Car & Light Truck Alignment in Anchorage, AK

This is a commercial location. It does not do brakes, oil changes, air conditioning or engine work, and no Purcell location in Alaska does.

What it does do is tires and alignment, for light vehicles as well as heavy ones. For a business running pickups and vans alongside trucks, that means the whole fleet gets its geometry corrected at one address rather than two.

Three angles decide how a wheel meets the road:

• Toe, whether the wheels point slightly in or out. This is the one that scrubs tread off at the greatest rate.
• Camber, the inward or outward lean at the top of the wheel, which wears one edge of the tire.
• Caster, which affects steering feel and straight-line stability rather than wear.

They move. Potholes, curb strikes, worn suspension and plain age all shift them, and the vehicle rarely announces it.

• The vehicle pulls to one side on a flat, straight road.
• The steering wheel sits off center while driving straight.
• One edge of a tire is worn, or the tread is feathered.
• You have just hit something hard.

The wear pattern is the most reliable of those, because it is evidence rather than a feeling. A tire worn on the inside edge is a diagnosis.

Freeze and thaw cycles are hard on pavement, and pavement in that condition is hard on alignment. A vehicle that was straight in spring is not necessarily straight by autumn, which is why having the wear pattern read at every tire change is worth more here than a fixed interval would be.

The Anchorage store is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, managed by Ty Jordan, and carries passenger, light truck, trailer, UTV and ATV, agricultural, commercial and OTR tires. It also offers tire and wheel balancing, heavy-duty truck alignment, fleet services and 24-hour roadside assistance.

• Car & Light Truck Alignment in Fairbanks, AK, (907) 479-3399.
• Car & Light Truck Alignment in Wasilla, AK, (907) 376-4755.

See the national car and light truck alignment page for all 40 locations.