Wheel Alignment

Wheel alignment sometimes referred to as tracking, is part of standard car maintenance that consists of checking and adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are set to the car manufacture’s specification.  The purpose of these adjustments is to reduce tyre wear and to ensure that the vehicle travel is straight and true without pulling to one side.

Under normal driving conditions many cars can cover up to 30,000 miles before they require a new set of tyres, this is a good interval to have the alignment checked also.  After any severe driving incidents or changed suspension components then it is recommended that the alignment is checked.

Here at Cecil & Later we have invested in state of the art technology to ensure that we are able to maintain cars to the manufacture’s original alignment specifications.

VAS 6331 Wheel Alignment Machine

Incorrect wheel alignment can be caused by hitting the kerb, driving into a pothole or by excessive wear to steering or suspension components.  It is important to get the wheel alignment checked annually to ensure that the best value is obtained from tyres.

Wheel alignment involves checking the direction and angle of the wheels.  The misalignment positions are often described as toe in, toe out, positive camber or negative camber.

Toe refers to whether the front of the tyres are closer or further apart than the rear of the tyres.

Camber is the inward or outward tilt of a tyre. The camber is set by the vehicle manufacture and can be affected by potholes and may require adjustment periodically.

It is worth keeping a check on tyres for unusual wear, such as premature wear on either the inside or outside edges as this could be an indication of incorrect alignment.

Correct wheel alignment can add thousands of miles of wear to tyres and as an additional benefit fuel efficiency will increase due to the reduced rolling resistance with the road, saving money on fuel.