Understanding Wheel Alignment

South Africa has a lot of bad roads, which means bad news for your wheel alignment. Accelerated tyre wear and many other problems stem from bad car alignment. Any bump in the road can cause vehicle alignment problems, big and small. You can, though, avoid worn tyres and other issues further down the road.

Here, we’ll cover the different aspects of wheel alignment. This will include its various benefits, how it affects tyre wear, and more. Below, we’ll begin with how to tell if your car alignment is off.
Wheel Alignment Car Alignment Vehicle Alignment

Wheel alignment is an important aspect of car maintenance.
How to Tell If Your Car Alignment is Off

As mentioned, bad car alignment can lead to many further problems, like worn tyres. There are tell-tale signs in your vehicle that could indicate that you need vehicle alignment. The most common among these are:

    Uneven or increased tyre wear.
    Car pulling to the left or right.
    Crooked steering wheel when driving straight.
    Squeaky, or squealing tyres

Should your vehicle be exhibiting any of these symptoms, it’s time for a wheel alignment! Contact your nearest tyre specialist, or contact Tyre Africa. We are professionals in our field, and will ensure the best products and services for you.
Is Vehicle Alignment Necessary?

In a word, YES. Good car alignment ensures that you get the best driveability possible. It helps your tyres with endurance, smooth driving, and moving in the right direction. Additionally, vehicle alignment means that your car requires less energy when moving. In practical terms, this saves you petrol money.

To allow your vehicle to drive as intended, precise wheel alignment is crucial. Bad car alignment can lead to your tyres wearing unevenly, poor handling, and a shorter life. What’s more, replacing tyres is expensive! But, keeping them aligned is cheap.
Avoid Worn Tyres

The primary negative aspect of bad alignment is tyre wear. Worn tyres are dangerous in their own right, and off alignment gets them to that point quicker. Ideally, your tyres should wear evenly across the tread.

If you notice increased tyre wear on your rear pair, you may have too much weight in the boot. This could also mean that your rear alignment is off. Worn tyres can also result in less kilometers per litre for your vehicle.
How to Avoid Bad Alignment

You can avoid some vehicle alignment problems through your own efforts. Even if you have no wheel alignment problems at this point in times, you can avoid some of them in the long run! Below are some measures you can take yourself.
Tyre Wear Worn Tyres

Good wheel alignment ensures even tyre wear.

Remove unnecessary weight from the boot of the vehicle. Car alignment relies on tyre angles and the height of your vehicle chassis. If you have too much weight in the boot, it lowers the chassis height, which throws off the vehicle alignment. Remove anything you don’t need.

Also try to maintain the correct air pressure in your tyres. This has the added benefit of reducing tyre wear even further. Also try to observe safer driving practices, such as driving and cornering slower. These reduce strain on the vehicle as a whole!
If you have unevenly worn tyres, you likely have alignment issues. Contact Tyre Africa and book an alignment and tyre fitting today!