To align, or not to align?

[travelover]

I would also decline the alignment. If there is no abnormal wear on the tires and handling (pulling, shaking) seems normal then no alignment is really needed. In my 40+ years of vehicle ownership, I have yet to get an alignment done correctly the first time around and required a second visit to get it resolved. YMMV.

Alignment won't cause shaking issues.

 

[3800Fiero]

Worn tie-rod ends could.

 

[calmloki]

.... I have two BMW 5's (E39), no low profile tires. And yeah, I hate expensive tires....

E39s are great cars. Had better luck with Sumitomo than Continental. Now wearing Kumho Solus on the E91 (E91 isn't a patch on the old E39) - real quiet, as were the Sumitomo.

Never heard of a free alignment with a new set of tires - work costs money. I found a shop that the race guys use and the same people are there working over years of time. I happily pay them to do dismount,mount, and balance and talk alignment desires with them. Feels good to trust a shop.

 

[RetireAge50]

Per my mechanic, until something stops working, never do any automobile maintenance except oil changes, timing belt, and brakes.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Was at the stealership for a warranty repair, so I let them do a customer pay Oil, filter ,tire Rotation for $ 60 and gosh, the technician recommends an alignment .

 

[Midpack]

Was at the stealership for a warranty repair, so I let them do a customer pay Oil, filter ,tire Rotation for $ 60 and gosh, the technician recommends an alignment .

I wonder where I could go to find out if I really need an alignment? I hate to rely on uneven tire wear (too late) or pulling right/left, etc. But that's what I'm doing for now...

 

[eytonxav]

I wonder where I could go to find out if I really need an alignment? I hate to rely on uneven tire wear (too late) or pulling right/left, etc. But that's what I'm doing for now...

You could look for a shop that preps race cars and has a high end Hunter alignment system. Other than that there are some things you can do yourself to check it, just google how to align your car. Here is a video that shows part of the process:

 

[BreathFree]

I don't bother with realignment unless the car is pulling to one side or its tires wearing unevenly, neither of which have ever happened to my vehicle.

+1

I would check the tires for uneven wear periodically and wait for evidence to show prior to paying for potentially unnecessary repairs.

 

[JoeWras]

Recent trip to the dealership for routine oil change, and the service writer came back to me with severe concern in his eyes about my bad alignment and worn tires. He had a deal I could access today to get tires and alignment. How convenient. I thanked him and told him I'd sleep on it. I did, and decided it was time to go somewhere else.

Four months later I have my local independent do the next oil change and I asked him to check everything. He said all is well. I asked him about the tires and uneven wear. He said there is no problem: which of course I could see visually myself.

I'm done with my dealership for good, except for that darn recall that is pending. How do I get through his gauntlet just so I can get the recall work?

 

[travelover]

..........I'm done with my dealership for good, except for that darn recall that is pending. How do I get through his gauntlet just so I can get the recall work?

You don't have to go to the same dealership to get warranty or recall work done. If that is the only dealer nearby, simply tell them to do the no cost work and stuff the rest.

 

[JoeWras]

You don't have to go to the same dealership to get warranty or recall work done. If that is the only dealer nearby, simply tell them to do the no cost work and stuff the rest.

I'm going to do this. A different dealer is just a bit out of the way. Worth giving them a try.

 

[Avalon]

As mentioned above, some cars happen to come from the factory with a poor alignment. Or a decent alignment, but at the limits of their specs. Alignment specs for particular cars can sometimes be difficult to find, btw.

I may have missed which car OP is dealing with, but many can come with a significant amount of negative rear camber from the factory - for enhanced ride comfort as I understand it. This happens to be what I'm dealing with. Frequent tire rotations masked the problem until all 4 tires now have significant inner tire wear at 30K miles.

When looking at the tires/wheels visually from the rear, the amount of negative camber appears to be at the extreme tolerance of factory specs, if not more (out of specs).
I just visited an independent local shop that suggested that they bring the specs on rear camber as far positive as possible, while still staying within factory specs.

 

[Texas Proud]

OH... just another point....

Not all cars have the ability to change much in the alignment...

