Tire Alignment Symptoms

• Proper tire alignment is vital to the life of your tires. Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

  Tire alignment is an important aspect of vehicle maintenance that is commonly underestimated or ignored by casual car owners. Many larger and more expensive problems can originate from misaligned tires, such as damage to the tires themselves or to the frame, problems which could have been prevented by maintaining proper tire alignment and balance. Tires are getting more expensive, so to extend their life and the life of your car, pay close attention to detect any adverse symptom before it becomes a problem.

Turned Steering Wheel on a Straight Road

• The most obvious symptom of misaligned tires is the steering wheel being turned in one direction while travelling in a straight line. Properly aligned tires sit perpendicular to the road. When they are misaligned, even by a few degrees, the only way to compensate is to turn the steering wheel to the left or right. The steering wheel may turn only slightly, but if it is not perfectly positioned while the tires are straight, the front tires are out of alignment.

Car Drifts to One Side

• Related to the first symptom, a car that is difficult to keep straight on the roadway could be suffering from misaligned tires. The treads and wear of a tire determine its ability to pull itself in a straight line; when one tire is worn more than the tire on the opposite side of the car, this pulls the car in the direction of the less-worn tire, as it is capable of making fuller contact with the road. When this happens to a front tire, with which the car is steered, it causes the car to drift in that direction.

  Although not definitive, it is important to pay attention to this problem when it starts, as it could signal the onset of a flat tire or possible blowout caused by uneven wear on one of the front tires.

Uneven Wear on Tire Treads

• When a tire has spent enough time on the road, the treads will begin to break down and become more smooth. This is commonly referred to as road wear. All tires will show wear over time. When tires are properly aligned, the wear on each tire will be nearly symmetrical toward the end of the tires' life. On a car whose tires are not properly aligned, the wear on the tires will be asymmetrical, meaning that one tire will show significantly more wear than the others, and wear will be considerably more rapid. When viewed from the front, the tires should show similar wear patterns in the treads. If they do not, this is indicative of improperly aligned tires.