All About Alignments

How Does Wheel Alignment Affect Your Vehicle and the straight facts on wheel alignment and why it’s important.

All of the elements that determine whether or not your car drives straight are called the alignment. Wheel alignment involves three main measurements. These are caster, camber, and toe. There are standards for each of these measurements, and it is best that they are as close to these as possible. With most new cars, you only need to be concerned with adjustments for the toe. That being said, if you are not familiar with wheel alignment, it is best to have this job done by a technician at your local Brake Masters®.

Caster is the tilt of the steering axis either forward or backward. Caster affects your directional control when steering, but it will not affect the wear on tires. You will especially feel if the caster on your car needs to be corrected when turning.

Camber is the tilting of the wheels in their vertical position when looking at them from the front of the car. If the camber is not correct, the wheels will wear faster on either the inside or outside depending on if they are tilted positively or negatively.

Toe refers to how much the wheels are turned either out or in from a straight ahead position. Toe ensures that the wheels roll parallel. If toe is adjusted improperly you will again face tire wear and also steering instability.

These are just the absolute basics on wheel alignment. What you need to remember above all is that tires are expensive and in order to keep yours from wearing out prematurely, you need to have your alignment checked at least every 10,000 miles. Not only will your car be easier to drive, but you will save yourself money by extending the life of your tires.