to ensure safety and service life when manufacturing the car, specific technical parameters will be set, called the four-wheel alignment parameters. Due to the traffic accident, the deformation of each component will destroy the parameters of the vehicle factory, resulting in a change in the positioning angle. Therefore, the steering wheel turns heavily, the vehicle trembles and deviates, and the tires’ uneven wear impacts driving safety.

6. The axle and suspension parts have been removed.

During the maintenance process of the vehicle, some maintenance items need to remove all the connecting parts between the entire vehicle’s front suspension and tires. This operation will affect the four-wheel alignment parameters. Once the four-wheel alignment parameters are changed, the vehicle’s driving performance and certain influences will affect it. Therefore, after removing the vehicle suspension, the four-wheel alignment should be done again to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers.

7. The vehicle tires have been replaced.

In many cases, four-wheel alignment must do on a car after changing or removing a tire. Since the tires, steering organization, and the middle of the front, rear, left and right drive shafts have a certain angle and relative position after the tire is replaced, the angle part will be offset. At this time, there will be many phenomena that are not conducive to safe driving, such as the direction of the vehicle Deviation, decreased steering precision, incorrect steering wheel, abnormal tire wear, etc.

Why Is Wheel Alignment Important?

1. For a smooth ride

Correct wheel alignment can help the front and rear suspension work normally and stably so that the steering, driving, and other components are in the right relationship, the vibration caused by the uneven wheel surface is effectively absorbed, and the vehicle runs more smoothly.

2. For safety

The wheel alignment is correct, the vehicle can operate stably and is not prone to failure, and there is a correct and rapid handling response in the normal driving process. If the positioning is incorrect, the steering wheel will be difficult to operate, and the vehicle will be inconvenient to turn, especially in high-speed driving. It is prone to “jerking” or automatic steering, resulting in traffic accidents.

3. For a longer lifespan

When one tire is unbalanced or wobbles, a new set of tires causes abnormal wear, sometimes on the front and sometimes on the rear. Abnormal wear of tires or punctures occurs, mainly due to inaccurate wheel alignment.

4. For reducing vehicle fuel consumption

Wheel positioning is to make all positioning angles as perpendicular to the ground as possible during driving, minimizing wheel slip, reducing wheel rolling resistance, and improving fuel economy. In addition, the tires are fully inflated, which minimizes the resistance to the ground and improves fuel economy.

5. For vehicle stability

An inaccurate wheel alignment will aggravate the steering wheel, so the entire steering system will vibrate, deviate or drift at high speed. The directional traction cannot be correctly returned, and the road surface vibration cannot be effectively absorbed. Good wheel alignment effectively eliminates the above faults.

How Does Wheel Alignment Affect Your Vehicle?

No matter what kind of vehicle you drive, it has exact alignment specifications determined by the automaker. Everything from the vehicle’s overall size to its weight to its intended use goes into calculating these specs, which are unique to your make and model.

 

Alignment is the geometry of the suspension system made up of several components working together to support and turn the vehicle. Suspension systems comprise control arms, struts, shocks, mounting points, and steering components to fit in designated areas. The wheels must be aligned appropriately for all four tires to work together to travel in the same direction and rotate simultaneously. Even a minor divergence of the geometry can impact the vehicle’s suspension. Premature tire wear and damage are a direct result of poor alignment.

 

When technicians perform a wheel alignment, they measure the angles of the car’s toe, camber, and caster to determine if the car is in alignment. An alignment machine is used to calculate the position of each wheel’s existing alignment and the adjustments required to align the vehicle to the measurements set forth by the vehicle manufacturer. All four wheels must roll in the same direction. Toe determines the direction the wheels are rolling. Camber has to do with the wheels’ angle or vertical slope. The camber is off when wheels slope in the wrong direction or angle on the road. Finally, the caster relates to the steering balance and the vehicle’s weight. A positive caster is similar to a bicycle’s front wheel kicked forward at the bottom. The more positive the caster, the more stable your vehicle will likely drive. The caster must be at the perfect place. Too much or too little caster affects vehicle handling and steering, causing wandering, drifting, or difficulties steering.

What Causes Your Car to Lose Alignment?

General wear, driving conditions, and alterations to your car can all cause the tires to lose alignment. Some of the most common causes include:

1. Driving over potholes, speed bumps, and

When the car is going over some speed bumps and bumpy roads, it may cause changes in the four-wheel alignment data. Therefore, after the vehicle is driven for a long time, the four-wheel positioning data is inaccurate. It is best for you to do four-wheel alignment regularly.

2. Hitting curbs or road debris

After the car has hit the curb, the steering wheel may be misaligned. We all know that the steering wheel, steering knuckle, and front axle have a certain relative position. The misalignment of the steering wheel caused by the impact requires four-wheel alignment.

3. Minor vehicle collisions

Each vehicle has a special set of safety alignment data. Maintaining a good vehicle frame, accurate angles, and the wheels’ relative position are all essential parts of safe driving. A slight collision of the vehicle or minor damage to the chassis may cause deformation of the vehicle, resulting in changes in the vehicle’s four-wheel alignment data. At this time, four-wheel alignment is required to ensure safe driving.

5. Bad shocks or other suspension parts

Shock absorbers and suspension parts are the most vulnerable parts of a car during use. Deformation of the suspension parts of the chassis or excessive clearance, and excessive wear of the shock absorber will directly cause the data deviation of the four-wheel alignment.

6. Vehicle mods

Some vehicle modification projects, such as the replacement of shock absorbers, rims, front bumpers, front chassis, rear chassis, etc., will change the original structure of the vehicle. After the modification, the four-wheel alignment data of the vehicle must have changed. At the moment, it is necessary for you to get your car wheel aligned.

Consequences Of Inaccurate Four-Wheel Alignment

1. Excessive tire wear increases the risk of a tire blowout.

Tires are one of the most important components of a car. It supports the entire weight of the vehicle; and transmits the torque of traction and braking, ensuring the adhesion of the wheel to the road surface. If inaccurate four-wheel alignment leads to excessive tire wear, it will cause driving safety problems.

2. Increase the difficulty of driving vehicles and cause traffic accidents.

Inaccurate four-wheel alignment parameters will affect the handling and driving stability of the car. They may cause the car to deviate and the steering wheel to be heavy, thus increasing the difficulty of driving and causing serious traffic accidents.

3. Fuel consumption increases, unfriendly budgets, and uneconomical.

When the four-wheel alignment parameters have deviated, the driving resistance of the car will increase, the sliding distance will shorten, and the inertia will become worse, eventually leading to increased fuel consumption.

Concluding

The handling stability of the vehicle is one of the most important performances in the research of the vehicle system. It not only affects the operation convenience of the vehicle but also is the main performance that determines the vehicle’s safe driving. The accuracy of the four-wheel alignment parameters has a significant impact on the operational stability of the vehicle. Accurate four-wheel alignment parameters of automobiles are essential for ensuring light vehicles have good handling stability, fuel economy, safety, and other performance. Therefore, car owners must improve their ability to control and self-check their vehicles and timely investigate and solve vehicle problems to avoid more serious accidents.