J&S Auto Repair can align your car, truck, or C/SUV’s wheels if you knock them out of alignment, but we also want to help you avoid knocking them out of alignment in the first place. You can’t prevent road hazards, but you can keep a wary eye out for them and be careful when you approach them. Know what can cause serious wheel and suspension damage. Keep an eye out for the things listed below.
Bumps
We’ll talk about speed bumps further below, but for now, let’s talk about those annoying bumps that shouldn’t even be on the road in the first place. Construction plates, potholes, uneven asphalt, and anything that jars your vehicle’s suspension when you drive over it can knock out the wheel alignment.
Curbs
Curbs are necessary but they’re also deadly. It’s easy to hit them if you’re trying to parallel park. If you do, don’t worry. You likely aren’t going fast enough to harm the wheels. If you hit them while speeding around a corner, however, you’re going to damage the wheels and their alignment. It’s unavoidable.
Markers
Concrete parking space markers push the front wheels backward when you hit them. If you forget the marker is there and drive over it when you pull forward out of a parking space, you’re going to damage all four wheels. These markers are too high for standard wheels, so be careful around them.
Speed Bumps
Speed bumps are designed to force you to slow down and if you don’t, they’re designed to damage your vehicle. You probably didn’t know this but there’s an unwritten speed limit for speed bumps, and that is 5 mph. Going over them faster than that will affect your wheel alignment and vehicle suspension.
You
Finally, you can kill your vehicle’s alignment. A care-free attitude behind the wheel is okay on a Sunday afternoon drive, but don’t assume that you can drive as fast as you want over road hazards without some consequences. Slow down, approach with caution, and go easy to protect your wheel alignment.
As an aside, wheels that are not aligned will pull your vehicle and steering wheel off-center, feel loose, and vibrate at high speeds if they are out of balance, too. Contact J&S Auto Repair in Warwick, RI, if you notice any of these things. We’d be happy to check your vehicle’s alignment and make the necessary adjustments to the wheels and their balancing.
