Have you ever felt that your car is pulling to one side, even on a straight road? Are there vibrations in the steering wheel that get worse with higher speeds? Chances are that the wheels could be misaligned or unbalanced. Round and black, tyres are the only contact between your car and the road and having them adjusted correctly will give you more driving pleasure besides making your ride safer.
An unbalanced wheel will wobble. When a new tyre is fitted on the wheel, the Tyreman will use a special machine to find any imbalances in the tyre. Tyres are made from rubber and during the production, the manufacture of it, the distribution of rubber is not 100% even. Although the press in which the tyre is produced is engineered to disperse the hot rubber evenly, there may be slight imbalances. While these are typically just a few grams, something we would not notice handling a wheel with a tyre mounted, this can lead to an unbalanced wheel.
German Motors’ technicians will point out that unbalanced wheels cause several issues. Mentioned above, unbalanced wheels can cause vibrations in the steering wheel, seat, or floorboards. These vibrations can become more noticeable at higher speeds. This comes paired with Poor handling, making it difficult to control the vehicle, especially when turning. From a cost perspective, unbalanced wheels can cause uneven or accelerated tire wear, which can event lead to premature tire failure.
The entire drive train comprises of interconnected systems and with the wheels connect immediately to the Suspension, improper balanced wheels can put extra strain on the suspension system, which can lead to costly repairs. Another side-effect is Increased fuel consumption, which may become significant. As a health issue, Road noise from such unbalanced wheels can increase road noise.
While unbalanced wheels are caused by weight distribution issues, misaligned wheels are also detrimental to the performance of your vehicle as a result of the drive train not being set-up correctly. Wheel alignment refers to the position of the wheels relative to each other, the road, and the car. It's important to get your car's wheel alignment checked regularly to ensure your car is safe and stable. Negative impacts from misaligned wheels are identical to what can be observed with unbalanced wheels, however, safety concerns are a crucial aspect of having wheels perfectly aligned.
Whenever you change the tyres, wheel alignment should be performed. In addition, after accidentally hitting curbs, it may also be advisable to have this looked at. Experienced staff at German Motors have also identified daily driving patterns as a possible cause for wheels to become misaligned: for example, coming home, making a right turn over a small bump into the driveway will over time also result in the wheels becoming misaligned.
Besides the negative impacts of higher fuel consumption and increased tyre wear, as the car would need to be dragged across the asphalt to stay the course, safety is a main concern when it comes to the alignment of wheels. Hopefully, we never experience this, but in an emergency braking situation, the misaligned wheels will steer the car in an unwanted direction. Instead of avoiding harm, one may steer right into it. Misaligned wheels may also cause fatigue as the driver would constantly have to counter the veering of the vehicle to one side. A regular check, perhaps before going on a longer road trip to visit family and friends, is a worthy investment.
Taking a relatively short time, wheel alignment and balancing pay dividends. A car would run more economical, be safer and offer more joy when driving. With all the required equipment on hand German Motors will be able to set your up for safe and comfortable driving.
