Misaligned tires may cause a car to handle imprecisely and even veer to one side. This worrisome situation can be avoided easily with routine tire alignments. But along with these scheduled alignments, you should also know the warning signs of crooked tires; visit your local Acura dealership anytime to have the alignment of your wheels checked or corrected.
Excessive Tire Wear
One of the biggest causes of uneven tire wear is misalignment. When a tire becomes angled incorrectly, its treads are pressed against the tarmac awkwardly, which naturally leads to unnatural wear patterns. This will rapidly wear the tire out unless corrected with an alignment, plus regular tire rotations.
Pulling to One Side
There are three angles in which a tire can become misaligned: camber, caster, and toe. Toe refers to the tire’s angle when viewed from above. If the front of a tire is permanently skewed to the left or right on the toe angle, the entire car might move in that direction, even if you’re trying to steer straight.
Looser Steering Wheel
Poor alignment prevents the steering wheel from commanding the wheels precisely. The entire steering system becomes strained, and you may find that the steering wheel feels looser in your hands, which is terrible for handling and road safety.
Crooked Steering Wheel
Sometimes, bad wheel alignment can even twist the steering wheel out of place. When you release your steering wheel, if it comes to rest in an off-center position, you probably have quite a serious alignment issue that needs to be corrected at once.
Falling Fuel Efficiency
When misaligned tires press against the road at improper angles, friction and drag increase. This forces the engine to burn more fuel for each mile you drive, reducing your car’s gas mileage.
Rougher, Noisier Drives
Poor alignment means your tires will feel less smooth against the road. Your drives will become louder with excessive vibrations. The suspension will also undergo wear and tear, which may make your vehicle bounce and sway more.
Six Months Have Passed
It’s unwise to leave more than six months between alignment checks. When you catch and fix misalignment problems early on, they don’t have a chance to spread wear and tear to other car parts. Twice-a-year checks are normally enough to keep a car’s tires perfectly straight.
You Can Book Alignment Checks at Your Acura Dealership
Many drivers have their wheel alignment measured whenever they visit for a tire rotation. You can also have the balance of each tire checked in the same visit.
Few vehicle components are as important for safety and performance as the tires. Visit Fox Acura of El Paso in El Paso, TX, to ensure yours are always in tip-top shape. We aim to nurture long-term customer relations with prompt, courteous, reliable service.
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