Your wheels are the only part of the vehicle that contacts the road. It’s crucial to keep them straight—literally. Your vehicle needs regular wheel alignment and wheel balancing to make this happen. 

Both automotive maintenance services affect your ability to control your vehicle and enjoy a smoother driving experience. But these two are different. 

Let’s take a closer look at the similarities and differences between wheel balancing and wheel alignment.

What Is a Wheel Alignment?

A tire or wheel alignment refers to adjustments to your vehicle’s suspension, the system that connects the wheels to the vehicle. 

Although it’s called a “wheel alignment,” your tires or wheels are not adjusted. Instead, adjustments are made to these specific angles: 

• Toe angle: how much your wheels are turned out or in from a straight-ahead position
• Camber angle: the tilt of the tires from a vertical perspective
• Caster angle: the backward or forward slope of a line that is drawn through the lower and upper steering pivot points

All three angles are adjusted and brought back into the correct alignment to ensure your tires contact the road in the best, most efficient manner. 

Wheel alignment prevents your vehicle from veering to the left or right. A wheel alignment in Centerville, OH can also bolster how you handle your car and prevent excessive vibrations while driving.

Does My Vehicle Need Wheel Alignment?

There are many potential signs that your vehicle needs wheel alignment in Centerville, OH. A few of the top signs include:

• Squealing tires
• Vehicle pulling to the right or left side of the road
• Off-centered steering wheel while driving
• Tires wearing out unevenly
• Tires wearing out prematurely
• Excessive vibration in the steering wheel when accelerating

Driving your vehicle with misaligned tires can reduce your fuel economy by as much as 10%. The wheel alignment can be thrown off whenever you run over a curb, drive over a pothole, or are in a vehicle accident.

What Is Wheel Balancing?

Also called tire balancing, wheel balancing is designed to correct the uneven weight distribution in your tires. 

If your tires are imbalanced, it can cause:

• Suspension damage
• Excessive vibration
• Expedited wear and tear on your tires

…and other problems.

When you bring your vehicle to C’s Autohaus in Centerville, OH for a tire balancing service, we will mount your wheels and tires on a specialized tire balancing machine. Our machine will spin the wheel and tire assembly to determine the level of imbalance. 

Once we determine the level, our mechanic will correct the imbalance by installing the right tire weights to achieve the perfect balance. After all areas of the wheel-tire unit are as balanced as possible, your tires will roll more smoothly.

Does My Vehicle Need Tire Balancing?

Like a tuneup for your tires and wheels, the tire balance service ensures weight is evenly distributed around the circumference of the unit. 

A few of the top signs your tires need to be balanced include:

• Steering wheel vibration
• Reduced fuel economy
• Faster tire wear
• Uneven tire wear
• Vibration in the seat or floorboard getting worse at higher speeds

Contact C’s Autohaus in Centerville, OH for Wheel Alignment & Tire Balancing

The tire balancing and wheel alignment services should each be a part of regular automotive maintenance. Both services can save you time and money and prevent more expensive repairs. 

If you need one or both services, don’t hesitate to reach out to C’s Autohaus. In many instances, our mechanics can perform tire balancing and wheel alignment in Centerville, OH during the same service.

Contact C’s Autohaus today for your appointment.