Difference Between Wheel Alignment and Balancing

Posted on: Feb 22, 2024 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

Difference Between Wheel Alignment and Balancing

Difference Between Wheel Alignment and Wheel Balancing

Regular maintenance is vital to ensure the long life of vehicles. While the engine's health is crucial, the tyres are too. Wheel alignment and balancing help your car tyres run smoothly for a long time. Both processes are related but have different purposes.

What is Wheel Alignment?

Wheel alignment is an essential part of car safety and performance protocols. The wheel alignment process refers to adjusting the angles of a car’s wheels so that it matches the specifications set by the manufacturer. This process helps ensure proper contact with the road, thus ensuring better handling, safety, control, and uniform wear and tear in the tyres.

The difference between wheel alignment and wheel balancing is a crucial understanding of car mechanisms. In either case, you can address the wear and tear and other tyre-related issues by including a tyre protection add-on with standalone or comprehensive car insurance. These add-ons with car insurance will help mitigate the high costs.

Types of wheel alignment

Wheel or tyre alignment comprises adjusting the angle of the tyres to ensure they are perpendicular and parallel to the ground. It is primarily of three types:

- Toe alignment:

focuses on angling the tyres such that they are parallel to the ground when viewed from above.

- Camber alignment:

corrects the vertical angle of the tyre to ensure even wear and tear

- Caster alignment:

measures the steering axis’s tilt based on its side view to help with the steering and to make the car move straight.

Timely wheel alignment ensures better fuel efficiency, enhanced handling, improved safety, uniform tyre wear and tear, and reduced strain on suspension.

Importance of wheel alignment

Proper wheel alignment is a necessity for your personal safety and overall control of the vehicle. Here’s why wheel alignment is so important:

• It enhances handling and stability, thus ensuring a smooth driving experience with better controls.

• It extends the lifespan of the tyres and prevents uneven and premature wear and tear.

• It improves fuel efficiency by reducing the rolling resistance, which also lowers fuel consumption.

• It reduces the stress on shocks, struts and suspension paths, thus protecting the suspension components for a longer duration.

• It prevents pulling, drifting and steering issues which ensures your safety on the road.

Proper wheel alignment ensures safety, which leads to fewer car insurance claims. It also keeps you safe and your driving record clean.

Why does your car's wheel alignment go off?

The wheel alignment in your car can be disrupted for several reasons including the following:

• When you Drive across potholes or hit curbs.

• When there is excessive wear and tear in the suspension components such as shock struts and other parts.

• During lifting or lowering the vehicle while performing car modifications and repairs.

• Due to accidents or collisions that impact the wheel alignment directly.

If there is excessive wear and tear, using tyre protection with car insurance can help reduce the costs of new wheel installation.

When to get a wheel alignment?

Your wheel alignment can go out of whack at any time due to high impact or regular wear and tear. You must opt for wheel alignment in the following scenarios:

• When you drive your car for more than 6000 miles or on a bi-yearly basis.

• If your car constantly pulls to one side or has uneven wear and tear in the tyres.

• When you replace suspension components.

• If you have an accident, and the post-accident checkup reveals a problem with your wheel alignment

It is paramount that you address wheel alignment issues immediately. While there are plenty of difference between wheel alignment and wheel balancing. Neglecting either can lead to dire consequences.

What is Wheel Balancing?

Wheel balancing is the process of evenly distributing the weight of a wheel and tyre assembly around the vehicle's axle. It is an important process that eliminates vibrations while driving and enhances comfort by correcting any weight imbalances.

While third-party car insurance or comprehensive car insurance would help mitigate legal liabilities and avail of repairs after an accident, wheel balancing ensures that you avoid such situations in the first place.

Types of wheel balancing

Wheel balancing involves evenly distributing the weight of the tyre and wheel assembly by adding small weights. It is of two types:

- Dynamic balancing:

The technician assesses where the tyre and wheel combo is the heaviest and attaches small weights to create a balance

- Match or road force balancing:

The technician looks for the tyre’s lowest and the wheel’s highest points and adjusts the tyre.

While dynamic balancing prevents your car from vibrating or hopping when driven, road force balancing helps it run smoothly. Regular wheel balancing improves fuel efficiency, protects suspension, extends tyre life, and enhances safety.

Process of wheel balancing

The impact of wheel balancing holds special significance but the process of wheel balancing is quite simple. Here are the steps that you need to follow:

• Use a jack to lift the vehicle.

• Remove the wheel and tyre assembly from the car.

• Mount the wheel and tyre on a balancing machine.

• Identify the weight imbalances.

• Add small corrective weights to ensure proper wheel balance.

• Recheck to ensure that the wheel balance is evenly distributed.

You can follow these steps yourself or take your car to an experienced mechanic or service centre for better results.

Importance of wheel balancing

The difference between wheel alignment and wheel balancing is negligible when it comes to your safety. Here is why wheel balancing is of prime importance:

• Wheel balancing eliminates vibrations and wobbling, thus ensuring a smooth ride on the road.

• It prevents uneven wear and tear in the wheels and prolongs the tyre's lifespan.

• It reduces the stress on different vehicle components and protects the suspension of your car.

• It reduces the rolling resistance and improves the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.

Wheel balancing is an important component of car maintenance. You can use tyre protection add-ons with car insurance for that or use comprehensive car insurance to address cosmetic issues with wheel balancing.

When to get wheel balancing?

It is important to have your wheels balanced and aligned regularly for a smooth and safe drive. Here’s when you should balance your wheels:

• Every 6000 miles or more frequently if it is recommended by the car manufacturer.

• If you experience sudden vibrations in the steering wheel or car floor while driving.

• When you install and align new tyres.

Actually, there is very little to consider as The difference between wheel alignment and wheel balancing. The two go hand in hand to ensure your safety on the road by ensuring better control.

Wheel Alignment and Balancing Cost

Wheel alignment typically costs between INR 150 and INR 300 per wheel, while wheel balancing usually costs between INR 500 and INR 1500. These charges may vary based on the location, vehicle model, type of wheels and tyres, etc.

Difference Between Wheel Alignment and Wheel Balancing

Wheel alignment and balancing are related, however, they both serve differently to ensure a safe and smooth ride on the road. While the former deals with adjusting the angles of the tyres, the latter is concerned with correcting the weight imbalances in the tyre and wheel assembly. Wheel alignment and balancing are equally important to ensure a safe drive. Having car insurance adds to the safety layer and financially safeguards the driver during any unfortunate road accidents.

Conclusion

As evident, wheel alignment focuses on adjusting the angles of the tyres to keep them straight, and wheel balancing ensures the tyres and wheels are well-balanced. Aside from the proper upkeep of car components, four-wheeler owners should also get car insurance for financial protection if an unfortunate event occurs. While Indian laws mandate third-party insurance, we prefer comprehensive insurance as it offers protection against third-party liabilities and damages to your vehicle.

FAQs

1. How do I know if I need wheel alignment or wheel balancing?

Understanding the difference between wheel alignment and wheel balancing goes a long way toward identifying the symptoms. If your car pulls to one side while driving, then you need wheel alignment. If you feel vibrations in the steering or floor while driving, then you need wheel balancing.

2. Is wheel balancing necessary for new tyres?

Yes, you absolutely need wheel balancing for new tyres to ensure that they are compatible and the weight is evenly distributed around the axle.

3. How often should I get a wheel alignment?

You must opt for wheel alignment every 6 months or at least annually.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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