Car - Auto - Wheel Aignment - Moose Jaw - Panda Tire & Auto

Wheel Alignment Tips

Aug 22, 2021

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Maintaining proper wheel alignment is essential to avoid unnecessary wear on your tires, steering, suspension, and brake components. An accurate wheel alignment optimizes driving stability, maximizes tire life, and improves your vehicle’s overall handling performance. Before performing a wheel alignment, test drive the vehicle and record any abnormality, the tire pressures should be checked and set, steering and suspension components should be checked for wear and movement that may prevent alignment from being performed effectively. There are a couple ways to tell if your car needs an alignment. If you’ve noticed one or more of these indicators, you should have your alignment checked by a licensed technician immediately.

Uneven tread wear
Vehicle pulling to the left or right.
Your steering wheel is off center when driving straight.
Steering wheel vibration

Panda Tire and Auto Service in Moose Jaw’s certified auto technicians are concerned mainly with three things when performing an alignment.

Camber angles:

This is the inward or outward angle of the tire when viewed from the front of the vehicle. Too much inward or outward tilt, also known as negative and positive camber, respectively, indicates improper alignment and will need to be adjusted. Worn bearings, ball joints, and other wheel-suspension parts may contribute to camber misalignment.

Toe angles:

Distinct from camber alignment, toe alignment is the extent to which your tires turn inward or outward when viewed from above. If that is confusing, just stand up and look down at your feet. Angle them inward toward the center of your body. When the tires on your car are angled the same way (remember, we’re thinking in terms of birds-eye-view), we call this toe-in alignment. Angle your feet outward and you have toe-out alignment. Both require adjustment.

Caster angles:

Your caster angle helps balance steering, stability, and cornering. Specifically, it is the angle of your steering axis when viewed from the side of your vehicle. If you have positive caster, the steering axis will tilt toward the driver. Negative caster, on the other hand, means the steering axis tilts toward the front of your vehicle. Think of the front caster wheels on a shopping cart.

Book your Computerized Wheel Alignment at Panda Tire & Auto. Our Certified and Trusted Mechanics at your local Moose Jaw Tire Garage – call (306) 691-0080 or book online.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Investing in Advanced Technology

Modern vehicles are increasingly equipped with cameras, sensors, and radar systems that assist with lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control, parking assistance, and emergency braking. Even a small misalignment can affect how these systems perform. That’s why precise calibration is critical—and why we’ve invested in Autel’s state-of-the-art alignment and ADAS technology.

A new Autel Aligner & ADAS system, such as the IA1000, is an advanced, automated solution for wheel alignment and the calibration of modern driver-assist systems. It integrates precise robotic movements, laser guidance, high-definition cameras, and digital targets to reduce manual setup and dramatically improve accuracy for complex ADAS calibrations like ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), LDW (Lane Departure Warning), and AVM (Around View Monitoring).

The IA1000 goes far beyond basic alignment data—it offers comprehensive measurement and documentation, all controlled through an easy-to-use tablet interface. With automated features like unlevel floor compensation and pre- and post-calibration reports, the system ensures that every calibration and alignment is completed to exact manufacturer standards and verified for accuracy.

Why It’s Used

ADAS Systems: Calibrations are often required after collision repairs, suspension work, windshield replacements, or any modification affecting the vehicle’s height or camera positioning.
Wheel Alignments: The IA1000 performs advanced wheel alignments on vehicles that need them, often in conjunction with ADAS calibration.
Safety: ADAS features are critical for driver safety and accident prevention—requiring precise calibration to ensure these systems function as designed.

Panda Tire Auto - Moose Jaw - ADAS Training

Key Features & Capabilities

Automated Setup: Uses a robotic system with precision adjustments for forward-facing target positioning and frame placement, significantly reducing manual setup time.
Laser-Guided Positioning: Laser-guided technology ensures accurate placement of ADAS patterns and targets for Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Around View Monitoring (AVM).
High-Definition Cameras: Six HD cameras track vehicle movement and target positions, providing high accuracy for both alignment and calibration.
Advanced Wheel Alignment: Moves beyond basic camber, caster, and toe to provide comprehensive and advanced wheel alignment data.
Unlevel Floor Compensation: Automatically compensates for uneven shop floors, ensuring consistent and accurate calibration results even on imperfect surfaces.
Digital Targets: Offers the option of digital target monitors that automatically display vehicle-specific targets for Lane Departure Warning (LDW) calibration.
Hands-Free Operation: Features a hands-free virtual assistant controlled by voice commands for seamless operation.
Comprehensive Documentation: Generates pre- and post-scan reports to document the calibration and alignment process, demonstrating accuracy and transparency to customers.

Hands-On Learning

Our technicians spent the day working closely with certified trainers to master every aspect of this new technology. The training covered:

Precision Wheel Alignment: Learning to perform advanced measurements and adjustments using the Autel IA1000’s robotic system for consistent, precise results.
ADAS Calibration: Setting up and calibrating forward-facing cameras, radar sensors, and other components using digital targets and guided workflows.
System Integration: Understanding how alignment and ADAS interact—and why perfect calibration is essential for both performance and safety.

This in-depth training ensures that our team can diagnose, align, and calibrate vehicles with unmatched accuracy, whether you’re driving a compact car or a modern SUV loaded with driver-assist technology.

What This Means for Our Customers

For our customers in Moose Jaw and surrounding Saskatchewan communities, this upgrade means your vehicle will be serviced using the most advanced alignment and calibration equipment available. You can trust that your steering, tire wear, and driver-assistance systems will perform exactly as the manufacturer intended—keeping you safer on the road.

At Panda Tire and Auto, we believe that precision equals safety—and ongoing training like this helps us deliver both.