I personally do a full alignment when I purchase new tires... because tires can ride differently.

But that's me.

 

I always get the vehicle aligned when I replace the tires, too - however, if the alignment was fine before, then technically you shouldn't need one - sadly, the time most people notice they have a bad alignment, their tires are wrecked, so I figure better safe than sorry!

 

IAOdy,

He is my philosophy on alignment (when buying tires?). If you are buying tires because some portion of the usable tread is out of balance across the face of the tread on either one or both of a pair of tires then an alignment might be needed. For example if the inside tread (or outside tread) is gone from either or both of the front tires (same holds for rear tires) but there is still very good tread across the rest of the tire(s) surface then an alignment of the vehicle may be required (almost all newer vehicles with front wheel drive have the ability to align all four wheels). If the vehicle dose not track straight when driving on a straight FLAT surface then an alignment might be needed (when free wheeling or under slight acceleration, not when braking). When driving the vehicle down a straight road if the steering wheel is not "in the true" with the center mfg. emblem in the horizontal (flat) position (emblem not tilted) then an alignment may be required. In general I DON'T do an alignment when buying tires. Even if I feel an alignment is required I'll take my vehicle to a service mechanic who specialized in front end / suspensions (prior to new tire purchase) as I don't trust tire shops for a quality alignment (more often then not they will either do the job wrong or sell you an alignment when it is not needed). A good shop who specializes in front ends will check the alignment make adjustments if that is all that is required or check out the front or rear end (and or the suspension, bushings etc) and inform you what is required so that an alignment is worth the money being spent. Final NOTE: If when buying tires having an alignment is going to make you sleep better than have an alignment done. Lots of luck, Russ.

 

my tire shop will show me how much alignment is off and looking at that normally people will have it aligned, but in reality it will maybe two turns on the inner rod.

 

I think many folks get an alignment when they buy new tires because that's the only time they think about it - often with some prompting by the tire shop.

I prefer the scientific approach well-described above by rberman999. Over-maintenance can have you spending money unnecessarily.

 

I balance and rotate every 5K-7K miles. Check inflation every month (sometimes twice a month) and stay at factory+1 psi.

It's 76K miles on my Ody, my first set of replacement tires and never had an alignment done simply because I never needed it! It was recommended to me during the first replacement and now that I have the next of tires due in about another 5K miles. Not because of any uneven wear, but just because "it's good to have it done". Honestly, I dread letting anyone touch that setup unless it's needed. I have heard many horror stories about recurring alignment problems after the factory setup has been touched. So, don't do it unless your tires are wearing unevenly in spite of periodic rotations and balancing.

 

This makes a lot of sense. I was almost going to go to Sears (ugh) on Saturday because I came across a "free tire rotation" coupon. Then I started to think more, and I got really scared. Of course the "free" rotation is going to come with some risks, like the guy overtorquing something, and moreover I KNOW they are going to "find" something that needs to be done, today, right now, otherwise I am risking my life driving home. And I am so paranoid with Sears that I wouldn't be surprised if they MADE a problem! So I decided to wait a bit on my rotation and now I'm researching floor jacks (Costco Arcan vs Harbor Freight). If I spend $125 or $150 on jack and jack stands I realize that is a very expensive tire rotation, but I figure I can use these going forward for more frequent rotations (I haven't had one done since 13k miles and I'm at 32k now) and also would be used if I want to drop the tranny pan and replace the fluid on my BMW. BMW's unfortunately don't have the nice ATF dipstick that we have on the Odyssey.

I'm kinda getting the philosophy on stuff like this, especially with "reliable Hondas" that it is like a hospital - you really are probably better off just leaving things if they're working, and don't go monkeying around with the alignment because some tech is getting a reading that the alignment is zero-point-whatever off of the optimum.

But as I look at my tires, the wear is really pretty even. I need to measure it exactly, but by sight and feel the fronts are going a bit faster than the rears, but really not by much even over 20k miles. Then there is that damn Michelin "weather cracking" though.....really pretty ugly especially on the side that faces south while the car is parked.

