Alignment Service

TYPES OF ALIGNMENT

Downtown Tire & Auto specialists use the top-of-the-line Hunter Hawkeye Alignment machine to expertly solve any of your car’s alignment issues.

With this new technology, we can normally have your car’s alignment issues diagnosed and resolved in under an hour.

WHEEL ALIGNMENT – consists of adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. This maximizes the life of your tires and ensures straight driving on the road. If your front end is not aligned, you may find your car veering to the right or left.

Aligning the front end is a matter of adjusting the caster, camber and toe. The caster is the forward or backward tilt of the steering axis when viewed from the side. The camber is the tilt of your wheels when viewed from the front or the back. The toe is how much the front of your wheels are inward or outward (toe-in/toe-out) when viewed from the top

CAR ALIGNMENT – refers to an adjustment of a vehicle’s suspension – the system that connects a vehicle to its wheels. It is not an adjustment of the tires or wheels themselves. The key to proper alignment is adjusting the angles of the tires, which affects how they contact the road. A car alignment is a complex combination of suspension angles that are measured and suspension elements that are adjusted. This makes a car alignment an important suspension-tuning application that significantly influences the operation of the car’s tires.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I MY CAR HAVE AN ALIGNMENT?

For most cars, there aren’t specific requirements. However, most auto repair shops recommend performing an alignment every 2 or 3 years, or at the first signs of trouble. Car alignments typically need to be performed more often if the vehicle is a sports car, or the wheels are wider than normal. If you frequently drive on rough roads, end up hitting a pothole or rough bump, the vehicle can end up being thrown out of alignment and should be checked out by a qualified technician. It’s also recommended that the car alignment should be inspected every 15,000 miles, even if you don’t notice a problem, to catch issues before they happen.

Driving with car alignment problems costs you money, not only decreasing tire life and gas mileage, but adding unnecessary stress to the car’s steering equipment and framework. Downtown Tire & Auto employs superior quality technicians, and our shop uses the top of the line alignment equipment.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment for car alignment service at the first sign of trouble, or during your next oil change to catch any problems early on.