The way your vehicle requires regular maintenance service to perform at an optimum rate, the same way your wheels need proper care. Wheel Alignment and wheel balancing are the two main aspects of wheels.

 

What is Wheel Alignment?

 

The process of adjusting your wheel’s angles and adjustment of a car’s suspension is called Wheel Alignment. The Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) give you the wheel alignment specifications when they sell the vehicle. Wheel Alignment is necessary as it affects your car’s performance to a great extent. The moment you feel that the vehicle starts to pull on one side of the road, you must check the Wheel Alignment. Misaligned wheels also lead to vibrations and noisy rides. 

 

A car with misaligned wheels should be repaired by adjusting the angles. The three-wheel alignment angles are:

 

Camber angle: It is the inward or outward angle of the wheels when you view them from the front side. The excessively inward angle is called negative camber and extremely outward one is called positive camber. They need to be adjusted otherwise the performance of the vehicle depletes.

 

Toe angle: The extent to which your tyres turn inward or outward when viewed from above is called the Toe angle. When the wheels bend excessively inwards it is called Toe-in alignment and too much bending towards the outer side is called Toe-out alignment.

 

Castor angle: When viewed from the side, the angle of the steering axis is called the castor angle. It helps in balancing and provides stability while cornering. A positive castor tilts towards the driver and a negative one tilts towards the vehicle. 

 

Causes of Wheel Alignment

 

The most common causes of wheel alignment are:

• Suspension component wear
• Hitting potholes while driving at high speed
• Damage caused after hitting an obstacle
• Excessive pressure on shocks and springs

 

The moment you notice that the Wheel angles of your vehicle are not proper, it is advised that you take it to a certified service centre and get the Wheel Alignment done. 

 

What is Wheel Balancing?

 

The process of evenly balancing the weight of the tyres reading and wheels is called Wheel Balancing. Wheel balancing should be done every time the wheels are first mounted on a vehicle with new tyres. It is done so that the wheels spin perfectly at high speeds. 

 

Benefits of Wheel Balancing

 

Wheel Balancing protects your tyres from prematurely wearing out. Imbalanced wheels can also lead to uneven tyre wear. This will force you to buy another pair without getting the money-value from the previous ones. 

 

When to get the Wheels balanced?

 

It is easy to balance the imbalanced tyres but one should be able to detect this problem soon. As your wheels and tyres get old, they start to get imbalanced. 

 

• Vibrations in Audi alloys wheels signify imbalanced wheels.
• Wheel balancing should be done every 5,000 miles.
• The tyres start to wear out.
• New tyres are bought.

Firestone Tyres was founded in 1900 and has its headquarters in Nashville, United States. Initially, it was founded as Firestone Tyre and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. One of the first products manufactured by the company was sidewise tyres made up of solid rubber. It started manufacturing tyres in 1903 and manufactured first-ever pneumatic car tyre.

Firestone Tyres have made industrial relations with Ford and have manufactured and delivered about 2000 sets of tyres. It is the record-holder for delivering the maximum number of tyres in a single order.

Firestone tyres are available with the best and unique features. Let’s discuss them in detail and understand why Firestone Tyres are a great choice for every car driver.

Computer Optimized Component System (COCS): This technology is used to design the tyres with optimal selection of tyre shape, tread pattern and design, materials and rubber ratio. This combination produces the best tyres suitable for the growing needs of the customers.

Noise Reduction: Firestone tyres use 5 pitch silent technology and the efficient tread design helps in reduction of the tyre noise. Tread blocks are designed in such a way that they cancel the sound waves while the car is moving.

Tread Compound: Weather grip HP tread compound is used in Firestone tyres. It is durable and offers great performance on both wet and dry roads. Poor quality, cheap tyres lose their performance and can either perform well in winter or summer seasons. They cannot perform in both seasons.

Tread Pattern: The V-shaped tread helps in expelling the water out and thus increases the performance on wet roads. It also provides resistance to aquaplaning.

EPO: Firestone Tyres makes the use of joint EPC and Dual Tread Layer Technology, which enhances the tyre performance when it wears out.

Rim Guard: The strong rim guard in 45, 50, & 55 series of Firestone Tyres protects the tyres from the damages due to high kerbs and potholes. It has a raised strong rubber material that covers the sidewalls of the tyre.

Unidirectional Tread Pattern: The unidirectional tread of the Firestone tyres helps them to perform better on wet and dry roads. The tyre is placed in one direction and offers better safety and grip while driving.

Zig-Zag designed sipes: The sipes have a zig-zag design pattern providing great efficiency on snow-covered roads.

KeyHole design of sipe: Firestone tyres have keyhole sipes, that are shaped like a keyhole. They support the performance and handling when the tread starts wearing off.

Firestone Tyres are a perfect choice if you are looking to buy new-age tyres, which never compromises on the quality. There are many brands available in the market which offer cheap tyres and claims to offer the best performance. However, they stand nowhere in front of Firestone Tyres. If you are looking to buy tyres that will sustain for a longer time, you must buy Firestone Tyres.