Wheel Alignment

[muchlovex]

What is this exactly and how is it done?

[murraymints]

there should be a mark on your steering wheel that lies true centre ...when in this position your wheels should be straight...if not you need to go them adjusted at garage..tyre fitters do it too..

[Iggle Piggle]

A cars wheels are designed to 'lean' slightly as you look at the vehicle. Look at a big person get into a Fiat 500 or Citroen 2CV and you will understand, the wheels sit level to the ground when the car is loaded up.
That is called 'camber' and is normally set in the steering and suspension mechanics. The other adjustable option is 'toe-in' or 'tracking'. This is when the wheels point toward each other more at the front of the wheel than the back. It is very minor and can not be seen by looking but by measuring with straight edges and lasers at the tyre shop. If this adjustment is 'out' the garage can adjust the length of a steering rod and set it correctly. Toe-in is often knocked out on smaller cars by hitting pot holes or clipping the curb.
Tracking, Camber and Toe in can all be checked by a garage.
A good mechanic can tell what is wrong by the wear on the tyres.
After having the 'tracking' or toe-in adjusted, the steering wheel is likely to need re-centreing. Most places don't bother and you will have to ask them to do it.
Unless the car is damaged, wheel alignment or tracking should not cost more than £40

[Iggle Piggle]

you did ask exactly... lol
Also, if you find a small garage, ask the mechanic. He/she should be happy to explain in easy to understand terms, if they don't want to or they confuse you, walk away and find someone who is willing to tell you.

[mech29]

wheel alignment is... to do with your steering, there is a steering rack underneath the car at the front. that connect to your front wheel, on the ends of the rack there are a trackrod end with you can screw in or out to ajust the front wheel to turn the front wheels turn in or out. this with make the front wheels straight. to see if your wheels are out of line, drive down the road and let go of the steering wheel for a bit. be careful and see if your car wader to the left or right.

[chas2008]

its done on a ramp with sensors attached to each wheel, these are then fed into a computer which has the data for virtually every vehicle it checks if the steering geometry is within factory tolerances...if done properly it should also have weights put in the front seats to simulate passenger weight....

[chas2008]

http://www.google.co....99a49&biw=784&bih=596

[chas2008]

as an extra point, most vehicles when they come out of the factory are slightly out of tolerance as they are not geo tested in production or on delivery..
We check every car that has had suspension damage ,quite often when we have fitted one side of the front suspension the geo check shows the rear miles out even though it had nothing to do with the accident, if possible we adjust it to get it as near as we can.