Tire alignment is a little known car maintenance which can improve life span and directionality of a car. This is a most important car repair jobs which is mainly ignored by the new car owner. Friction and heat are the two major factors that cause wear and tear in car. Friction damages mechanical part of the car where as heat damage the physical part of the body. In simple terms, lack of lubrication in car is the major factor for frictional damage.
Tire alignment is necessary because it restores the orientation of car tires and reduces the friction. This reduced friction will avoid any wear and tear of a car. A regular tire alignment checkup is necessary because it helps to maintain long life of a car tire. Precise control in terms of directionality while steering a car is another benefit of tire alignment.
Tire alignment is considered on three parameters which deal with the angles at which the tires are oriented with respect to each other and with respect to suspension. These are Camber, Castor and Toe.
- Camber – Angle made by the wheel diameter line with a perpendicular drawn from the ground is called Camber. Error in this mechanism can cause major wear and tear of tires.
- Castor – This type of angle can be made by steering pivot while looking the wheel from sideways. These types of misalignments can cause steering control problems and rapid wear and tear of a tire.
- Toe – This mechanism shows how much the front and back tires are aligned with each other. For better result tire should be in parallel style.
Excessive wear and tear of a tire and non-central alignment of the steering wheel while driving straight is the major indicator for tire alignment problem. According to a car mechanic car wheel alignment is necessary after about 10,000 miles of running or about one year.
Hence, tire alignment is a major repair issue and a car owner always should take care of it. This small repair will help to avoid major problem and other issues of a car.
