Let’s understand wheel alignment and wheel balancing and how they play a key role in safe driving and good tyre health. The guide below will help you differentiate between wheel alignment and wheel balancing to understand their importance.
What is Wheel Alignment?
A properly aligned vehicle is the one in which all its wheels are aimed in the same direction when under load and at normal speeds.
Benefits of maintaining proper Wheel Alignment:
✓ Extended Tyre Life-
Tyres are an expensive investment, and you should always look for ways to extend their lifespan. One such way is to maintain proper wheel alignment. A regular check of alignments can help you assure the total mileage of the vehicle. Improper tyre alignment can cause your tyres to wear out before time and unevenly.
✓ Less Fuel Consumption
If the tyres are not aligned, the direction of motion of the tyres is different from the direction of vehicle movement. It creates unnecessary forces and results in the loss of fuel.
With fuel prices increasing every day, one should know the trick to reduce fuel consumption. When you have misaligned car tyres, it drags, rolls, and adds more friction while driving. A proper alignment can help you optimise fuel efficiency with fewer frictions.
As per USEPA (the United States Environmental Protection Agency), wheel misalignment leads up to 7%* decrease in fuel economy, which is huge!
✓ Improved Manoeuvrability
Poor alignment can cause your car to drift on the road. A proper wheel alignment improves road contact, resulting in a smoother drive and improved manoeuvrability on all twists and turns.
✓ Minimize driver fatigue
An unaligned wheel causes the vehicle to pull to one side, requiring the driver to be extra cautious on the road, which wears him out. A proper wheel alignment helps in reducing the pull and ensures a safer ride.
When to check the Wheel Alignment?
One should check the wheel alignment as per the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer/Car Manufacturer) recommendation.
If OEM recommendation is not available, it is recommended to check every 5000km to 8000km or if you notice any irregular wear or vehicle pulling.
OE recommended alignment angle values have very tight tolerances to be maintained. Therefore, it is recommended to get the wheel alignment done at high-quality trusted Dealers like Bridgestone Select & Select+.
What is Wheel Balancing?
Wheel balancing is the process of checking the wheels on a wheel balancing machine and putting equivalent weights on the lighter side to balance the wheel assembly.
Benefits of maintaining proper Wheel Balancing:
✓ Reduces vibration
Imbalanced tyres usually cause the vehicle to jump or hop up and down, resulting in vibrations. These vibrations put the vehicle at risk and increase the likelihood of an accident. If you feel vibrations, it is always good to contact the professionals and get your tyre checked.
As per the Bridgestone internal test conducted at the Government test facility, it has been observed that proper wheel balancing can lead up to 10%* less steering vibration.
✓ Minimize tyre irregular wear
Constant vibrations of an imbalanced wheel often result in uneven and irregular wear of the tyres. One should always check the rate at which the tyre is deteriorating and look for ways to reduce irregular wear of tyres.
✓ Runs smoothly, even at high speeds
A perfect wheel balancing means good road contact and fewer frictions. It helps the vehicle run smoothly, even at high speeds.
✓ Better handling
When wheel balancing is in an ideal condition, there are fewer chances of the vehicle drifting, which eventually helps in better handling of the vehicle.
When to check the Wheel Balancing?
One should check the wheel balancing as per the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer/Car Manufacturer) recommendation.
If OEM recommendation is not available, it is recommended to check every 5000km to 8000km or if you feel any vibration or after puncture repair.
A correct wheel balance ensures that the wheel is rotating the way it should. Every now and then, hindrance is often caused due to bent rim, excessive wear tyres, punctures, or improper tyre fitting. Using a large patch to repair the tyre can also affect the tyre's balance. Therefore, you should always balance your wheel after a repair or whenever you experience unusual vibrations while driving.
You can also contact a Bridgestone India dealership near you, as our team of experts is ready to help you maximize the potential of your car tyre. Get your car tyres professionally inspected, aligned and balanced to ensure peak performance. We hope the above article has answered all your questions, and for more information, contact Bridgestone India.