Let’s face it. Most of us don’t think about wheel alignment as an environmental issue, however poor alignment, like improperly inflated tires, create many negative eco-effects. Everyone knows the wrong tire pressure can cause drag and friction, which forces vehicles to consume more gas. The EPA estimates that we waste about 3.5 million gallons of gasoline every day because of under-inflated tires. That works out to 67,900,000 pounds of just CO2 in the atmosphere every day because our tires aren’t properly inflated. That’s 24,783,500,000 pounds of CO2 every year.
What we don’t think about are evolving wheel alignment challenges in the automotive industry and the effects they have on the environment through greenhouse gas emissions and increased waste stream production - not to mention customer satisfaction with our products and services. Poor wheel alignment creates excessive tire wear and reduced gas mileage. Drivers and technicians who are concerned about our industry’s effect on the environment should give wheel alignment similar importance to tire pressure and engine efficiency performance concerns.
Wheels not properly aligned “drag” along the road instead of rolling smoothly. This is like driving with the parking brake not fully released. Extra gas is needed to run the vehicle, placing stress on all components in addition to reducing the tire’s life by more than 70%. With fuel consumption increasing up to 25%, it can cost a mile or two per gallon on a car that normally delivers 20 miles per gallon, according to the Car Care Council.
In the past six years, the automotive industry has moved to larger wheels and low profile tires. We used to call these oversized, chrome wheels “custom”, but in reality, they are now the norm. All OE manufacturers provide lipless 17”+ wheels right off the factory floor. Not long ago, most cars came with steel or alloy wheels that sported pronounced lips at the wheel’s edge. This was an easy place for wheel alignment clamps to grip. Times have changed and styles have changed with them. OE and custom wheels have eliminated this wheel lip, and have even incorporated rim guard tires to protect these newly designed wheels from damage while curb parking. Design innovation is a great thing, unless you happen to be an alignment technician.
The alignment tech needs the most accurate readings from his alignment machine to perform a proper alignment. The tech attaches the head sensors to the wheel via a clamp. This relationship between clamp and wheel determines the accuracy of the readings the tech receives. So, if this very important relationship is not accurate and consistent, the alignment is very possibly off. An all too common scenario is when a customer brings their car into a shop in alignment and leaves out of alignment simply because the alignment technician is getting false readings.
Tru Align allows technicians to accurately and safely align wheel/tire combinations that have not been properly treated in the past. This equipment advancement has allowed technicians to take better care of their customers, generate more revenue and experience less liability no matter what brand of alignment equipment they are using to align vehicles. But best of all, it is also a step forward for planet earth.
An out of alignment vehicle can rip the tread off those expensive tires in less than 500 miles. Rubber is a petroleum product that uses precious resources to produce, and significant energy resources to recycle or dispose of. Many used tires end up in dumps or on the side of the road, left to exist with a far longer life expectancy than you or I. More accurate alignments reduce the petroleum products entering our waste stream and by extending the useful life of the tire we increase our customer satisfaction level. A happy customer is a more profitable customer.
The automotive industry is facing the challenges of creating more energy efficient vehicles. This effort needs to also focus on those existing, poorly performing vehicles in the battle for eco-efficiency. Saving that extra one or two miles per gallon has positive environmental effects. Carbon dioxide is produced from the burning of fossil fuels, and is one of the primary contributing factors to the escalating global climate change. The US Dept of Energy's establishes that 19.56 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted as a result of burning one gallon of unleaded gasoline.
For a car achieving 24mpg and driving 12,000 miles a year, that is equal to 9780 pounds of CO2. That same car only achieving 22mpg produces 10,669 pound of CO2. That’s a difference of 889 pounds of CO2 due to wheel alignment inefficiencies.
We are learning everyday about the interconnectiveness of our actions and the health of the world around us, but let’s remember, since we are a business, taking care of our clients is the supreme goal. We are now learning, however, that you don’t need to be planting trees and leading recycling campaigns to be truly green. In the world of wheel alignments, perform the best job you can with the best tools on the market. Take better care of your customer, take better care of your business, and now you can take care of the environment too.
