Taking your vehicle for a tire alignment can often fix many problems that have developed in your vehicle out of the blue. Often diagnosing wheel alignment issues can become a confusing task with the blame often being placed on other areas of the vehicle.
Wheel alignment helps your tires to last longer, improves vehicle handling, and stops vehicle vibration by aligning and adjusting your vehicle’s suspension that is connected to your wheels. In this article, we are going to be looking at how long tire alignment takes, and how to understand your alignment report.
The alignment of your tires is a vital way to keep your vehicle performing well and maintaining the best possible performance your car can give.
There are a few ways to tell if your car may need alignment and these indicators are usually obvious to spot and you should act fast to get your alignment performed by a professional to prevent damage to your car.
One or more of these signs are a big indicator of issues with your vehicle alignment and your technician may also ask you questions such as:
This question may seem odd, but previous work can relate to your existing problem!
Sometimes bad vehicle alignment can be traced back to an event that has caused your tires to become unaligned such as hitting a curb. This isn’t always the case and sometimes it can just be a deteriorated part from age and wear.
If you only notice your problems during certain times such as braking, certain weight loads, or even some speeds this can help to identify a more specific issue.
Vehicle alignment needs to be performed in a garage with wheel alignment machines that are preprogrammed with your vehicle’s information to perform a precise alignment.
Before your technician starts aligning your wheels they will check your car’s suspension parts and ensure every bolt is well tightened and that nothing needs replacing beforehand to ensure your alignment provides the best results.
This first step can take a small amount of time if your suspension is all working well, or longer if it requires attention.
After this, the alignment starts and can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour for 4-wheel alignment but it is all dependent on a lot of variables such as your vehicle, any damage, or suspension work that may need sorting beforehand.
So in total, your wheel alignment can take as little as 40 minutes, or upwards of 2 hours for a 4-wheel alignment.
Once your wheel alignment has been performed, you will be given a wheel alignment report which at first can seem like a large number of confusing figures, and understanding what it means may seem impossible, but here’s an easy-to-understand explanation to help you understand your wheel alignment report.
The front caster directly affects the stability of your vehicle when driving in a straight line. This is because it is the angle that the strut at the rear of your vehicle leans towards.
The front camber is usually a negative figure to show the wheel will lean in towards the vehicle. This figure explains how upright your wheel stands to help with the grip your tires have on the road when cornering.
The front toe explains how straight your wheel points forward to help reduce tire wear when under force against the road. The force of the wheel position will differ depending on driving styles which all have a great effect.
Similar to the front camber the rear camber has a dramatic effect on the stability and handling of your vehicle.
The front and rear toe differ slightly, as they are both about how straight the wheels point but they do not alter in the same way the front would. The rear toe has a separate purpose to allow heat into your tires to get them working fully as fast as possible. On average, a car tire would need to reach 7 degrees before it can start to work effectively for your vehicle.
Finally, the thrust angle tells you how squared the rear axles are to the centerline of your vehicle, and also affects how straight your steering wheel is to affect under and oversteer in some cases.
You may find some garages that offer vehicle alignment packages to save you money over the lifetime of your car, but typically for front-end alignment, you can expect to pay between $65-$100.
Alignment is the adjustment of the vehicle’s suspension that connects to the wheels, so is not actually an adjustment of your tires or wheels.
It is recommended you align your tires after you have new tires installed to get the most life from your tires without uneven wear. You should get vehicle alignment done at least once a year.
Many times bad alignment can be caused by wear and tear on your suspension parts over time, but it can also be linked back to an accident or bad ride over a speed bump or pothole.
Many times car alignment can be linked to a bump or accident that has to lead to issues within your suspension, but it can just be due to wear and tear over time.
Yearly alignment can lead to improved vehicle handling, tire wear and prevent having to wait hours for your vehicle to be back to its original performance. So in summary. you can expect to wait between 40 minutes to 2 hours for a 4-wheel alignment to take place on your vehicle.
