A car that pulls or drifts to one side may have a tire problem, an alignment problem or both. Sometimes the tires may show a lot of uneven wear that may result in pulling. Other times the tires may look utterly fine and the car will pull to the right or left. Yes, it is best to have the alignment checked if there is any doubt when it comes to the alignment being out of specification. But, if the tires are wearing nicely and you have a very hard pull at slow speeds, it could just be caused by a tire.

Radial Tires. Radial tires are designed to grip the road. If the tire belts are somewhat off the tire may grip the road unevenly. The tire belts may be off somewhat from the factory or may be altered by an affect from the road such as hitting a pothole or an object on the road. If any of the tires have any bulges in the tread area, known as separations or slipped belts, the tire ought to be replaced. Failure to replace a tire with a slipped belt will most likely result in a blow out and possible vehicle damage. Very slight bulges on the sidewall, little dimples are normal and may be found on any tire. The dimples are the seams where the tires have been put together at the factory.

Cross Rotating. Older buyers may do not forget back in the 80′s when it was not commended to rotate radial tires in any kind of cross rotation pattern. The truth is when this rumor was being spread, tire makers were plainly having difficulties with the design of radial tires and reversing the rotation was blamed as the cause of tires separating and blowing out. Reversing the direction of tires never genuinely caused any blow-outs or tire failures. Now with that being said, if a tire pull is suspected rotate the front tires side to side and see if the pull is gone or reversed. Many times if a car pulls hard at slow speeds, it is just a tire pull. As stated before inspect the tires to make sure there are no strange bulges, uneven wear or harm prior to just criss crossing the tires.

Alignment. Finally, if the pull is still there after cross rotating the front tires, a suspension and steering inspection is in order. Alignment may be necessary to remedy the pull. The alignment will consist of four alignment heads being attached to the wheels and all the angles checked and adjusted if necessary. Caster is the angle that most normally causes an alignment pull. Camber and toe will also be checked and adjusted if necessary to insure even tire wear. The last step is to test drive the car after the alignment and verify the pull is gone, a slight drift to the right if only present on a great deal of roads may be normal due to the crown or slope to the road (the crown is necessary for road drainage). Make sure the steering wheel is centered, this is principally cosmetic since the steering wheel may be off center and the car may be utterly in alignment otherwise. A centered wheel allows the instrument panel to be seen effortlessly and if the alignment changes in the future, in particular the toe adjustment, the steering wheel will be off-center indicating that an alignment may be needed.

Damaged Auto Glass Service Pic

Damaged Auto Glass Service Photo

Damaged Auto Glass Service Image

Damaged Auto Glass Service Photo

Damaged Auto Glass Service Image

Damaged Auto Glass Service Pic