The tyres are perhaps the most overlooked and neglected part of the car you own. Your friends, family, and the car reviews you may read or watch remain curiously silent on this very vital aspect of your vehicle. Even if you venture into the second hand market, the tyres don’t really enter into the discourse unless and until they are so bad that they need to be replaced. But the tyres are a very important cog in the overall health of the car you own and maintain. They are the only part of your car that is in contact with the ground; having a direct bearing on your car’s fuel efficiency, handling and safety. It’s therefore in your own interest to keep them in good condition. Here are some tips on tyre maintenance and the terms associated with them.
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Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment is best left to the professionals. They have all the tools required such as a lift, a computer module, post-mounted cameras (usually looks like a cross in front of the vehicle), and a set of four targets or sensors. Once the car is lifted, a target is attached to the outside of each wheel. From that position, the cameras/readers work with the targets to record measurements. Those measurements are then transmitted and displayed on the computer. The entire process takes approximately an hour.
What is wheel alignment?
Wheel alignment is basically a process which ensures that your car’s tyres meet the road at the correct angle and the wheels point in exactly the same direction as your steering wheel. This enables safe and accurate steering ensuring you are able to make correct directional changes.
Causes of Alignment going off
The question that needs to be answered is that, if all vehicles come with their wheels aligned, what exactly is the cause of faulty wheel alignment? Misalignment of wheels can basically be traced to the driver, the road or the components of the vehicle in question wearing out. Put simply, here are the reasons your car suffers from faulty wheel alignment:
- You might drive your car into a pothole, bump into a kerb, hit road debris like rocks or even take a speed breaker too fast. The larger the impact, the higher the potential you have of throwing your vehicle’s alignment out of place. This is because the metal used in the suspension flexes easily, and after a period of time, contact with curbs or potholes alters the shape and angles forcing the alignment out of place. Accidents also are a contributory cause. Road conditions and accidents are both unpredictable. However, you can eliminate wheel alignment from the above conditions largely by driving safely.
- The suspension of your vehicle particularly the shock absorbers or struts may become worn or loose leading to wheel alignment problems.
- Modifying your vehicle by changing the height or lifting can misalign your wheels. Lifting can be achieved by increasing tyre size, increasing suspension height, body blocks or a combination of the three. Now your vehicle is designed to work at a specified height designed by the manufacturer. Then it becomes your responsibility to ensure that your modification is matched by adjusting the suspension accordingly. Otherwise the wheel alignment will be off.
How do you get to know that your car’s alignment is off?
What exactly are the conditions or circumstances that may occur leading you to the conclusion that your car’s wheel alignment is faulty?
- Steering Wheel : You hold the steering wheel in your hands and you can see that the manufacturer’s logo is not straight. Perhaps you can see that the bar across the wheel is not in a straight line when you drive. If your steering wheel is slightly cocked or not perfectly centered while driving, it is time to check your wheel alignment.
- Steering Pulling: You might realise that you have to fight the steering wheel to prevent your car moving left or right while driving straight. This is similar to the type of pulling you get when a tyre is punctured. If the steering still pulls after checking the tyres, wheel alignment will be required for safe driving.
- Uneven Tyre Wear: Each tyre has a pattern, known as the tread pattern. With proper wheel alignment, the tread pattern on all wheels will evenly wear out. If the car’s wheels are misaligned, the front tyres will exhibit uneven wear on the tread and will wear out faster compared to the rear tyres.
Wheel Balancing
Wheel balancing is important because it contributes directly to smooth driving, safety, tyre wear and stability ensuring that the wheels spin without any vibrations. In contrast to wheel alignment, it refers to compensation for any weight imbalances in the tyre and wheel combination. It is performed in conjunction with wheel alignment.
Technically speaking we need to equalise the combined weights of the tyre and wheel assembly so the entire assembly spins smoothly at high speeds. We have to ensure the weight is even around the axle. Otherwise there are vibrations, lateral and vertical, that can cause disturbances felt through the steering.
