The condition and fine-tuning of your suspension and steering system is paramount to your cars safety, improving both handling and road holding performance. Not only that but poor tracking or alignment can cause increased wear on your tyres. 

In this blog we explore how much wheel alignment costs and why it’s so important. 

How Much Does Wheel Alignment Cost?

Prices depend on the exact model of car and location, but expect to pay anywhere from £30 to £60 for a 2 wheel alignment (either front or back) and £50 to £100 for a 4 wheel alignment. 

High-performance cars or those with complex steering or suspension systems can sometimes cost more.

What Does Wheel Alignment Mean?

Wheel alignment, or tracking as it’s often called here in the UK, is the process of adjusting a car's suspension and steering system to be in line with the manufacturer specification. 

It can involve anything from making sure the wheels are both pointing dead ahead, to complex suspension geometry adjustments.

How often should you have a wheel alignment done?

The recommendation from most manufacturers is once every 3 years, although if you live in an area with very poor road conditions, or regularly drive up and down curbs, I’d suggest having it done at least once every 2 years. 

As wheel alignment can have a huge impact on tyre wear, whenever I’m getting new tyres, I usually ask for at least a front wheel alignment to make sure they last as long as possible.

What happens during a wheel alignment?

The exact process will depend on the type of car and if you are having a 2 or 4 wheel alignment, there are also different alignment systems available, but this is the general process:

The technician will drive your car onto a special alignment ramp, then attach complex looking devices to each wheel. 

These reflect a laser beam back to the alignment machine, sensors tell the machine precisely what angle your wheels are pointing.

Once the technician knows the current situation of the car, a set of parameters will be cross-referenced depending on the car manufacturer's specifications. 

With the car raised in the air, tweaks can be made to the steering and suspension to bring the current angles into spec.

5 Signs You Need a Wheel Alignment

As well as regular alignment checks, you should have your tracking done if any of the following things are happening.

1. Uneven tyre wear

Having incorrect alignment will wear tyres unevenly, and can cause them to need replacing much sooner than normal. If you notice excess wear on the inside or outside of the tyre only, have it aligned before replacing the tyres.

2. Pulling to one side of the road

Whilst driving along, with no steering input and on a flat road, your car should drive in a straight line. If it doesn’t, check your tyre pressures. If it still doesn’t, your tracking is probably out.

3. Steering wheel doesn’t return to centre

If when turning, your steering wheel doesn’t try to return to the centre, or feels like it’s trying to continue turning, your tracking could be off.

This is often caused by incorrect castor angle, but can also be a symptom of worn joints, so have the suspension looked over when doing the alignment. 

4. Steering wheel isn’t straight

If whilst driving in a straight line, your steering wheel is not level, your alignment could be off. A knock from a curb or pothole could cause this and it should be checked as soon as possible. 

5. Tyres squealing on turning

This is often easiest to notice when manoeuvring at low speeds, such as while parking. If your tyres are making squeaking or chirping noises when turning, your tracking or alignment may be off.

Benefits of Regular Wheel Alignment

Like most car care, spending a little money and time on preventative maintenance can pay dividends in the long run. Benefits include:

• Tyres will last longer: having poor alignment is a sure-fire way to wear your tyres unevenly, meaning they’ll need replacing much sooner than normal
• Better handling and control: the ideal suspension and steering settings are calculated by teams of engineers, having poor alignment undoes this work and can make the car feel unstable on the road.
• Identifies problems sooner: While checking and adjusting your wheel alignment, the technician will be interacting with various components that are common MOT failures, such as worn ball joints, broken rubber dust seals and uneven tyre wear. This can give you a chance to rectify them before the dreaded MOT time.
• Fuel efficiency: if your alignment is out, your engine is wasting energy scrubbing rubber off your tyres instead of propelling the car along the road. 

What Happens if You Drive With Poor Alignment?

If you’re driving with poor alignment then you can expect any of the following: 

• Increased tyre wear: requiring new tyres much sooner than normal. A poorly aligned car can chew through a pair of tyres in a matter of months.
• Increased fuel consumption: While it may only seem like a small factor, with more drag on every mile driven, the increased fuel cost can add up.
• Decrease in handling and control: the toe, castor and camber of your suspension is finely tuned for optimum performance and handling. Poor alignment settings can turn a well-handling vehicle into a dangerous one, especially in wet conditions.

The Dangers of Poor Alignment

It might seem trivial to have your steering wheel off, or the car not to track true along the road, but ignoring alignment issues can have severe consequences. The most present issue will be the effect it has on your steering and grip levels. 

During an emergency manoeuvre, the lack of grip caused by poor tracking can dramatically increase the likelihood of the car losing control. 

Long-term dangers are again involving tyres, but due to wear rather than grip. Tyres can wear on the outer or inner edges very quickly with off alignment, reducing their effectiveness in emergency situations, and their ability to displace water.

Zero Interest Finance on Suspension Repairs and Alignment

If you’ve noticed any of the 5 common signs; squealing tyres, an off-centre steering wheel, uneven tyre wear or unusual driving characteristics, you should get your car aligned as soon as possible. 

One option is to make use of Bumper’s zero-interest financing, offered through their many partner garages across the country.