Does Tire Rotation Affect Alignment? [Rotation vs Alignment]
Both tire rotation and alignment are independent and equally important aspects of tire maintenance to avoid the uneven wearing down of tires, excessive drifting, and most importantly to avoid punctures and blowouts down the road.
We have to do both within the time frame for not only the tires’ longevity but also for better performance, desired traction, and fuel average.
In addition to that, if you are not maintaining the tires of your vehicle periodically your safety will be questionable on the road.
Does Tire Rotation Affect Alignment?
No tire rotation and wheel alignment are completely different departments, you don’t have to align your car’s tires after the rotation.
In the process of alignment, we need to set up the angle of attack in the proper direction, so that the vehicle can be driven without unnecessary drifting, vibration/shaking, etc.
In the case of tire rotations, we basically try to save our tires from uneven wearing down.
Though the alignment and rotation will cost you a few bucks in the package, still if your car is not drifting and the steering of the car is in a good position, don’t spend $50 – 100 on alignment, do the rotation yourself and spend those on tasty food.
What Is Tire Rotation in Brief?
Tire rotation is the process of changing the position of tires more often to wear down the tires evenly; we simply follow a simple tire rotation pattern suggested by the manufacturers to avoid heavy repairs and accidents down the road.
You can follow this guide about rotating the tires of a vehicle with a single jack.
What Is Wheel Alignment?
Wheel alignment is a process of aligning the tires of a vehicle with the steering wheel to avoid drifting, vibration, and unbalanced steering of the vehicle.
For wheel alignments, a Mechanic/Engineer needs to put a wheel alignment machine on both tires and make some tweaks to the suspensions, etc. to maintain the angle of attack toward the road.
Tire Rotation vs. Alignment
The main difference between the tire rotation and the alignment is we just need to move our tires from one spot to another in the rotation process, however, in case of alignment, we need to tweak the suspensions put the alignment machine on the tire, etc.
In tire rotation we prevent uneven wearing down of the vehicle’s tires to avoid both unnecessary repairs and incidents, however, we do the alignment for setting up the angle of tires with respect to the steering wheel in a way that the vehicle could give us perfect traction/grip with almost zero vibration and drifting.
Both of the services are necessary for the tire’s life and vehicle’s performance, additionally, they will save you from costly repairs and horrifying incidents down the road.
How Often Should You Get Alignment and Rotation?
It depends on the driving style of the user, as I am a calm driver I need to align the tires right after 9,000 – 10,000 miles or once a year depending on the usage, however, my brother has to do the alignment after every 5000 – 6000 with rotation of the tires as well.
Typically we suggest our audience get the vehicles aligned especially when they get the newer tires or they have driven 10,000 miles without alignment.
Is Tire Rotation and Alignment the Same?
No. As we have discussed above tire rotation and wheel alignment are completely different subjects and can be done for different purposes.
Wheel alignment needs to be done when the vehicle provides poor traction, drifts towards any direction, and most importantly the steering position is not at 12 o’clock.
The purpose of tire rotation is to prevent our newly purchased tires from unevenly wearing down, due to the weight distribution of the different vehicles and the driving style of the users.
If the treads of tires wear down unevenly, we face excessive punctures, hydroplaning, poor traction, and blowouts in the worst case.
Does Tire Rotation Affect Balance?
The wheel balancing and tire rotation are completely independent processes, in wheel balancing, we simply stuck some weights to the rims of the wheel for proper weight distribution so that the wheel could be spun on the road more evenly, however in the case of tire rotation we move the positions of tires to prevent premature rubbing.
Tire Rotation and Wheel Alignment Cost
Wheel alignment costs about $75 – $150 depending on the location and stores near to you, Pep Boys offers wheel alignment at $85, however, at FireStone you can get your work done for $80.
For tire rotation you may have to pay between $25 – $50 again the cost varies from place to place, I suggest you rotate your tires yourself unless your vehicle is heavy or your age doesn’t allow you to do the task.
For wheel alignment we suggest our audience do a bit of research and find out the cheapest place, below are some of the cheapest places from where you choose the nearest one.
Verdict
Tire rotation isn’t a leading cause of disturbing the wheel alignment, however, there may be a bed tire in your vehicle’s front side, there may be not sufficient pressure in the tire or you have hurt the suspensions of your vehicle.
The bottom line is there is no connection between the tire rotation and wheel alignment; you don’t have to spend on alignment unless you have got the new tires or your vehicle, drifting, or shaking with unbalanced steering.
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FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Tire Rotation Before or After Alignment?
No, they are completely independent tire maintenance services, you don’t have to book a slot for tire alignments right after rotating the tires, however, if you feel that this is the time as I have driven my vehicle without alignment for a year or two then you should book a slot otherwise there is no need.
Alignment off After Tire Rotation
Since the tire alignment and tire rotation are independent things, the reason could be the bad tire.
A tire with a broken belt or a tire with low pressure on the front could affect the alignments drastically.
Since a tire with a broken belt could be the major reason for radial pull (vehicle pulls to the side), In most cases, the culprit is a tire with a broken belt or there may be a manufacturing fault in the tire as well. Â