A wheel alignment at Gordon & Sandifer puts your wheels back at the angles your carmaker set, so the car tracks straight and your tires wear evenly. If your steering wheel sits crooked on the drive down Perkins Road, or the car drifts toward the curb when you relax your grip for a second, the alignment is usually off. We align domestic and Asian cars, SUVs, minivans and light pickups, from a Honda Accord to a Ford F-150.
We have served Baton Rouge drivers from the same Perkins Road address since 1956, as a family shop that tells you the truth about your car and can fix all of it, collision damage included. Before we adjust anything, we check the parts that hold the wheels in place, because an alignment can’t hold on worn parts. Then we walk you through what we measured, what we changed and why it matters for your tires.
A wheel alignment adjusts three angles: toe, camber and caster. Toe is whether the fronts of the tires point in or out, like your feet. Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the tire seen from the front. Caster is the steering axis angle that helps the wheel return to center after a turn.
Toe has the biggest effect on tire wear. Even a small toe error drags the tires a little sideways with every mile, which scrubs rubber off the edges. Camber that is off wears one shoulder of the tire faster than the other, and caster that differs from side to side can make the car pull.
The common signs are a steering wheel that sits off center when you drive straight, a car that pulls or drifts to one side on a level road, and tires wearing faster on the inside or outside edge. A squeal from the tires on gentle turns can point to alignment trouble as well.
A pull can come from other places too. A tire with a shifted belt, low air pressure on one side, or a sticking brake caliper can all pull a car, so we check those before we touch the angles. If the pull shows up only when you stop, our brake repair inspection looks there first.
A hard hit is the usual reason a wheel alignment goes out. Baton Rouge gets about 62 inches of rain a year, and heavy rain opens potholes on streets all over town. One sharp pothole, a curb you clip while parking, or a railroad crossing taken too fast can bend a part or shift the angles.
Patched streets add to it. Lee Drive between Perkins and Highland is slated for a pothole overlay, and the I-10 widening work keeps lanes shifting on the drive across town. Drivers coming from Southdowns, Zee Zee Gardens and Rouzan deal with the same mix of patches and rough edges we do.
Expert tip: After heavy rain, treat standing water as if it might be hiding a pothole. Slow down before puddles on streets you don’t know well, and if you can’t avoid a hole, ease off the brakes just before you reach it so the suspension can soak up the hit.
A wheel alignment on a car with healthy steering and suspension parts usually takes about an hour. It takes longer if a bolt is rusted tight, if a worn part needs replacing first, or if the car needs a camera or radar calibration afterward. We give you a time estimate before we start.
Plenty of people wait for an alignment. Grab a coffee from the coffee bar, catch up on email over the Wi-Fi, and we’ll come find you when it’s done. If we spot a worn part during the check, we stop and talk with you before anything else happens.
Many newer cars use a windshield camera and a front radar for lane keeping and automatic emergency braking. When the wheel angles change, those systems may need to be re-aimed so they look where the car actually points. That step has its own page on ADAS calibration. Call with your year, make and model and we’ll tell you what your car needs.
Three jobs call for a wheel alignment almost every time: new tires, suspension or steering repairs, and collision repair. New tires deserve a fresh start. Replacing struts, tie rods or control arms changes the angles. A crash can shift them even when the car looks fine from the outside.
Worn parts come first, though. An alignment sets the angles, and loose tie rod ends, worn ball joints or cracked control arm bushings let those angles move again as soon as you drive off. If we find looseness in the front end, we show you the part, explain whether it needs attention now or can wait, and price the suspension and steering repair before doing anything.
When you buy new tires, an alignment protects them from the first mile. After collision repair, we check the alignment as part of putting the car back the way it was. Gordon & Sandifer handles mechanical and collision work under one roof, so the same shop that fixed the body sets the alignment, and the car isn’t driven across town to a second shop with a crooked steering wheel.
Expert tip: Once a month, turn the front wheels all the way to one side and run your hand across the tread. If the edges feel sharp in one direction and smooth in the other, or one shoulder is worn more than the rest, the toe or camber is likely off.
The cost of a wheel alignment depends on whether the car needs a front-end or four-wheel alignment, whether any adjusting bolts are seized, whether a worn part has to be replaced first, and whether a camera or radar calibration follows. You get a clear estimate before any work starts.
Some vehicles take more time than others. A lifted truck or a car with aftermarket parts may need extra adjustment, and some models need special parts to correct camber. We tell you up front if your vehicle falls into that group.
Think about the cost in terms of tires, too. A set of tires for a Toyota RAV4 or a Chevrolet Tahoe is a real expense, and a toe setting that is off can wear the inside edges down long before the rest of the tread is gone. An alignment that keeps those tires wearing evenly often pays for itself.
Expert tip: Ask for an alignment check any time you buy new tires or after a hard pothole hit, even if the car feels fine. The check is quick, and a small toe error can wear tires unevenly for months before you ever notice it in the steering wheel.
Gordon & Sandifer is at 3825 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, near Acadian Thruway and College Drive. We’re open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM and Friday from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Call (225) 343-3427 to set up a wheel alignment, or stop by and ask for a quick check.
We’re about a mile from University Lake and a short drive from Westdale Heights and the Garden District. Learn more about our family-owned auto repair shop in Baton Rouge, or see how we serve drivers all over town on our Baton Rouge auto repair page. Have a question first? Contact us and we’ll talk it through. If all your car needs is a quick adjustment, that’s all we’ll tell you it needs.
Monday to Thursday 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Friday 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. 3825 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge.
(225) 343-3427Get directions