It’s important that your automobile’s wheels remain aligned because if they aren’t, they can damage the suspension system. Misaligned wheels will also damage the tires, which leads to dangerous driving conditions, especially on wet roads. What knocks your wheels out of alignment? The four things that Padron Automotive lists below.
Hitting Curbs
We’ve all cut curbs too close and hit them. We’ve all hit parking space dividers, too. If you do it once or twice at relatively low speeds, your alignment will likely survive the jolts. If you hit a curb or parking space divider going fast, however, you can knock the wheel(s) that hit the curb or divider out of alignment. Be careful when navigating curbs and pulling into parking spaces with dividers.
Speeding Over Speed Bumps
Yes, it is fun to accept your friend’s dare to hit that speed bump at high speeds, but you’ll not only knock your wheels out of alignment, you could also damage your suspension, undercarriage, and even blow out a tire or two. Don’t drive more than 5 miles-per-hour when going over speed bumps, even if they aren’t that bad. If you drive any faster, you’ll cause undue stress on your vehicle’s suspension and tires.
Off-Roading Over Potholes
Ah, yes. The evil potholes. Do you feel as they’re snickering as you drive over them while they damage your car, truck, or SUV? These road hazards are your automobile’s worst enemy. Potholes can knock your wheels out of alignment and do far worse damage than that. Hit them fast enough and you just might take out your steering and tires, too, not to mention lose a hub cab or two… or all four.
Ignoring Preventative Wheel Maintenance
Finally, preventative maintenance can also help with your wheel alignment. You should have your tires rotated every 6,000 to 9,000 miles. They should be balanced regularly, as well. During the tire rotation and balance, have the service technician check your wheel alignment to make sure it’s correct. If it isn’t, the technician can align your wheels to avoid the damage mentioned in the introduction above.
If you live in Topeka, KS, Padron Automotive is one such auto shop. We offer preventative maintenance services to our customers including wheel alignment. Call us today to set up an appointment. We’ll check your tires for tread depth and balancing and also make sure the wheels are aligned properly. If they aren’t, we’ll fix it!
