Wheel alignment, sometimes referred to as wheel tracking, is part of the standard car and vehicle maintenance that involves adjusting the angles of the wheels to the car manufacturer’s specifications.
The purpose of making these adjustments is to reduce tyre wear and to ensure that the vehicle travels in a straight line, keeping the steering wheel straight without pulling to one side or the other.
Wheel alignment is the adjustment of a vehicle’s suspension components. The most common adjustments are to the caster, camber and toe angles. However, other adjustments can be made to the vehicle’s suspension.
It is generally recommended to get a wheel alignment at least once a year. However, hitting potholes or noticing uneven tyre wear at any time may mean that an alignment should be done sooner.
2 Wheel Alignment vs 4-wheel alignment
It’s generally understood that 2-wheel CCD alignment yields better results than basic laser wheel alignment, and 4-wheel alignment or 3D wheel alignment takes it a step further in terms of alignment accuracy.
You must decide on the aligner that suits your budget, of course, but if you can afford to go for a 4-wheel alignment machine, then you should.
Alignment Terms
- Front Toe (Tracking): The difference in track width from the front to the rear of the front wheels.
Rear Toe: Set to minimise tyre wear and aid straight-line stability.
Thrust Angle: The angle of the vehicle’s centerline relative to the rear axle.
Camber: The angle of the wheel measured from true vertical.
Castor: Simulates the angle of the forks on a bicycle to provide straight-line stability.
Incorrect alignment of these angles can lead to uneven tyre wear, steering issues, and a vehicle pulling to one side.
The correct wheel aligner depends on a number of factors:
- What kind and size of vehicle do you intend to align the wheels on?
- How accurate would you like the alignment of the wheels to be?
- What space do you have for the aligner?
- What budget do you have for purchasing a wheel alignment machine?
- How many wheel alignments will you be doing per day?
Regardless of which wheel alignment machine you choose, it is essential to have it calibrated and maintained according to the equipment’s service and repair schedule to ensure accuracy.
Here are some additional factors to consider when choosing a wheel alignment machine:
- The class of vehicle you have: Some machines are designed for specific types of vehicles, such as cars or HGVs. Ensure that you select a machine compatible with your vehicle’s class.
- The features you need: Some machines have more features than others, such as the ability to measure caster and camber angles. Select a machine that offers the features you need or prefer.
How profitable is wheel alignment to a garage?
In a word, very! Following your initial investment in a wheel alignment machine, the running costs are extremely low, with occasional database updates (some alignment machines may have live data with pay-as-you-go costs) and calibrations, hence once the machine has paid for itself, the vast majority of the income received thereafter is pure profit.
Before even starting a wheel alignment, you may find that your tyres, weights, suspension, steering, or braking components are due for replacement or repair. Hence, these additional checks add an extra level of safety to the customer visit.
Hence, wheel alignment is considered one of the most valuable services a garage can offer to customers, generating significant revenue and profit for the business.
For example, even if you purchased our most expensive wheel aligner and performed five alignments per day, it would more than pay for itself in less than a month!
You can try out examples of this using our handy online Wheel Alignment Profit Calculator.
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