I had a 95 Monte Carlo and they had to take off some of my suspension to do some work on the engine.... put it all back and they checked the alignment... it was off a bit, but they said they could not change what was wrong as that adjustment did not have much 'play'.... I asked someone else when I got home and they said that was correct....

 

[JoeWras]

As mentioned above, some cars happen to come from the factory with a poor alignment. Or a decent alignment, but at the limits of their specs. Alignment specs for particular cars can sometimes be difficult to find, btw.

I may have missed which car OP is dealing with, but many can come with a significant amount of negative rear camber from the factory - for enhanced ride comfort as I understand it. This happens to be what I'm dealing with. Frequent tire rotations masked the problem until all 4 tires now have significant inner tire wear at 30K miles.

When looking at the tires/wheels visually from the rear, the amount of negative camber appears to be at the extreme tolerance of factory specs, if not more (out of specs).
I just visited an independent local shop that suggested that they bring the specs on rear camber as far positive as possible, while still staying within factory specs.

Occasionally while riding the interstate, I see some of these cars. These are clearly not custom jobs. I'm talking Priuses and such.

I mean, you can really tell the rear wheels have a lot of negative camber. Almost reminds me of what you see on the fronts of Indy cars. Well, not really, but it is noticeable.

My guess is it is for reduced rolling resistance, and also safety to avoid spin outs. But I gotta wonder what it does to the wear characteristics.

 

[foxfirev5]

You could look for a shop that preps race cars and has a high end Hunter alignment system. Other than that there are some things you can do yourself to check it, just google how to align your car. Here is a video that shows part of the process:

Did the string line/level routine on a Corvette years ago. I actually got over 70k miles out of a set generic tires.
On todays cars there's not much more than the toe on the tie rods that is adjusted on the front.
I'm still livid at that cheat from the major chain that sold my DM new struts and alignment on a pristine 30k mile vehicle.
If it works don't fix it.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm still livid at that cheat from the major chain that sold my DM new struts and alignment on a pristine 30k mile vehicle.
If it works don't fix it.

Wow. That is super slimy. Maybe 50 years ago, but on today's cars. Wow.

 

[Danmar]

I have two high performance cars with 40 and 45 series tires that eat tires--no matter how they're aligned. I'm sick of paying $800-$1100 every 20,000 miles for tires, and have sworn off purchasing any more vehicles with low profile tires.

I'm starting to think this way too. I have two performance cars as well. One uses 265/35ZR20's which I recently had to replace at 20,000 miles. Very expensive. They are just so much fun to drive.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have two high performance cars with 40 and 45 series tires that eat tires--no matter how they're aligned. I'm sick of paying $800-$1100 every 20,000 miles for tires, and have sworn off purchasing any more vehicles with low profile tires.

Today's alignment equipment will print out a copy of the alignment numbers, and they color code any wheel/tire that's out of factory specs. That shop should use the printed copy to show you what your vehicle needs. If it's out by much, get the wheel alignment. And have them check your ball joints, tie rod ends, struts and other wear parts while they're at it.

We can get alignments done for half what that dealer's quoting.

I'm starting to think this way too. I have two performance cars as well. One uses 265/35ZR20's which I recently had to replace at 20,000 miles. Very expensive. They are just so much fun to drive.

The whole thing about low profile tires is they are designed differently.... they are designed to grip much better and as such wear out faster... it has nothing to do with the alignment....


The funny thing is that what was considered 'wide' 30 years ago is now 'standard' on many cars... I had an 87 Firebird Formula which had 235-60-15 tires, which were wide at the time.... but my Pilot has 235-60-18....

 

[Danmar]

The whole thing about low profile tires is they are designed differently.... they are designed to grip much better and as such wear out faster... it has nothing to do with the alignment....


The funny thing is that what was considered 'wide' 30 years ago is now 'standard' on many cars... I had an 87 Firebird Formula which had 235-60-15 tires, which were wide at the time.... but my Pilot has 235-60-18....

Agree. Tire widths and wheel sizes keep going up. Used to be that 20" wheels were humongous. Now fairly common.