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4 Common Signs Of Wheel Alignment Problems

4 common signs of wheel alignment problems

Correct wheel alignment will not only improve your driving experience and overall road safety but will also save you money.  Research has shown that checking your car’s wheel alignment regularly will help increase fuel efficiency, fix steering issues and prolong the life of your tyres for up to 10,000 miles. 

If you have incorrect wheel alignment this can cause all kinds of problems that can make your car dangerous to drive and hit your back pocket.

If your wheels are misaligned, chances are there will be some noticeable signs.  Often, you’ll be able to spot a wheel alignment problem using your eyes, ears and hands.

Here are 4 of the most common signs of incorrect wheel alignment:

Alignment terminology

Positive camber and negative camber

Camber is the angle of the wheels relative to the ground, when looking at the car from the front or rear. Positive camber refers to the outward tilt of a tyre – imagine the middle lines of the tyre being in a ‘V-shape’.  Negative camber refers to the inward tilt of a tyre – imagine the middle lines of the tyre being in an ‘A-shape’.  Camber will differ between vehicles and is determined by the vehicle manufacturer.

Toe-in and toe-out

Toe refers to whether the tyres are pointing inward (toe-in), our outward (toe-out) when looking at the car from the top or bottom.  Toe-in will resemble an ‘A-shape’ and toe-out will resemble a ‘V-shape’.

Wheel Alignment Problems

1. Vehicle pulling to one side

If your front wheels are ‘toeing-out’ (pointing away from each other), your car will want to pull to either the left or right side of the road. This is because one wheel wants to go straight ahead and the other is trying to turn a corner.

2. Excessive or uneven tyre wear

If your wheels are misaligned, your tyres will wear more rapidly than when your wheels are correctly aligned.  Toe-in or toe-out are often the cause of this problem, resulting in uneven wear across your affected tyres.  If your wheels are set up to achieve negative camber, this can also cause excessive wear on tyre inner edges.

3. Steering wheel is crooked when trying to drive straight

This one is pretty obvious and easy to spot.  If you are driving straight, your steering wheel should be pointing straight ahead.  If instead, it is crooked this can be a sign of incorrect wheel alignment.  This will often make your car feel twitchy and unstable, especially when driving at speed, such as on a dual carriageway or motorway.

4. Limited Performance

If your wheels aren’t correctly aligned, you’ll be limiting the performance your car can achieve.  With reduced or incorrect contact between your tyres and the road surface, your brakes won’t be working optimally, and you’ll find it more difficult to steer your car into a corner.

If your car has toe-in or toe-out, it’ll take more effort for your tyres to travel across the road surface.  Wheels pointing in different directions will limit performance and hamper fuel efficiency.

What can I do to remedy wheel alignment?

There are a few things that you can do to sort wheel alignment issues, including:

  • Remove excess and unnecessary weight from your boot
  • Ensure your tyres are correctly inflated
  • Drive in a conservative manner to reduce strain on your steering and suspension system
  • Avoid driving through potholes, bumping up or contacting curbs

Wheel Alignment

If you are looking for a low-cost wheel alignment service, we can help.

We offer 2- and 4-wheel alignment using our state-of-the-art Supertracker STR420RW 8 sensor system on site in Poole.  This system is extremely accurate (within 0.01mm) and impressively quick, enabling us to set-up and produce full alignment readings for you without delay.  We will conduct your wheel alignment check completely free of charge.

If any of your wheels are found to be out of line and need correcting, our wheel alignment service using Supertracker costs £40 for a single axle (e.g. front wheels only) or £65 for both front and back.

If you’re looking for a wheel alignment service in Poole, Bournemouth and beyond, then call us on 01202 712896 to get booked in

If you’re unsure whether your wheel alignment is correct or not, we can find out for you, show you any issues on screen and suggest what you should do next.