align or realign wheels?

[ysun]

Hi, m8s,

My car is in the garage and the machinist is replacing new tires. He asked me if I want to align or realign the tires or wheels which I didn't listen clearly, he said it's good for new tires. Replacing tires is $14 each, but align or realign something is $60. Does anyone know what's that? Is it necessary to do it?

Thanks!

[Mike Gerber]

If you haven't had the wheels aligned in the last 50,000 miles, or don't know the last time the car had an alignment, I would suggest doing it. Simply put, an alignment puts the wheels back to factory specs, as far as all their angles to contacting the road surface. This should increase the treadware longevity of the new tires.

Mike

[torontocamry]

balance the wheels*

[ysun]

Thanks for the replies. Is $60 a reasonable price on alignment?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by ysun

Thanks for the replies. Is $60 a reasonable price on alignment?

Yes.

Mike

[torontocamry]

it depends. On a laser alignment, yes thats a good deal.

[xtremeskier97]

I went to Firestone and got a lifetime alignment for about $160. I can have the wheels aligned every year and not have to pay a dime more. Got this on both the Camrys. Well worth it with the roads around here. Not to mention, if I replace shocks or wheel components, I can still get it aligned free of charge.

[ysun]

Does anyone know how long the whole alignment operation take? Thanks.

[flyeri]

normally 30 min of actual work including test drive, setup, adjust, test drive.

[ysun]

Thanks, m8s. How do I check the alignment works better or not after the adjustment?