Wheel alignment is the procedure or part of maintenance process in which it is made sure that the car wheels are aligned, by calibration its is meant that wheels should be perpendicular on the ground and in exact parallel position with each other. Generally there is a specified parameter determined from the manufacturers according to which these adjustments are made. If wheel are not properly aligned it causes a continuous damages to tires with car operation and tires suffer from wear over the period of time.
For carrying out the wheel alignment service there are different methods and techniques that are used. One is the manual calibration process, but that technique is not accurate as the adjuster has no idea about the angles. Such type of positioning completely relies on the instinct of the repair man.
Modern techniques is making use of state of the art 3D alignment machine, which with almost 100% accuracy perform the operation of calibration and human involvement just remain to monitoring and putting on the clamp.
Principle of Operation of Wheel Alignment:
Before starting the alignment, accurate positions (original position) of wheels is determined. Through center of four wheels and its target disks, the plane (& central line) is determined on which alignment will be carried out. Now, once done then calculated and present position of lines is compared and required.
Alignment Process:
The car is parked in the nearby area of the machine. Now there is a set of clamp (for the four tires) which is placed, these clamps will be used for putting up the pressure on the tires during clamping process. These clamps are equipped with rotating jaws which are fixed on the tires and tighten them. One of the function of these clamps is to make it sure that during the wheel alignment, clamps don’t loose out.
In 3D wheel alignment machine, a 3D model is generated of car tires having the original position. The clamp produces signal and machine puts up the car co-ordinates on the screen. Through intelligent wheel measurement (diameter and heights) system installed in the system, complete 3D view of car is generated on the screen.
Advantage of 3D Wheel Alignment:
The basic advantage of using 3D machine for the calibration of wheel is that, users have various options, like that they can adjust height of vehicles as per the need, using embedded systems of height, weight, angle calculation and cameras, complete work of wheel alignment is automatic.
These are the basic guidelines on which 3D wheel alignment service works upon, there are different variation in terms of modules and option available in the machines.
The Growing Importance Of A Wheel Alignment Service
Back when cars used hard rubber tires on spoke rims, wheel alignment service wasn’t very important. As long as all 4 wheels were on the ground and the car could move forward, they were considered “good”. But as technology improved and pneumatic tires became the norm, wheel alignment became more and more important. Today, finding a good wheel alignment service has become very important for many reasons including saving money, improving performance and saving gasoline.
Tires today are an integral part of the overall suspension system working with the springs, struts and shocks to provide a smooth ride. Regardless of whether you’re driving a four wheel drive vehicle like a truck or SUV, a family sedan or a sports car, the tires you have on the car are specifically designed to primarily deliver a smooth ride but they’re also designed to give you good traction in all kinds of weather conditions. Having them aligned properly by a professional wheel alignment service ensures the suspension is right and that the vehicle is providing the proper traction.
Danger During Wet or Icy Conditions
When tires aren’t aligned properly, they don’t wear evenly. If you look at your tires and see that one section of the tire, usually the inside or outside edge of the tread is more worn than the other side or the middle, then your tires aren’t aligned correctly. This not only affects how quickly the tires wear out but can pose a danger during wet or icy conditions as those areas on the tire may be badly worn and not be readily visible. When you have a professional wheel alignment service performed on your car, the entire tread area is contacting the road giving you maximum traction and even wear.
Last Thoughts
Having tires properly aligned not only makes your vehicle safer to drive but it actually saves you money as well. Misaligned wheels wear faster meaning you have to replace the tires sooner, it’s harder on the suspension and other drive train parts which mean they have to be repaired or replaced sooner and perhaps the most expensive result of wheels that haven’t been professionally aligned by a wheel alignment service is the fact that the vehicle uses more gas. As expensive as gasoline is now, having your wheels aligned could save a significant amount of money in a short amount of time.
Take a look at your tires and if they’re not wearing evenly across the tire, you’ll want to find a wheel alignment service as soon as possible. Saving gasoline is important and saving money on tires and auto repairs is as well, but the most important reason to ensure your tires and wheels are aligned properly is to ensure your vehicle is as safe to drive as possible.