There are various terms used to describe common service work performed on your tires. While they might be relatively obvious to car servicing professionals, they may need to be translated for the average car owner.
Tire rotation
Although your tires rotate to move your car from point A to point B, this is not the action to which the term is referring. Tire rotation involves switching the positions of your tires to save the tires from uneven wear.
This is especially important for specific tires, such as the right front tire on a front wheel drive vehicle. All of the locomotive power of the vehicle is placed in this wheel, and subsequently, the tire.
If tires are left in the same positions on a vehicle, the drive tire will wear faster, but other tires will also be affected. If wheels become misaligned after hitting a rough patch of road, tires will not be pointing in the same direction, leading to friction against the road surface and premature wear.
Tire balancing
Although this may simply sound like a method of separating customers from their money, it actually saves them money by preventing tire tread wear and improving gas mileage.
The weight of the tires and wheels must be evenly distributed for them to perform properly and wear evenly around the entire circumference of the tires. If tires spin unevenly, contact with the road surface is compromised, forcing the engine to work harder and burning more gas in the process.
Tire balancing is performed on balancing machines that can detect variations as minute as a few ounces in the weight distribution in a tire and rim.
Weights are strategically placed along the rims to compensate for weight variation and achieve optimal balance.
Front end alignment
This is needed when you encounter a pothole or another hazard that causes your front wheels to become misaligned. Although this misalignment may be imperceptible to the naked eye, it can cause serious tire wear and also lower gas mileage, as the two tires fight to go in different directions.
Unfortunately, front end alignments may need to be repeated because of the condition of some roads in older cities, especially after particularly cold winters. Road asphalt contracts and expands as temperatures fluctuate, causing a preponderance of potholes. If you are physically shaken after striking a pothole, consider the impact on your front wheel and tire from a direct hit.
Your wheels must be physically realigned by an automotive technician. Unfortunately, they cannot prevent them from becoming misaligned after hitting a massive pothole as soon as you leave their parking lot.
For more information and assistance with tire issues, contact a car servicing company in your area.
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