The car pulls to one side
Ease off the wheel on a flat, straight road. If the car drifts left or right rather than tracking straight, the alignment is the first thing to look at.
Wheel alignment
Wheel Alignment in Wellington
If your car pulls to one side or your tyres are wearing on one edge, the alignment has gone out. Getting it set right protects the tyres you have just paid for.
Why it matters
The cheapest way to make tyres last longer
Wheel alignment is the angle at which your wheels meet the road. When it is right, the car tracks straight, the steering feels settled and the tread wears evenly across its full width. When it is out, even slightly, the tyre is dragged very slightly sideways with every revolution, and that quietly grinds one shoulder away.
It goes out through ordinary use. A kerb on a tight corner, a pothole on a country lane outside Wellington, or just the slow accumulation of wear in the suspension. Nothing dramatic happens at the time, which is why most people only notice once the tyres start looking odd or the steering wheel stops sitting level.
The frustrating part is that it turns a good set of tyres into an expensive mistake. We see it regularly: someone has bought four decent tyres, and within a year the inner edges are down to the wear bars while the middle of the tread still looks almost new. Setting the alignment right stops that happening again.
Warning signs
Four signs your alignment needs checking
None of these need a diagnostic computer to spot. If any of them sound familiar, it is worth a call.
The steering wheel sits off centre
You are driving in a straight line but the badge in the middle of the wheel is not level. That is a classic alignment symptom, and it usually appears after a kerb or a pothole.
Tyres wearing on one edge
Run your hand across the tread. If the inner or outer shoulder is noticeably more worn than the rest, the wheel is not sitting square to the road and the tyre is being scrubbed away.
New tyres wearing out quickly
A fresh set that is gone within a year is rarely the tyre's fault. Poor alignment will destroy good rubber faster than almost anything else you can do to it.
Best done together
Fit the tyres, then set the alignment
The sensible order is to get the tyres sorted and the alignment checked in the same visit. Whether you are going for new tyres or a set of pressure tested part-worn tyres, the last thing you want is to drive away on fresh tread that is already being scrubbed off at one edge.
When we take your old tyres off we can see straight away how they have been wearing, and that wear pattern tells us a great deal. If it points at the alignment we will flag it there and then, rather than let you find out the hard way in eight months' time.
One trip, not two
Mention alignment when you call to book your tyres and we can plan the time for both, which saves you coming back down to Chelston Business Park a second time.
Steering pulling to one side?
Give us a ring and describe what the car is doing. If it is the alignment we will get it booked in, and we will look at your tyres while it is here.