Signs that your wheels aren’t aligned include drifting to the right or left, squealing tires when you turn corners, and a steering wheel that isn’t centered, but how did your wheels get knocked out of alignment in the first place? ER Auto Care explains that it’s actually pretty easy to knock your wheels out of alignment if you run into any of the road hazards listed below or fail to maintain your car’s wheels and tires properly.
Bumps
Flying over bumps, especially speed bumps might seem like a lot of fun but you are actually going to knock your wheels out of alignment if you drive over these road hazards too fast. Speed bumps in particular are designed to slow down your speed, so take this warning seriously and never drive over speed bumps more than five miles per hour. It’s important to take bumps slowly, especially if you see them in plenty of time to reduce your speed so you don’t damage your wheels or alignment.
Concrete
Concrete can be anything from curbs to the parking space markers at the end of each space. Running into these things or driving over them can knock your wheels out of alignment very quickly, so slow down to avoid the concrete. It’s important to turn around corners, parallel park, and approach concrete parking space markers slowly so that you avoid making contact with them.
Potholes
Potholes can be your wheels’ worst nightmare. When you drive through potholes, you knock the wheels all over the place, so it’s important to take these road hazards very, very slowly. Don’t be pressured by drivers behind you to drive through potholes too fast. Rather, assess the size of the pothole and how slow you need to go so that you can drive through it without causing damage to your tires, wheels, or alignment. Driving through potholes too fast can literally break your suspension.
Zero Maintenance
Finally, your wheels will eventually misalign even if you avoid all of the hazards listed above. This is why it’s important to have your wheels realigned every two years at a maximum. If you do a lot of driving, you may need to have your wheels realigned once a year. It’s also important to have the wheels balanced and aligned when you put a new set of tires on your automobile to make sure that the wheel weight is even across the axles and the new tires are flush on the road.
ER Auto Care in Plain City, OH, would be happy to inspect your automobile’s wheel alignment and make adjustments if necessary. Call us today for an appointment.
