Wallace Chevrolet’s GM Certified Service Center has the experienced tire technicians to perform fast, accurate wheel alignments.
If you know your vehicle is due for an alignment, book your appointment today.
How Much Does a Wheel Alignment Cost?
This is the question we are asked most often. Luckily, our state of the art equipment and years of experience performing alignments means that this common service can be performed quickly and easily – saving time and money. The savings is passed on to Wallace Chevrolet customers, who can be sure they are getting the best maintenance at the cheapest price possible.
In addition to our normal low-cost options, Wallace Chevrolet runs seasonal specials for a variety of repair and maintenance services. If you do not see an advertised alignment discount in our service specials, feel free to ask a tech if there are any currently available as these offers change frequently.
How Often Do I Need an Alignment?
As a general rule, wheel alignments should always be performed when you purchase a new vehicle, install new tires, and once a year regardless of tire or vehicle age.
You may need an alignment performed more often depending on a number of factors such as how often you drive your vehicle and if there is a reason to assume suspension components have been affected during parts replacement (tie rods, control arm bushings, etc.) or significant impact (hitting a pothole, curb, collision that may have caused physical damage to the vehicle’s frame).
There are also a few indications that your wheel alignment needs immediate adjustment including noticeable steering problems such as ‘pulling’ or difficulty handling, as well as uneven tire wear. Try to take notice of tire wear early and often, as most drivers don’t notice uneven wear until damage to the tire is significant.
Why Do I Need to Align My Tires?
Your vehicle moves most efficiently when all four wheels are straight up and down, but over time car suspensions can warp. While this change is usually slight, it is often enough to cause misalignment of your tires. These misalignments are commonplace, which is why your vehicle’s
wheels are made to be adjusted and aligned regularly over the life of your car.
Regular alignments prevent uneven wear on tires. If this wear is allowed to progress without attention, your traction is decreased, and you are at greater risk of tire blow-out.
In addition to the argument for safety, there are significant economic benefits to maintaining wheel alignment, including fuel economy and extending the life of your tires.
Today’s vehicles commonly come with performance tires, so the cost of replacement can be quite high. An alignment is an inexpensive measure towards protecting your investment by not prematurely wearing out your tires.
Alignments ensure that your vehicle is navigating ‘true’ without pulling. Steering a car that is out of alignment is possible, but it can be dangerous. The more a car pulls, the easier it is for a vehicle to drift away from a straight road and cause an accident.
Wheel misalignment can also add stress to other parts of your vehicle and eventually cause damage.
In short, proper wheel alignment improves tire life, increases fuel economy and improves handling. This service should be a part of your auto maintenance plan.
Diagnostic Symptoms
If you’ve ever had your alignment checked, you’ve probably been told that adjustments were made to the wheels’ camber, caster, or toe. These are known as primary angles, and indicate the alignment of the wheels relative to each other and to the vehicle body. At Wallace Chevrolet, we want you to understand our diagnostic reports and services to be a more empowered car owner.
At Wallace Chevrolet, we want you to understand our diagnostic reports so you can trust in our GM Certified Service Center technicians and become a more knowledgeable and empowered vehicle owner.
Camber indicates whether the wheels are vertically aligned. If the top of the wheel is tilted away from the vehicle, is has positive camber, if the bottom of the wheel is tilted away from the vehicle, it is called negative camber. This angle affects grip when turning corners, and general handling.
Caster is the forward or rearward tilt of the steering knuckle from a perfectly vertical line. When a vehicle is properly aligned, the caster is adjusted to optimize the vehicle’s straight-line stability.
Toe is an indicator used in front-end alignments and describes the angle inward or outward of the front wheels.
Now that you understand the purpose land importance of wheel alignments, book an appointment today.