Wheel Alignment means adjusting Braking and is maintaing the vehicle,adjusting the angles of wheels to the car manufacturer specifications. The purpose of these adjustments is to reduce tire wear, and to ensure that vehicle travel is straight and true (without “pulling” to one side).An increasing number of modern vehicles have advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and traction control. These systems can be affected by mechanical alignment adjustments. This has led many manufacturers to require electronic resets for these systems after a mechanical alignment is performed.

Alignment refers to an adjustment of a vehicle’s suspension the system that connects a vehicle to its wheels. It is not an adjustment of the tires or wheels themselves. The key to proper alignment is adjusting the angles of the tires which affects how they make contact with the road.

When a technician checks your tire alignment

1. CAMBER

This is the inward or outward angle of the tire when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Too much inward or outward tilt, also known as negative and positive camber, respectively, indicates improper alignment and will need to be adjusted. Worn bearings, ball joints, and other wheel-suspension parts may contribute to camber misalignment.

2. TOE

Distinct from camber alignment, toe alignment is the extent to which your tires turn inward or outward when viewed from above. If that’s confusing, just stand up and look down at your feet. Angle them inward toward the center of your body. When the tires on your car are angled the same way  we call this toe-in alignment. Angle your feet outward and you have toe-out alignment. Both require adjustment.

3. CASTER

Your caster angle helps balance steering, stability, and cornering. Specifically, it’s the angle of your steering axis when viewed from the side of your vehicle. If you have positive caster, the steering axis will tilt toward the driver. Negative caster, on the other hand, means the steering axis tilts toward the front of your vehicle.

Benefits of Getting a Wheel Alignment 

1.  Increase Fuel Efficiency. When you automobile isn’t aligned correctly, your wheels aren’t working together they way that they should. Because of this, your vehicle’s engine has to work a lot harder to propel you forward, and this reduces your car’s fuel efficiency.

2.  Reduce Expensive Auto Repairs. Driving with a bad alignment causes the parts in your car to wear unevenly and prematurely. Each time you hit a pothole or bump in the road, your steering and suspension systems take a hit. When your tires aren’t evenly helping with the impact, certain areas of these systems take the hit harder than others, causing them to break down sooner than they should. If they break down completely, you’re face with an expensive auto repair service that could have been avoided.

3.  Experience Smoother Driving. When your car’s wheel alignment is off you will usually notice that your automobile drifts slightly to the right or left even though your steering wheel is aimed straight ahead. Constantly adjusting your steering to overcompensate for bad alignment is tiring, inefficient, distracting and dangerous!

4.  Improve Vehicle Safety. Properly maintaining your car, truck, SUV, minivan or hybrid vehicle helps it to run better. It also keeps you from running into unexpected car issues that could leave you stranded on the side of the road. Don’t put off getting your wheels aligned until it’s too late.

5.  Increase the Life of Your Tires. Last but not least, your tires. Your tires are an expensive and important auto part that wear our much more quickly when you don’t get regular wheel alignments. When you align your tires, and they are working together in harmony, they will take you a lot further and you won’t have to buy new tires sooner than you need to.

source:westautomotivegroup.com,www.bridgestonetire.com