With New Tires, Do You Need an Alignment?

Pairing New Tires With an Alignment Service

We’ve all experienced the cart at the grocery store with one wheel that just doesn’t go in the right direction. Even if all three of the other wheels are fine, that one can completely ruin the forward motion of the cart. The same is true of misaligned tires on your vehicle, to a less dramatic degree. If your tires are misaligned, your car will still drive, but you will experience some symptoms of vehicle wear and poor performance. Even if you’re just replacing one tire, you’ll need it to fall in line with the existing tires or you may experience some of the following effects:

Difficutly Maneuvering

Like that unmanageable shopping cart, if your tires are misaligned, it will take more effort for your vehicle to go in a straight line. You may find that the steering pulls to either the right or left even when the wheel looks straight. One or multiple wheels might be out of line and causing this imbalance.

Unnecessry Motion

Because your tires are literally where your car meets the road, they take the most of the impact. When your tires are misaligned, you will feel more contact with the road, like a shuddering or jarring sensation even if you are driving on a smooth surface.

Decreased Fuel Efficiency

As we mentioned, it will take more effort to get your vehicle to go forward if it is also fighting a misaligned tire. Your engine will have to produce more power to overcome the inefficiency and this will cause you to consume more fuel. Think about how hard you have to push that cart with the wonky wheel and how much easier other carts are in comparison.

If you experience any of these symptoms, call the ASE Certified Technicians at Precision Imports in Manchester, New Hampshire today! We will be able to tell you if your tire alignment is the cause of these issues. If you replace one or more tires, an alignment service right away will ensure the new and existing tires are all on the same page, so to speak. The rule of thumb is to have your alignment checked once a year, but if you experience any issues that could be related, have them checked out ASAP! Left unchecked, misaligned tires and the stress they cause to your vehicle could have lasting negative effects on your suspension and your engine.