Car & Light Truck Alignment in Joplin, MO

Interstates that carry a lot of heavy freight, and I-44 through this corner of the state is one, develop shallow ruts in the lanes trucks use most. Heavy axles passing over the same strips of pavement, thousands of times a day, wear two grooves into the surface.

A car or a light pickup driving in those lanes does something that feels like an alignment problem. It tramlines: the tires try to follow the edges of the grooves, the steering tugs gently one way and then the other, and the driver finds themselves making small corrections the whole way.

The test is simple. Move to a lane trucks use less, or to a smooth stretch of road, and see whether the wandering stops. If it does, the road was doing it. If the vehicle still drifts on smooth, level pavement, or pulls consistently to the same side, that is worth an alignment check.

An alignment will not stop a vehicle following ruts. Paying for one to cure tramlining is money spent on the wrong thing. On the other hand, a vehicle that really is out of alignment and also drives in rutted lanes every day can be blamed on the road for months while it wears the edges off its tires.

Some vehicles are more sensitive to ruts than others: wide tires, low-profile tires and worn steering parts all make it more noticeable. If the wandering has got noticeably worse over time on the same road, mention that, because the road did not change as much as the vehicle did.

• A pull on smooth, level pavement.
• A steering wheel that sits off center when going straight.
• Wear on one edge of the front tires.

Worn steering and suspension parts are suspension repair, and a vibration rather than a pull is usually tire and wheel balancing, both at this store. The national alignment page covers how the check works.

Springfield and Springdale, AR also align cars and light trucks.

The Joplin store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Travis Reeder.

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