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Automotive vocabulary · Brakes, Suspension, Steering and Tires

Wheel alignment

Meaning in automotive, with examples

nounCore term

In automotive, wheel alignment means: The adjustment of the wheel angles (toe, camber and caster) to the manufacturer's values, so the car drives straight and the tires wear evenly.

In Turkish: rot ayarı, tekerlek ayarı, ön düzen ayarı

How it is used

Done on an alignment machine after replacing suspension or steering parts, or when the car pulls to one side. Technicians check, adjust and print out the alignment readings before and after.

Example sentences

  1. The car pulls to the right, so we'll do a wheel alignment after we fit the new tie rods.

  2. Poor wheel alignment has worn the inner edges of both front tires.

Common collocations

  • four-wheel alignment
  • check the wheel alignment
  • alignment machine
  • out of alignment
  • steeringThe system that lets the driver turn the front wheels to change direction, from the steering wheel through the column and the rack to the wheels.
  • suspensionThe system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects the wheels to the body. It absorbs bumps and keeps the tires in contact with the road.
  • tireThe rubber cover fitted around a wheel rim that grips the road and carries the weight of the vehicle. Most car tires are filled with air.
  • tread depthThe depth of the grooves in a tire's tread, measured in millimeters. In many countries, including EU countries and Turkey, the legal minimum for car tires is 1.6 mm.

More terms: Brakes, Suspension, Steering and Tires

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