Wheel Alignment Service
Get more out of your tyres and be safer on the road
Correct wheel alignment is one of the best ways to maximize the life of your tyres. As well as helping them last longer, correctly aligned tyres are safer, more fuel efficient and provide better on road handling.
Why do you need a wheel alignment?
Misaligned tyres compromise your safety and increase uneven tyre wear, shortening your tyres life.
Most wheels will naturally move out of alignment over time, but they can also be shunted out of alignment quickly via sudden contact with road obstacles like curbs and potholes.
If your wheels do become badly misaligned, it's likely that your car will start 'pulling' or 'drifting' towards one side of the road, and your steering will become less responsive.
What is a wheel alignment?
When we align your tyres at Bridgestone, we measure, analyse, and then adjust your vehicle’s steering and suspension systems to ensure your wheels are both perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other.
Qualified Bridgestone tyre technicians use state of the art equipment to achieve the most precise alignment for your vehicle, one that considers caster, camber, toe, thrust and ride height.
-
Caster
-
Camber
-
Toe
-
Thrust
-
Ride height
When viewing your vehicle from the side, caster is an imaginary line drawn between the centers of the upper and lower ball joints of your tyres, which form an angle with true vertical. Caster is important to steering feel and high-speed stability.
When viewing your vehicle from the front, camber describes the inward or outward tilt of your tyres. Camber adjustment maximises the tyre-to-road contact, and takes into account the changes of force when a vehicle is turning.
When viewing your vehicle from the front, toe describes the alignment of the front and back of your tyres. If the fronts of your tyres are closer together than the rear this is called toe-in, while if the fronts are further apart, this is called toe-out. Toe is set so that tyres roll in parallel when your vehicle is in motion.
If your vehicle has a solid rear axle, your mechanic will use a thrust angle alignment to make sure all four of your wheels are square with each other.
Ride height is the distance between your vehicle’s chassis and the road, and is the reference point for all alignment measurements. If you raise or lower your vehicle’s chassis, you will need to realign your tyres.
5 signs you need a wheel alignment
Most tyres will become gradually misaligned in the course of normal driving, or as a result of a single on road event. Here are 5 reliable indicators that you need to book a professional wheel alignment:
• Your steering doesn’t feel right, or is pulling to one side of the road
• Your tyres display noticeably uneven wear
• Your steering wheel is crooked, vibrates or won’t return to centre
• You can hear a squealing or scrubbing noise from your tyres
• You’ve been involved in an incident on the road
-
Road hazards
-
Uneven tyre wear
-
On road incidents
Is a wheel alignment the same as a wheel balance?
Many drivers confuse these two essential services, but a wheel alignment and wheel balance are two very different things. Where a wheel balance is a procedure that involves correcting uneven weight distribution on your tyres via a series of small counterweights, a professional wheel alignment is a mechanical adjustment of your steering and wheel tracking geometry that ensures all four wheels are pointing in the same direction.
How often do you need a wheel alignment?
Over time, even a small misalignment will cause premature wear, so we recommend a professional wheel alignment as part of your regular service schedule or at least every 2-3 years or 10,000km of driving.
How much is a wheel alignment?
The cost of a wheel alignment can vary depending on the make and model of your car, and the type and size of tyres you have. To get a quote on a professional wheel alignment for your vehicle, contact your nearest Bridgestone store.
The following stores offer Wheel Alignment
-
List View
Sorry, we can’t seem to find any store in that area.
Try broadening your location radius above or give us a call on 131 229 if you need urgent assistance.