Alignment Toe
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Alignment Toe
Accurate Wheel Alignment Extends Tire Tread Life
Michigan and Ohio drivers experience five different seasons: summer, fall, winter, spring and pothole season. Sometimes called kettles or chuckholes, potholes appear after water freezes in cracks or crevices of the road surface. Periodic freezing and thawing causes them to widen and surrounding surface area to flake away. The hole then further expands as vehicles bump their way through it, loosening even more of the already fragile pavement around it.
An unexpected encounter with a monster pothole can cause thousands of dollars of damage to your tires, wheels, steering system and suspension components. Even a chance encounter with a medium-size pothole can inflict damage you might not notice by throwing your wheel alignment out of whack. If that happens, you might notice that your vehicle pulls to the left or right when the steering wheel is in a straight ahead position or notice excessive vibration at high speeds.
You might also notice unusual or excessive tire wear. That’s because, instead of running straight and true, your tires are now skidding or scrubbing across the road, almost as it they were constantly cornering. Fortunately, there are some tire discount stores that have state-of-the-art computerized wheel alignment equipment to quickly, accurately and affordably adjust any alignment problems that could cause your vehicle to pull or vibrate and ultimately shorten the life of your tires.
Balancing versus Alignment
Don’t be confused by tire retailers who say tire-wheel balancing and wheel alignment is the same thing or that balancing is good enough. Tires generate enormous centrifugal forces at high speeds. Balancing evens out weight irregularities in each tire and wheel combination. It helps ensure the tire maintains constant surface contact without skipping, jumping or bumping over the road. A wheel alignment ensures all four wheels and tires track straight and true. It centers them with your steering system, maximizes suspensions system performance and helps prevent uneven tire wear.
Alignment Geometry
Accurate wheel alignment is a matter of geometry. To ensure safe everyday driving with good directional stability and extended tire tread life, four critical suspension angles must be precisely aligned and adjusted to the vehicle’s factory specifications.
- Camber angle measures how far the tire slants away from vertical when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Camber is negative when the top of the tire leans inward and positive when it leans outward.
- Caster angle measures how far the tire slopes forward or backward of a line drawn through the upper and lower pivot points of the steering system when viewed directly from the side. Caster is negative if the line slopes forward and positive if it slopes backward toward the rear of the vehicle.
- Toe angle measures the direction the tires are pointed compared to a line drawn through the center of the vehicle when viewed from above. Tires are toe-in if they intersect the centerline and toe-out if they do not.
- Thrust angle compares the direction the rear axle is aimed compared to a line drawn down the center of the vehicle. Thrust angle is on-center if the rear axle is parallel to the front axle and off-center if it is not.
Ask a Professional
If your vehicle pulls to the left or right when the steering wheel is in a straight ahead position, if experience excessive vibration at high speeds or if you notice uneven tire wear, it might be time for an alignment check. But, precisely adjusting the critical geometry angles engineered into today’s sophisticated suspension systems isn’t a job for an amateur.
ASE Certified Technicians at most tire discount stores have the training, tools and state-of-the-art computerized equipment to do it quickly, accurately and affordably. Even if you don’t have an unexpected meeting with a pothole, it’s a good idea to have your wheel alignment inspected every twelve months or 12,000 miles.
So, enjoy every Michigan and Ohio driving season. Have your wheel alignment checked by a professional after any pothole mishap or every twelve months or 12,000 miles. Many tire discounters offer free alignment checks that will tell you if you’re in need of an alignment. You’ll not only maximize your suspension system and tire performance, you’ll also save money down the road because you won’t have to replace your tires as often.
About the Author
Wally Koster is a retired marketing and advertising executive with over 40 years of automotive industry experience. Belle Tire is working even harder to bring you the best tire price, period! Learn how you can get Out-The-Door with More...more value, services and protection! http://www.belletire.com
How much should a front end alignment cost?
I DONT WANT TO GET RIPPED OFF SO I WAS WONDERING AN APPROXIMATE GUESS. I HAD A FLAT TODAY AND FOUND OUT MY TIRES ARE "TOE END OUT" ? SO I NEED TWO NEW TIRES AND ALIGNMENT. ANY INFO PLEASE HELP. THANX!!
I work for Sears automotive. I do alignments all day long. We charge 65$ for a 4 wheel alignment with a free suspension check. The only proper way to do an alignment is a 4 wheel kind. Toe out is rare if you havent been in any accidents with the car. It also happens from careless install of new parts. The 4 wheel alignment makes sure the car travels down the road as it should. 2 wheel alignments dont take into account the direction of the rear axle offset and can result in the car going somewhat sideways down the road. Called dogtracking. Avoid the dealership at all costs as they dont perform alignments very well. Ask to see a printout of your car's before and after specs so that you dont get ripped off. A competent shop will have complete specs for you. You can also watch the tech at Sears do the alignment as long as you dont mind wearing safety glasses. It only takes about 1 hour for most cars. A bit longer for some dodges (intrepids and the like) cause they are poorly designed up front.
Using TTL - Toe The Line Golf Alignment Aid