What causes a tire to not be straight?
When your steering wheel is not being straight, it is probably out of alignment, and its steering and suspension systems are not functioning at proper angles. This often results in uneven, rapid tread-wear, and you may need to replace your tires much earlier.
How can you tell if rear wheel drive tire alignment is bad?
There are different aspects to front end alignments for rear wheel drive vehicles. You may observe serious alignment problems with a tape measure and a two foot level by checking them. These are: Toe-in. The front of each tire, when driving straight, points slightly to the centerline of the vehicle.
What causes wear on the inside of the rear tire?
Q: Rear driver side tire is slanted, causing wear on the inside. I went to have an alignment completed on the 2008 Dodge Caliber. The mechanic told me he could not align the rear tires and I needed to purchase a $400 adjustable rear lower control arm and my car did not have an adjustable lower control arm.
What causes a car to have an alignment problem?
If your car vibrates—especially when you’re driving at high speeds—alignment is most likely not the issue. More likely: damaged tires; bent wheels; transmission problems; or damaged or worn drive axle, brake components, or suspension components.
What do you need to know about tire wear?
Check your tires for hard wear along one edge, a softer “feathering” wear that starts at one side of the tire and goes to the middle or further, or “scalloping,” or dips in the tread. Edge wear means the top of the tire is leaning in or the bottom is leaning out.
Can a fat tire enable a narrower rearend?
Typically, fitting some big meats under the backside of your ride means a little work to make it all fit. One fat-tire enabler is narrowing the rearend housing, and there are some considerations to make if you want to make sure your rearend keeps its shape when the power is applied.
Why are staggered tires used for rear wheel drive?
In these vehicle applications, specific staggered tire setups are selected to deliver performance and particular handling balance/characteristics. Also, due to high horsepower and (often) rear-wheel drive, more tire “meat” across the rear axle is a requirement to capably deliver power.
What kind of tire touches the rim only at bottom?
The extreme case of an O-shaped tire is a tubular: It’s perfectly round, and it touches the rim only at its bottom. If vertical tire sidewalls were essential for good handling, tubulars would have fallen out of favor long ago. Tubulars remain popular in pro racing because they corner very well.
Can a cupped tire cause a steering wheel to shimmy?
“Obviously,” the cupped tire is causing the steering wheel shimmy, but simply replacing the tire won’t solve the problem for very long. Replacing the joint or shock and the tire will solve the problem permanently.