Your tires are a crucial part of the well-being of your car, which is why it’s important to know the difference between a wheel alignment and a tire rotation.
Chances are, you’ve heard both those terms when bringing your car in for a tune-up or another issue, and probably assumed they mean the same thing. However, the two services are very different!
Wheel Alignment
The purpose of a wheel alignment is to ensure your tires are aligned with the orientation of your wheel. If you are driving and let go of your wheel, your car should continue driving in the direction your wheel is directed. If your wheels pull left or right, that means you’re due for an alignment.
Alignments are often needed after a car accident, hitting a large pothole, or other circumstances that could throw the alignment off. Otherwise, you should have your mechanic check your wheel alignment about every 10,000 miles.
Tire Rotation
A tire rotation is crucial to elongating the life of your tires by ensuring even wear on your tires. This is important regardless if you have front-wheel drive (FWD) or rear-wheel drive (RWD) because they place wear on a certain set of tires.
If you have FWD, your car delivers the force to the front two tires, whereas with RWD your car delivers the force to the back two tires. Rotating your tires approximately every 6,000 miles (or during every other oil change) will ensure both sets of tires experience wear at the same rate.
If you happen to need either a tire rotation or wheel alignment in the future, consider Wrench Junkies as your trusted mechanic! We work on almost every make and model vehicle and offer more services than your average automotive repair shop.
