If your steering wheel isn’t straight or your tyres aren’t wearing evenly, or if you’ve noticed a vibration or noise, you’re probably due a wheel alignment.
Correctly aligned wheels will ensure your tyres wear evenly and last longer, ultimately saving you money. You’ll also notice a smoother ride on balanced tyres; modern vehicles are lighter and have harder suspension which means you feel more bumps and vibrations.
We recommend having your wheels aligned when you buy new tyres, if you’ve hit a curb and the steering wheel isn’t straight, or at every 20,000 kilometres, at a cost of $75. We always perform a full 4-wheel alignment rather than the simple “toe and go” alignments that some shops try to sell.
DIAGNOSING AND SOLVING VIBRATION ISSUES
Together a tyre and wheel unit weighs around 20kg. The chance of this assembly having perfect weight distribution is highly unlikely, and as little as a 10 gram weight imbalance can cause a noticeable vibration.
Jack’s a certified VCAT 2 vibration analyst and will get to the bottom of any vibration issue. We perform dynamic balancing, or spin balancing, adding weights to your rim until perfect balance is achieved and the wheels no longer vibrate.
COMMON CAUSES OF VIBRATION
Sometimes the wheel and tyre assembly is in balance but you still feel a vibration. Other causes of vibration include:
- Bent wheel
- Tyre out of round (radial or lateral runout)
- Wheel to axle mounting error
- Inconsistent tyre sidewall stiffness (force variation)
- Brake component wear or failure
- Drive train or engine component wear or failure
- Suspension wear or failure
- Wheel bearing wear of failure
- Incorrect wheel alignment