Wheel alignment and balancing

Alignment sets the angles your wheels sit at. Balancing evens out the weight around each wheel and tyre. Both drift out over time on Sydney roads, and you feel it as a pull, a vibration, or tyres that wore out well before they should have. Ring us and we’ll check it and quote it before anything gets adjusted.

Signs your wheels need aligning or balancing

• The car pulls left or right on a flat, straight road.
• The steering wheel sits off-centre while you’re driving straight.
• A vibration through the wheel or the seat that arrives at a certain speed.
• One tyre is wearing much faster on its inside or outside edge.
• The car has felt different since you dropped into a pothole or clipped a kerb.
• You’ve just had new tyres fitted or suspension work done.

What a wheel alignment involves

An alignment starts with measurement. Each wheel is measured against the angles the manufacturer set for that model, then the adjustable ones are brought back to those figures. Camber, castor and toe are the usual names for those angles, and toe is the one that chews through tyres fastest when it’s out.

A worn or loose suspension component will throw the numbers straight back out, so anything with play in it has to be found first. Ball joints, tie rod ends and bushes all affect the angles, which is why alignment and suspension work tend to go together. There’s more about that on our brakes, steering and suspension page.

Balancing is a separate job. Each wheel and tyre is spun to find its heavy spot, and small weights are fitted to even it out. That’s what settles the vibration you feel at speed, and it needs doing again every time a tyre is replaced.

Alignment with a service or a pink slip

If the car is already booked in for a logbook service or an eSafety check, alignment and balancing can go on the same visit. Uneven tyre wear is one of the things an inspection picks up, so if your rego is due it’s worth finding out what caused the wear while the car is here. Our pink slips page covers what the check involves.

What to tell us when you book

Tell us what you feel and where you feel it. A pull, a vibration through the wheel, a vibration through the seat, or a wheel that sits crooked all point in different directions. Say whether it started after new tyres, after a pothole, or gradually over months. If you know a tyre is wearing on one edge, tell us which edge.

Questions about wheel alignment

How often should a wheel alignment be done?

There’s no fixed interval for it. It’s worth checking when you fit new tyres, after suspension or steering work, and any time the car starts tracking differently or the tyres begin wearing unevenly.

What’s the difference between alignment and balancing?

Alignment is about the angles the wheels sit at relative to the car and the road. Balancing is about how the weight is spread around each wheel and tyre. A pull or uneven wear usually means alignment. A vibration that arrives at a certain speed usually means balance.

Will an alignment fix a vibration at highway speed?

Usually not. A vibration that comes in at a set speed is more often an out-of-balance wheel, a buckled rim or a fault in the tyre itself. Those get checked first, because adjusting the angles won’t settle a wheel that’s out of balance.

Do I need an alignment with new tyres?

It’s the right time to do one. A fresh set fitted to a car that’s out of spec will wear the same way the old set did, so the alignment is what protects them. Mention it when you book tyres.