Four Wheel Alignment (tracking)
- Computerised Wheel Alignment and Geometry correction completed in house
- Four wheel drive wheel alignment
Symptoms of poor wheel alignment
- Vehicle pulling to the left or right when it should be going in a straight line
- Steering wheel is off centre when you are driving in a straight line
- Tyres wearing unevenly on the inner of outer edges
- Steering wheel vibrates or feels loose
Other tell tail signs are strange knocking noises when rocking the steering left to right while stationary or knocking noises when driving over uneven road surfaces.
Not having these items rectified may lead to further problems and increased vehicle running costs including;
- Increased tyre wear and more regular replacement
- Increased fuel consumption
- Increased component wear and earlier replacement
Your vehicles steering system is subjected to a great deal of stress while driving on even the smoothest of roads and with breaking and turning cornering. Unneven, rutted and pot holed roads will add additional strain. Steering components over a period of time wear and will need adjusting or replacing i.e steering racks, track rod ends, ball joints.
Four Wheel vs Two Wheel Alignment
Four wheel tracking alignment is applicable to all vehicles including two and four wheel drive.
Two wheel alignment has become largely obsolete because this assumes the rear wheels are already aligned with the centerline of the vehicle, only aligning the front wheels to the vehicle centerline.
Four wheel alignment begins with aligning the rear wheels correctly before aligning the front wheels to the optimum position. All vehicles should be four wheel aligned and we do not perform two wheel alignment unless there are very specific reasons for this.
Approximate cost for wheel alignment check
Approximate cost for a wheel alignment / tracking correction, assuming there is no damage caused to the steering components;
Four wheel alignment from £50 + VAT
Computerised Wheel Alignment
All vehicles rely on correct alignment of their wheels to operate and drive efficiently and comfortable. The correcty alignment is referred to as "tracking" and "wheel alignment" where tracking typically indicates the front two wheel alignment only, where a full geometry wheel alignment refers to the front and rear wheel alignments combined.
Poor or incorrect wheel alignment will effect the driving and efficiency of your vehicle; resulting in higher maintenance and operating costs for things such as tyres, suspenstion and fuel due to the incorrect wear on these areas of the vehicle. Poor alignment will also affect the quality of the driving and depening on the scale of the problem can lead to extreme fatigue.
- Toe is a measurement of how much a pair of wheels are turned in or out from a straight ahead position.
- We can test toe alignment on the front or the front and rear wheels.
- You will feel your car ‘pulling’ to one side if the toe alignment is out.
- Camber is the vertical tilt of the wheel
- If the camber is out of alignment it will cause the tyre tread to wear excessively on one edge
- If the camber is different from wheel to wheel it can cause your vehicle to pull to one side
- Camber misalignment may not be adjustable on all cars. If the camber alignment is out on these vehicles it may indicate that something is worn or bent and should be inspected more closely
Camber misalignment may not be adjustable on all cars. If the camber alignment is out on these vehicles it may indicate that something is worn or bent and should be inspected more closely.
- Caster alignment is the angle of the steering pivot when viewed from the side of the vehicle
- Caster has little affect on tyre wear, but it affects steering stability
- If the caster is out of adjustment, it can cause problems in straight line tracking
- If the caster is equal but too negative, the steering will be light and the vehicle will wander
- If the caster is equal but too positive, the steering will be heavy and the steering wheel may kick when you hit a bump.