When balancing your wheels, the wheels should always be balanced off the car. This means the wheels should be taken off the car and balanced individually. Modern wheel balancers will simultaneously balance the wheel in a dynamic state (when the wheels are spinning) and in a static state (when the wheel is at a standstill).
How is wheel balancing done?
The tyre and wheel assembly is placed on a tyre balancing machine that can sense minute differences in weight around the wheel. These miniscule weight differences tend to add up because the wheel spins hundreds of times a minute around the axle which leads to enough momentum to cause vibrations. Multiply that problem by four and you will begin to understand the magnitude of the problem. Professionals follow the following steps while performing the procedure:
- Removal of tyre and wheel assembly from the car.
- Mounting each wheel on a balancing machine
- Spinning each wheel to make sure the weight of the wheel and tyre are balanced evenly around the axle
- Detecting and locating any imbalance both static and dynamic (wheels checked, both at rest and motion)
- Attaching a lead weight on the opposite side of the tyre to compensate for weight differences
- Remounting tyres and wheels on the car.
How often should you get wheel alignment and balancing done?
The basic times when wheel alignment and balancing should be done include:
- When a tyre is replaced or repaired
- When a balance weight is moved or falls off
- When new tyres are purchased
- When you have had a particularly bad impact or accident
- When you replace steering or suspension components
- When you have driven for 50,000 km
Tyre Rotation
Tyre rotation is a method of interchanging the location of your tyres so that an even wear and tear is maintained on each one. That’s because each specific position on your vehicle requires a different give from each tyre—(for example, tyres on the front of a front-wheel drive vehicle will take a larger proportion of the torque and friction that’s needed for turning, accelerating and braking)—and can lead to more, or less, wear on the tyre. It is especially important to rotate new tyres by 8,000 km because deep, fresh tyre tread is more susceptible to uneven wear. How this is done is determined by the type of drive train of your vehicle: Is it a front wheel drive, a rear wheel drive or a 4X4?
Four-Wheel Rotation
Front Wheel Drive Cars:
- Front tyres should be moved to the back and remain on the same side.
- Rear tyres should be brought forwards and crossed from one side to the other, for example your rear left tyre will become your front right tyre.
Rear Wheel Drive Cars:
- Rear tyres should be brought forward and remain on the same side.
- Front tyres should be moved to the back of the car and crossed from one side to the other, for example your front right tyre will become your rear left tyre.
4×4 Cars:
- All four tyres should be rotated in a crossed direction, so your front right tyre will become your rear left tyre and rear left tyre will become your front right tyre,
- The process is repeated with your front left tyre and rear right tyre.
Five-Wheel Rotation
Some vehicles have spare tyres that are not of the same size as the fitment size. This clearly marks them out to be temporary replacement tyres. Should that not be the case, five tyre rotation is better than four tyre rotation allowing the tyres to wear out evenly. While five tyre rotation is not essential, it should be carried out over four tyre rotation, should that option be available to you.
For front-wheel drive vehicles with a matching spare tyre, it’s possible to do a forward cross. This involves swapping the back two tyres for the front two tyres much like a regular 4 tire rotation. However, the front left tire will be swapped with the back left tire and the front right tire will be kept as the spare. The spare will go into the back right slot.
The rearward close is a 5 wheel rotation pattern for both rear and four-wheel drive vehicles. First, the back left and back right tires replace the front left and front right tires respectively. The front left tire is kept as a spare, and the front right tire replaces the back left. The spare then takes the place of the back right tire.
Summary
Tyres may be the most unglamorous part of your vehicle and are definitely the most dirty. But that should not be an excuse to neglect their care and maintenance.Proper wheel alignment maximizes fuel economy, tire life, and the overall performance of your vehicle.Look after their health as well as you do other aspects of the vehicle such as the engine and body, and you can look forward to a hassle free ownership experience. Get them checked by professionals on a regular basis, replace them if you have to, and enjoy years of happy motoring.
