🔥 Full Car Service Special — Semi-Synthetic 10W-40 $169 · 5W-30 $179
Includes oil & filter change, air filter inspection, brake inspection, suspension & steering check, exhaust/belts/hoses inspection, all lights checked, tyre pressure check & adjustment, fluids topped up, and a FREE car wash & vacuum.
Car Pulling or Vibrating?
We'll check alignment and balance and give you a straight answer on which it is.
📍 8/61 Wattle Road, Maidstone VIC 3012Alignment: The Angle of the Wheels
Alignment refers to the precise angles your wheels meet the road at — camber, caster and toe, in technical terms. When these fall outside specification, the car stops tracking straight on its own, requiring constant small steering corrections. The most common cause is impact: a pothole, a kerb strike while parking, or a speed bump taken too fast, often without any visible damage.
Balancing: The Weight Around the Wheel
Balancing is different — it's about evenly distributing weight around the wheel and tyre assembly using small weights attached to the rim. An unbalanced wheel typically shows up as a vibration that gets worse at a specific speed range (often 80-110km/h), rather than the constant pulling sensation alignment issues cause.
Why Both Matter Beyond Comfort
Poor alignment wears tyres unevenly and prematurely — often along one edge rather than across the whole tread — turning what should be years of tyre life into a much shorter window. An unbalanced wheel, left unaddressed, can accelerate wear on suspension components that are absorbing that constant vibration.
Telling Them Apart
Pulling to one side, an off-centre steering wheel when driving straight, or wear concentrated on one edge of the tyre — that's alignment. A vibration through the steering wheel or seat that appears at a specific speed and settles at others — that's more likely balance.
Worth checking together: Alignment and balance are separate adjustments, but both are worth checking whenever you get new tyres, hit a significant pothole, or notice either symptom — catching either early protects the more expensive part of the equation, the tyres themselves.
For the signs to watch for after hitting a pothole specifically, see our FAQ: How Do I Know If My Car Needs a Wheel Alignment?
Car Pulling or Vibrating?
We'll check alignment and balance and give you a straight answer on which it is.
📍 8/61 Wattle Road, Maidstone VIC 3012