Hi, I have an octavia with 17" alloys.

What exactly causes the wheel alignment/tracking to go out? 

I know if you hit a kerb or a massive pothole it'll go out but can it also go out with everyday driving such as driving through small gutters on the road or small bumps? Or even rough roads?

Can the alignment go out easily or does it take a proper bad pothole to get your alignment out?

Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

General wear and tear will cause issues with alignment and even small bumps can push it out ... Things like constantly driving down a road with speed bumps will affect it over time .. Castor and camber angles should in theory require a more substantial knock to put them out but again as springs and shocks wear it will have some bearing on them too.

Edited 21 January, 20188 yr by labman1001

Wear on the bushes, sagging springs and soft dampers will cause it to go out gradually.

 

I think the biggest cause is when you do a U-turn and the tyres "kiss" the gutter edge.  Potholes, etc, don't help either but I'm fairly harsh on my suspension and have only had 1 wheel alignment in 180k km.  My tyre wear is perfect.  NB:  I also tend to run 36-40psi