Why kerbs and camber catch out Carshalton cars
The A232 through the village by the ponds is narrow and slow, with buses, pedestrians and parking along it, and the Victorian and Edwardian streets behind it are parked on both sides. That combination means a lot of edging past oncoming traffic with your nearside wheels close to the kerb, and it only takes one firm contact with the wheel turned to shift a steering angle. The tyre then scrubs sideways every mile you drive, and the inner or outer shoulder goes down long before the middle of the tread.
The roads climbing towards Carshalton Beeches and Carshalton on the Hill add something else. Park Hill and the streets around it are noticeably hilly and often strongly cambered, and a car will lean towards the kerb on a cambered road whether its geometry is right or wrong. That is why we road test before we measure. A drift that only appears on one particular hill is usually the road, while a pull that stays with you on a flat, level surface is worth measuring properly.
School-run traffic builds around the area's many schools twice a day, including the roads near Carshalton House, and short school-run journeys are exactly the kind of mileage that hides a geometry fault. The car never spends long enough at a steady speed for anyone to notice it tracking slightly sideways. We check the suspension and steering joints on the ramp first, set the tyre pressures to the placard, then measure all four wheels and work out the thrust angle before touching an adjuster.
Getting here is simple: north on West Street past the station, then Nightingale Road and Hackbridge Road to London Road, about a mile and a bit. You get a written quote before any parts are fitted, and the before and after printout to keep. If the car has just been kerbed hard enough to pull the steering wheel out of line, collection can be arranged.