How Often Should You Align Your Tires?
Regular vehicle alignments, or more accurately – regular 4-wheel computerized alignments, are a necessary part of maintaining your vehicle. Wheel alignments impact a wide range of components including fuel economy, vehicle handling, tire life, and even the safety specifications of your Honda. After all, your tires are the only part of your vehicle that is in actual contact with the road. When your tires are out of alignment, it affects the entire vehicle. Honda East Cincinnati has assembled this helpful guide that covers everything involved with wheel alignment service along with the benefits of proper wheel alignment.
Wheel Alignment Components Explained
Camber
If you look at your tires head-on from the front, camber is the outward or inward tilt to the top of the tire. Too much in either direction increases tire wear and puts stress on a number of suspension components.
Caster
This one is a bit harder to visualize, but is still important. Caster is the angle of the steering axis relative to the front tires. This is important for handling, especially high-speed handling.
Toe
The name toe is also the best way to describe what it refers to. If your tires were your feet, the toe angle would relate to which way your toes are pointed. “Toe In” means the tires are pointed toward each other, with your heels farther apart. “Toe Out:” means they are pointed away from each other, with your heels closer together.
When Should You Get a Tire Alignment?
Several factors are involved in determining when you need an alignment. In general, it’s recommended that your vehicle receive an alignment approximately every 10,000-15,000 miles or approximately once a year. It’s possible that more frequent alignments will be needed if you routinely drive on rough road surface conditions or if you come in contact with a large pothole or a curb. Thankfully, there are plenty of warning signs that may help indicate that your vehicle will need an alignment sooner. These include:
- Off-center steering wheel when driving in a straight line
- Vehicle pulling to the left or right
- Steering wheel vibration
- Uneven tire wear
How Long Does a Wheel Alignment Take
In general, wheel alignments are not a very time-consuming process. In most cases, a wheel alignment can take between 30 minutes and 1 hour to complete. However, the time may vary depending on the exact Honda model you drive, if there are any damaged components that will need to be replaced, or if the suspension design has any unique characteristics that require special attention. Front-wheel or two-wheel alignments take less time than a four-wheel alignment. Regardless, you can typically expect only a short wait in our service lounge while our team of Honda technicians performs your wheel alignment.
Tire Alignments at Honda East Cincinnati
Tire alignments require sophisticated equipment and skilled technicians. It’s not something you would trust to just anyone. Honda East Cincinnati has the state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, as well as the highly skilled technicians, to make sure your tire alignment is done quickly and correctly.