Alignment ?

[redsho]

I'm planning to change tires in a couple months (snow tires). Then go with larger 18" wheels & tire next spring. Should I be doing alignments each time these 16" & 18" wheel/tire sets get changed? Or is one good for a few swaps?

Thanks,
Doua

 

[batchman]

That depends entirely on your roads and how you drive on them.

Think of an alignment as an insurance policy on your tires. If you buy tires on the cheap and your car tracks straight, don't worry about it. If you're buying better stuff then consider that cost. Look at the wear pattern on your current tires, they will tell you if the car is out of whack.

HTH,
- Jeff

 

[redsho]

That depends entirely on your roads and how you drive on them.

Think of an alignment as an insurance policy on your tires. If you buy tires on the cheap and your car tracks straight, don't worry about it. If you're buying better stuff then consider that cost. Look at the wear pattern on your current tires, they will tell you if the car is out of whack.

HTH,
- Jeff

I understand that re-aligning the car all depends on how many potholes you hit I guess what I really wanted to know is if... the alignment for 18" wheel/tire going to be same as 16" wheel/tire. Eg. Drive only 500 miles w/ new alignment on 16" wheel, then switching to 18" wheel, and vice versa.

 

[Snake2715]

Oh so the toe in or camber etc. hmmm good question just call a few shops and ask.

I dont think it matters one way or the other to be completely honest.

 

[redsho]

Oh so the toe in or camber etc. hmmm good question just call a few shops and ask.

I dont think it matters one way or the other to be completely honest.

Anybody who does 16" wheel/tire combo w/ 18" wheel/tire combo swaps for winter & summer seasons answer this question

 

[HopefulSHO]

18"s will probably handle better in the summer, while having snow tires on the 16"s would be a good practice for winter. I see nothing wrong with that

I would get an alignment done yearly or so depending on your roads. Nebraska roads suck..

 

[Shoaz]

Alignments are done pretty independent of the size of the rim, so you shouldn't need to get anything changed just because you changed wheels and tires.

That being said, different tires on different rims may wear differently for a given alignment. That'll be true even just changing tires on a single set of rims. I've long been suspicious that the folks who experience inside tire wear when running aggressive camber are using 17" or larger rims. A 16" rim will allow more sidewall flex and let the tire flatten a bit with aggressive camber. In both cases the alignment is set for what you want, but the effect on the tires is a bit different.

But if you want a certain amount of camber, it's the same whether the rims are 16" or 18". Toe won't change, caster won't change.

 

[Snake2715]

Anybody who does 16" wheel/tire combo w/ 18" wheel/tire combo swaps for winter & summer seasons answer this question

I do basically do this just not on my sho its on my Supra.

It gets the 17"s most the summer but early in the year and later in the year before storage it gets the stock 15" wheels put back on.