Guideline on Buying Tires Auto Repairs - Tire Repair, Wheel Balancing, Wheel | Page 9

Reasons Why Wheel Alignment is Important to a Vehicle • Typically, when a vehicle’s wheels are poorly aligned, the tires point in a wrong direction or angle. Although wrong alignments affect the performance of both the suspension and the steering, it is not safe to drive in a car that’s wrongly aligned. • Basically, a few actions can result in improper wheel alignment, they include: • Driving fast over potholes • Hitting a curb • Driving into concrete parking blocks • Basic wear and tear – As a car age, its rubber parts tend to dry and crack and this makes ball and socket joints to loosen and the condition degenerates if left unattended. • To have a basic idea of how much impact damage can be, alignments are calculated in tenths and hundredths of degrees. Once a vehicle’s wheels aren’t well aligned, the damage can build up over an extended period if left that way.