How often to get "Tracking" done ?

long_b

How often should you get your "tracking" done ?

Do most places generally do balancing as part of this ?
What about tyre rotation ?

Many thanks !

biko

Tracking is usually only done when it's suspected it's not right, like car is pulling to side or there is uneven wear. Same for wheel balancing and tyre rotation.
Are you having an issue you thing is because of tracking?

Guy:Incognito

You know tracking is a real thing, yeah? :-) (allignment before someone says that )

long_b

biko wrote: »

Tracking is usually only done when it's suspected it's not right, like car is pulling to side or there is uneven wear. Same for wheel balancing and tyre rotation.
Are you having an issue you thing is because of tracking?

Yeah - we get a vibration through the steering wheel at motorway speeds ?

mathepac

long_b wrote: »

Yeah - we get a vibration through the steering wheel at motorway speeds ?

Wheels need balancing most likely

CiniO

biko wrote: »

Tracking is usually only done when it's suspected it's not right, like car is pulling to side or there is uneven wear. Same for wheel balancing and tyre rotation.
Are you having an issue you thing is because of tracking?

In my experience car pulling to the side is very rarely caused by wrong wheel alignment.

CiniO

long_b wrote: »

How often should you get your "tracking" done ?

Do most places generally do balancing as part of this ?
What about tyre rotation ?

Many thanks !

Tracking or Wheel alignment is same thing and you do it on your car. (adjust suspension, tie-rods etc, so the wheels are appropriately adjusted.

Balancing is thing done to wheels - to make sure they don't vibrate when turning at high revolutions.

In example - if you set wheel alignment on your car, and later change tyres to different ones, wheel alignment will still be OK.
If you balance your wheels, it's the wheels which will be balanced. If you put this set of wheels to different car, they will still be balanced.

Wheel alignment is usually done when there is suspicion that it's out (f.e. tyres are wearing unevenly). Also after many works to suspension like changing wishbones, tie-rods, ball-joints, etc..

Wheel balancing is done after putting new tyres on rims. It might need to be repeated after some time - f.e. 1 year.

biko

long_b wrote: »

Yeah - we get a vibration through the steering wheel at motorway speeds ?

Could be a number of things but as mat said, this is probably because of unbalanced wheel(s).

Damien360

I had to get the 2 rear tyres changed recently due to excess inside wear which caused vibration.

Tyre Dealer in Kildare tested the alignment and the camber of the rear left was way out. Front left out also but not as bad. The result of it was vibration in the cabin once I got to 100kmph. I could hear it as a dull vibration like pistons going up and down very fast. Tyres were about 10,000km old.

Steering wheel vibration has usually been balance out caused by the small weight falling off. Entire cabin vibration turned out to be rear tyres in this case.

dooroy

Out of balance wheels usually cause a steering shake at 55 - 60 mph initially and the speed the shake appears reduces until wheels balanced .
Tracking can be affected by hitting a pothole or 'bumping' a kerb for example. Some cars seem to be more 'sensitive' to bumps than others .
And wheels that are out of alignment can wear tyres very quickly ; this wear can be on the inside or the outside depending on whether the wheels are toed in or out too much .
Tyres wearing on both inside and[ outside usually means they are underinflated whereas a tyre that appears to be wearing more in the middle can be over inflated. Under inflation is particularly dangerous as the tyre overheats and this could lead to a softening of the rubber and eventual blowout as the supporting wires lose their shape as they are not held in place by the softened rubber .
Inspecting tyres for wear or damage is something that people need to be more aware of - park for example with the wheels turned well to left or right so you can get a good look at the tyre across its width , not just the part on the outside . Have seen tyres with the wire showing through on the inside but still looking OK from the outside .
Occasionally you could jack up each wheel so you can spin it and have a quick check for bulges , tyre losing its shape etc ; this would be especially true if you are having problems with vibration , roughness etc .
Tyres are our only contact with the road but are often forgotten about - regular checks on pressure are important ; and find out what the pressure should be in your tyres

ldxo15wus6fpgm

CiniO wrote: »

In my experience car pulling to the side is very rarely caused by wrong wheel alignment.

What does cause it then? I've got a bit of pull to one side. It seems to come and go, and unless my mind is playing ticks on me it changes side every now and then too, initially I thought it might be misalignment or uneven tyre wear caused by misalignment?

mathepac

Worn or loose suspension or steering components (rubber bushing typically)

Drummerboy08

What car is it? Certain models are very sensitive to the camber on the roads too which could cause a sensation of the car pulling left or right very slightly.

ytareh

Driving on irish roads almost ensures alignment will be 'out' permanently.(Certainly if youre off motorways /main roads)

long_b

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

What car is it? Certain models are very sensitive to the camber on the roads too which could cause a sensation of the car pulling left or right very slightly.

Mondeo on semi country roads

ldxo15wus6fpgm

Peugeot 406. Doing about 700 miles a week 500 on motorways

dooroy

Its also important to remember that if a tyre has worn unevenly due to tracking(alignment) being off - the life of the tyre will still be shortened considerably even when the tracking is corrected ; the worn part of the tyre will still wear out long before the unworn part - and if the wear is on the inside you may not be aware of it getting to a dangerous stage .

walus

I do tracking each time I put a new set of tyres on my car.

CiniO

walus wrote: »

I do tracking each time I put a new set of tyres on my car.

Is it just because it's handy (f.e. the same garage does tracking and sells new tyres) or are there any other reasons to do it at the same time?

walus

CiniO wrote: »

Is it just because it's handy (f.e. the same garage does tracking and sells new tyres) or are there any other reasons to do it at the same time?

It is the same garage that puts the tyres on, but it is not the point. The point is that after 40-50k kilometers the tracking is bound to be off to some degree regardless.

dooroy

If the old tyres have worn evenly across their width then tracking should be fine - it shouldn't be assumed that new tyres automatically means tracking.
New tyres should always be balanced - condition of old ones would indicate whether tracking needed or not.
Its a good idea to get in the habit of checking how new tyres are wearing - tyres are expensive and vital to your safety so it would be a good idea to spot problems early.