Importance of tyre alignment

Keeping your car in tip-top shape is no easy task, but it's not entirely impossible. There are several tell tale signs that even the average driver should be able to identify to know 'something' is wrong with the car. In this article, we're going to cover a bit about diagnosing a tyre misalignment.

A misaligned tyre simply means that one or several of the tyres on your car is not pointing directly straight. This can be caused by potholes, speed bumps, and even general wear and tear. A misaligned tyre may cause uneven tread wear which in turn may seriously affect car handling.

One of the most important elements of a car is its tyres. The tyres alone are responsible to keep the car gripped to the ground, ensuring our cars don't become bumper cars. It is therefore of paramount importance that the tyres maintain their treads and that those treads are even, as uneven treads can cause your car to lose grip during cornering and on wet, slippery surfaces.

One way to spot misaligned tyres is to park your car on a level area and turn the tyres until you can see the entire width of the tyre. Place a ruler in the middle of the tyres, in between the treads and mark the level on the ruler. Compare both the left and right tyres, and if one side is higher than the other, you have uneven tread wear which is most probably caused by misalignment.

An easier way is to find a long stretch of straight road that you can easily drive on to reach cruising speeds. Once you reach speeds around 60 to 70 km/h, slowly release your grip on the wheel. If your car 'pulls' to either side, you most likely have misalignment. Also look out for vibrations through the steering wheel, which may indicate a misaligned tyre or a dented rim.


Tyre alignment is a simple process, and it won't cost a bomb. Simply bring your car to the nearest tyre shop, usually identified by huge signboards with tyre brands such as Michelin, Kumho, Hankook, etc. Before committing your car to an alignment process with a shop though, be sure to ask if they have a laser wheel alignment gauge. This is a tool that is attached to either side of your car, on the rims. This tool then transmits a laser that is read by a computer to determine tyre alignment. Make sure that the vehicle displayed on that computer is indeed your car model as different cars have different readings.

The objective of tyre alignment is to get those tyres pointing in the right direction, without a positive or negative toe angle. A positive toe angle or toe out, means that your tyre(s) are pointing outward from your car. Imagine a 'V' shape, whilst a negative toe angle or toe in, means your tyre(s) are pointing inwards to your car. Imagine an inverted 'V' shape.


Also, as discussed in another article 'Car Suspension - Components and how they work', the camber angle of your ride is important. Depending on what you want, you may want to set your car to a negative camber alignment for more stability during cornering, or a neutral angle, for even tread wear.

Whilst you're at it, it would be a good idea to get your wheels balanced to determine if your rims are indeed round and not bent.