Wheel Alignment, Balancing And Rotation

The alignment process of wheels is misjudged often with the adjustment process. The alignment of wheels involves adjusting the suspension to attain an angle at which the car tyres Leek could make proper contact with the road.

There might be multiple factors due to which the wheel’s alignment goes off:
Incurring sudden impact on the surface of the road
Landing into a pothole on the road when the car is driven at a high speed
If a curb has hit or the tyres are involved in a minor collision
Sudden manoeuvring of the car

There are multiple signs to help you know if your wheels are not aligned properly:

If the steering wheel of the car feels heavy on either side, and it also seems difficult to drive the car in a straight line, even at reduced speed levels.
If vibrations can be felt on the steering wheel while being driven
If there is wearing of the tyre’s tread

The misalignment of the wheel can be rectified by following a few steps. It occurs if the tyre angles are off from the position they are currently.

1. Caster angle: The displacement between the wheels vertical axis and the steering axis angularly causes this. It involves ensuring balance and stability while the car is steered. The expert finds out a balance between the negative and positive caster angle to rectify the misalignment.

2. Camber angle: it involves adjusting the angular between the vertical axis of the vehicle, and the vertical axis of the wheel when seen from the front angle.

3. Toe Angle: This angle is made by the tyres while going inwards or outwards along the vehicle’s axis longitudinally upon viewing from the top angle.

Once all of the angles are in sync, proper alignment of the wheel is achieved.

Balancing of the wheels has a direct correlation between the tyre and the wheel. It corrects the imbalance present within the tyre and the wheel weights. It is done along with the alignment to ensure the alignment coordination and the weight are in tandem. Wheel balancing and alignment is carried to make sure the drive is stable and smooth, causing less wearing of tyres, and reducing the vibrations. Tyres that are not balanced lead to the damaging of the suspension and the wheel.

The steps followed to balance the wheels are as follows:

1st Step

All the tyres of the car are removed and mounted on a computerised wheel balancer.

2nd Step

All the wheels are checked individually for the imbalance of weights, and the irregularities are simulated on the computer.

3rd Step

This imbalance is rectified by applying counterweights on to the wheel’s rim on the spot indicated by the computer.

4th Step

All the four wheels of the car are inspected once more to check for any imbalance left.

Alignment and balancing of wheels need to be carried out after every 6000km to 8000kms or before purchasing new tyres.

Rotation of tyres should also be done when you are getting the balancing and alignment of the tyres. In all kinds of front-wheel or all-wheel or rear-wheel drives, the wearing of tyres is never uniform. The front tyres are always the worst affected and undergo more stress due to constant braking and steering as compared to the other tyres.

The entire load of the vehicle is pulled by the front tyres as well. Hence, it is advised to rotate the car tyres to ensure that all the tyres distribute the pressure and stress levels of being in front. It helps in even wearing the tyres to enhance the tyre performance and their lifespan. There are two methods named five wheels and four-wheel rotation to move the tyres of any vehicle.

Five-Wheel Rotation

Front-Wheel Drives

The front wheels are placed on the wheel hubs on the rear side. The left wheel in the rear is utilised as a spare wheel, while the actual spare wheel is placed instead of the tight wheel in the front.

The right wheel on the rear of the car replaces the wheel on the front left, thereby completing tyre rotation.

Rear-Wheel Drives and All-Wheel Drives

The front car wheels are swapped and placed on the hubs of the opposite rear wheel. The left wheel on the rear is then placed on the wheel hub on the front left, the actual spare wheel on the wheel hub on the front right. The right wheel on the rear is then placed on the spare wheel, thereby completing the tyre rotation process.

Hence, to conclude, wheel alignment Leek, wheel balancing and rotation of tyres are crucial processes, that need to be done for your car.