 

The front tires work way harder than the rears - steering, braking, driving - and so you will get the higher wear on the front tires that you noticed. Tire rotation evens the wear front to back even if wear s even on each tire. Even wear on all four corners means that you will be able to replace all four tires at the same time when the time comes, rather than just one axle or the other. Having the same tire all around is best to maintain good vehicle handling.

 

+100. I agree.

Periodical Rotation and proper inflation is extremely critical. Reduce the tire rotation intervals if the van is driven loaded and/or tows most of the time. One can get away by not doing balancing with every tire rotation and doing it every alternate rotation.

I usually opt for getting the tires done at discount tire. They are usually large shops (the 5 in my area are all at least 4 bay stations) and they offer free tire rotation, re-balancing, flat repair and air every few thousand miles without you having to buy the additional hazard warranty. Costco is the next best place, but poor selection and long waits are a deterrent to me. Discount tire will usually price match costco and many tier 1 online retailers.

 

Beware of the "We'll check the alignment for free and then only charge you if we have to make changes" places. Make sure you demand the before and after readings and look at them VERY carefully.

I had a place put the car on the rack and turn the wheel slightly, so the LF was out of spec by - 0.2 degrees, and the RF was out of spec by - 0.2 degrees -> same amount and both in the same direction.

So, without my authorization they make the changes at the rack and I was left with an un-centered steering wheel. Luckily, when I called them on it they didn't put up a fight and put it back and eliminated the charge from my bill. But I can't believe (well, I guess I can believe it) how shady these places are.

 

Scary. I really never know who to trust when it comes to car stuff which is why I'm leaning to expanding my DIY repertoire (although I can't DIY an alignment).

Do lots of people do their own rotations? I was thinking of beginning to DIY this just because I hate paying someone 20 bucks to do it and I also hate sitting in the little waiting rooms for 2 hours looking at Muscle Car magazine waiting for it to be done. Plus I figured I could do brake bleeds at the same time. Probably doesn't make true economic sense given that I will need to invest $100 in a jack and another $30 in jack stands, but I guess there is something enticing to me about getting it done on my own time and knowing the lugnuts are torqued properly, etc. And also not having to deal with the "oh by the way we just found out that your engine is about to explode so you really should have that fixed while you're here too" junk at a Sears or equivalent place.

 

That's what I do - rotate the tires when changing the brake fluid. The interval is maybe a little long (2 years) but in that time I put on only 20,000 miles so I think it's still a good balance between getting it done without too much extra effort. If I towed or carried heavy loads, I might have to rotate more often, but I do neither.

 

I always get an alignment with new tires. I prefer to make sure that the new tires are properly aligned at the start so that I don't get premature tire wear. Also, I think it gives me some argument if the tires don't wear as expected. I don't want the tire shop to claim that alignment was an issue.

I rarely align or balance them afterwards unless there is some kind of problem - pulling, vibration, etc. I rotate them myself around the same time as the oil is changed.

 

I have always done the same as Bill. A couple of alignments during the 7 years we have typically owned cars.

Now, though, we keep our cars longer (oldest is 15 years, Ody is now 11 years) because they last so much longer. Between 90k and 130k most cars will need suspension work, including some items that require alignment - so I began buying a lifetime alignment from Firestone for $150-$180.

Does Firestone do a great alignment? No idea, but I have not had tire wear problems and they have no incentive to sell me another alignment. If one store does a poor job I can go to another. Of course they often list 5 other repairs they want to sell you, but I just say no, I have my own mechanic. Now they don't bother bringing any items up. It probably helps that I have Bridgestone tires from that shop on all my cars.

The local expert alignment place has changed hands, will not tell you what an alignment costs (that depends, they say, we may have to build special parts for your car so we can adjust it properly), and has plenty of bad reviews alongside good ones.