Stay Straight and Level--Your Car's Suspension

Drive down the street during rush hour and look at people in their cars. What are they doing? Probably everything but driving. Talking on the cell phone, eating, shaving, putting on makeup and a myriad of other activities which take their hands from where they should be-on the steering wheel. So what keeps their car from veering off the road or into other cars? The prpoer alignment of suspension components. Even if you do most of your own vehicle maintenance you will eventually need to take your car to a service facility to have the suspension and steering aligned.

Proper alignment not only keeps the car driving straight, but can also ensure that the tires wear evenly. If your vehicle is not properly aligned it can quickly wear out the tires. Take a look at your tires. If they are worn more on one edge than the other you have an alignment problem. If the edges appear jagged that can also be an indication of improper alignment. Spotty wear on the tire's tread may be an indication of worn shock absorbers or struts. If the tires make a sqealing noise on dry pavement when turning may be a sign of misalignment. Loose steering or a shimmy can also be an indicator of worn parts such as tie rods, ball joints or other components. You should periodically have the suspension checked by a professional. I generally recommend once a year or every 15,000 miles.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about their vehicles alignment is that it should drive perfectly straight for long distances when they take their hands off the steering wheel. First of all, it's pretty stupid to take your hands off the wheel and leave the driving to fate. Secondly many variables affect the steering such as pavement surface, road crown and even wind. Tire pressure can also play its part in causing a car to pull or drift if one tire has lower pressure than the others or if one tire has more tread, hence more grip, than the other tires. A car that is properly aligned will track straight with very little effort on the part of the driver. As long as you are not having to actively fight the steering one direction or the other in order to keep the vehicle going straight the alignment is probably OK.

There are many things that can cause the alignment to get thrown out of specification. The most common is poor driving habits and poor road conditions. Running through potholes, rubbing or bumping curbs when parking and hitting dips at high speed can all cause misalignment. Also, as the suspension gets older and weaker and the springs begin to sag the steering can lose its alignment. This is why it is a good idea to have a periodic check of the alignment even if don't think you have a problem.

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