A four-wheel alignment is used to make sure the front and rear of a car are parallel with each other. Cars are designed to have their wheels level, which means that they are on equal ground when looking at them from the top or bottom. This type of alignment is important because it prevents uneven tire wear. It is common for cars within the same model line to have different four-wheel alignments for some models even if they are made by the same manufacturer, so consulting an owner’s manual or auto service guide can help determine ideal factory specs.
One way to check if a car needs four-wheel alignment is to place a ruler across both sets of tires while all four tires are touching the surface. If one tire sticks up higher than the other, this is an indication that four-wheel alignment is needed. If one piece of tire wear seems to be greater than the others, that too can indicate a need for alignment service.
An auto technician uses special tools when performing car four-wheel alignment. They will begin by stripping down the car in order to keep it from moving while they are working on it. Then they use levels and lasers in order to measure the vertical distance between each wheelset before actually adjusting anything yet. To ensure proper measurements, the technician may also need to deflate tires in order to put them at equal pressure during measuring time.
Once these measurements are taken, they are plugged into a computer system that calculates what angles are needed to achieve the desired four-wheel alignment.
These angles can be adjusted using a special tool that is connected to an arm on top of each wheel or to a pivot point underneath each tire. After all, alignments have been set, the technician will adjust either height or length of any problematic components and re-measure them before repeating this cycle until final measurements match ideal factory specs for four-wheel car alignment. Once the front and back are levels with each other, then technicians can begin measuring lateral movement, which refers to how far off center each wheel is from its adjacent wheelset. This also helps prevent uneven wear around the circumference of tires and ensures that they wear evenly down the center instead.
C get the four-wheel alignment checked when any off-center tire wear pops up or when a checkup has been ordered by the vehicle owner. Since this service is not commonly sought after, it’s sometimes overlooked until one of these things happens. Failure to get a four-wheel alignment done when necessary can cause uneven tire wear and significant damage to car suspension components, so it is important for car owners to take care of any problems quickly.
Although there are a lot of people who try their hand at four-wheel car alignment in an attempt to save money on having a professional do it, they may have trouble keeping everything straight while aligning all four tires. This makes it harder for them to complete the job since the measurements won’t be precise and risk damaging other parts while getting the wheels straightened out.
Getting it done right the first time by a professional technician will make driving safer and more pleasant.
