Checking Your Car’s Alignment
There are many reasons to have your alignment checked on your vehicle regularly, and as far as maintenance goes it is definitely one of the easy ones. First of all, a car with good alignment is a safer car; it is less likely to drift off of the road, and tends to go in the direction that you tell it to. Second of all, it will keep you tires from wearing as much which can save you lots of money in the long run.
Many mechanics will recommend getting your alignment checked every other oil change, but as cars differ greatly from one another, you can always check your owner’s manual to see what will be the best for your particular model. Sometimes, though, through the course of regular driving your alignment can get thrown off and you might need to get one sooner.
There are a couple ways to tell if your car might need an in-between alignment, alignment. You may notice that even though your steering wheel is straight, you car is veering to one side or the other, you may notice that your steering wheel is vibrating more, or you may notice that your tires are wearing unevenly.
The first thing (and cheapest thing) to check is your tire pressure. This will rule out the tires being the cause of the problem. The optimum pressure for your car is usually listed in the driver’s side door, or you can look it up online or in your owner’s manual. If the pressure is all good, you should take it into an experienced mechanic to get aligned.
Though there are many car maintenance jobs that are great to do yourself, this one is best to leave to the experts as they have special machines that clamp onto the tires and connect to a computer for the most exact measurements possible.
Cars are a very expensive item to own. By keeping up with maintenance like tire alignment, you can lower some of the replacement expenses by simply getting your tires checked when you get an oil change. This can also make your car a lot safer too. After all, when you are hurtling down a stretch of concrete at over 65 miles per hour with hundreds of other people doing the same, should you have every advantage possible of getting through unscathed?