When and where to get tire alignment

[schumionbike]

I just recently had all 4 of my tires changes at Walmart. I heard that you should get an alignment when ever you change your tires. Well, turn out Walmart doesn't do alignment and neither does Discount Tires which is odd. Anyway, it is absolutely necessary that you get an alignment when you replaces your tires? btw, I didn't really notice that the old tires were excessively worn on one side or anything. It's hard to make sure if the my track is straight cause the road is always crooked so it's hard to tell, nothing seem really off though.

Second, I live in the south Houston area (Pearland), where do you guys reccomend for alignment services? The only place I know is Firestone Tire, they have this lifetime alignment thing which seem to be an overkill, it doesn't seem like you need to get an alignment every 6K miles. Anyway, let me know if you have any recommendation as to where to get it done. Thanks.

[TrailDust]

Given the number of potholes hit, curbs accidentally driven over, etc., it adds up over the life of a set of tires. IMO it ought to be done as a matter of course with each new set, and that would be for both axles. Opinions vary, but I'd say get it aligned.

[JohnGD]

Well, getting an alignment when you get a new set of tires (every 40-60K miles?) helps to prolong the life of the tires. Primarily because it's a convenient time to try to catch alignment issues, but not a mandatory time to do so.

Swapping old tires out however also takes away the signs the shop can use to determine alignment problems.

But I think it's a good idea to get an alignment at least once after the first 24-30K miles. The reason is that the suspension components (coil springs for example) settle down and sag a bit. If you notice unusual wear patterns then do it as necessary. Sags typically change alignment angles.

I'd find one using a later model Hunter equipment. Check references from tuner friends I guess. They should know where good shops are.

http://www.hunter.com/PUB/product/AL...TEMS/index.htm

Originally Posted by schumionbike

I just recently had all 4 of my tires changes at Walmart. I heard that you should get an alignment when ever you change your tires. Well, turn out Walmart doesn't do alignment and neither does Discount Tires which is odd. Anyway, it is absolutely necessary that you get an alignment when you replaces your tires? btw, I didn't really notice that the old tires were excessively worn on one side or anything. It's hard to make sure if the my track is straight cause the road is always crooked so it's hard to tell, nothing seem really off though.

Second, I live in the south Houston area (Pearland), where do you guys reccomend for alignment services? The only place I know is Firestone Tire, they have this lifetime alignment thing which seem to be an overkill, it doesn't seem like you need to get an alignment every 6K miles. Anyway, let me know if you have any recommendation as to where to get it done. Thanks.

[tht1gurl]

You've got a Midas:
http://4401broadway.midashoustontx.c...language=en-US

^I would recommend Midas, my mom goes there for her car maintenance. They treat her well and are on a first name basis; I will acknowledge the possibility that your Midas may not be as homey as ours is.

http://brakeandalignment.com/

^The website is under construction but I think they're worth checking out if they claim to be specialists in this area.

http://www.brakecheck.com/index.php?...per&Itemid=112

^Look at the right sidebar and you'll see that they do alignment checks.

[fenixus]

for wheel balancing it's easy, go to www.tirerack.com and pick Recommended Installer link somewhere over there. then by zip code you get the local ones and can see details about each including machine type and model used for installation and balancing.

for wheel alignment i usually go to Firestone, last time used them with a set of new tires, paid $75+tax for alignment of both axles. not sure what equipment they have, but they do it good, usually lasts 3-4 years unless i start hitting potholes like crazy.

[ricamryman]

I get free lifetime alignment at FireStone for my Camry!......Anytime, as much as I need it!.....For the life of my car! Which will be a very long time!....

[importcar]

How mch do you pay for lifetime alignment?

[schumionbike]

I'm debating the Firestone deal too, I think the lifetime alignment cost a good 170 or so versus 70 for standard 4 wheel alignment. My car have 182 on it and I don't know how many alignments I'm really going to need.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by schumionbike

I'm debating the Firestone deal too, I think the lifetime alignment cost a good 170 or so versus 70 for standard 4 wheel alignment. My car have 182 on it and I don't know how many alignments I'm really going to need.

last time i was in firestone they had lifetime alignment deal at $139 on promo, i didn't take it tough haha...

[BamZipPow]

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/offers/

FREE Alignment Check* + 15% Off Standard or Lifetime Wheel Alignment
*Free alignment check with tire purchase.

Offer valid from May 1-31, 2010

[ricamryman]

Originally Posted by importcar

How mch do you pay for lifetime alignment?

I paid approx. $140.00 a year ago! Had three alignments since!....

[schumionbike]

So I went to Firestone today, I actually had that coupon too but it's not valid because I didnt' purchase any tires. The guys told me that the car inner tie rod is worn and need to be replace and that the alignment can on got so far this time. The price they give me was 478 before tax which I thought was steep, so I decline the work. Any recommendation on this issue?

And yes, 140 for lifetime alignment but this might be the last alignment for the car

[JohnGD]

3 times in a year? So what happened?

Originally Posted by ricamryman

I paid approx. $140.00 a year ago! Had three alignments since!....

[fenixus]

man i usually do it when changing tires every 4 years or so, you might need to replace some parts if alignment gets screwed up so often

[JohnGD]

Do you feel the steering is loose in your daily driving?

Turn the wheel full right to gain access to the left tie rod. Grab the tie rod and try to move it in/out/up/down/left/right. And hold it with an assistant trying to turn the steering wheel back and forth (engine off, parking brake applied, necessary precautions, etc etc). Do you feel any play in the tie rod? Do the same on the other side.

You just have to make sure the tech didn't have a sales quota to meet. You can always get a second opinion. If the inner tie rod is bad, you might as well replace the whole steering rack. You can order a reman rack from an online Toyota dealer or get an A1 Cardone with lifetime warranty. Not sure if dealers source from Cardone however.

http://www.cardone.com/English/Club/...ht/default.asp

Originally Posted by schumionbike

So I went to Firestone today, I actually had that coupon too but it's not valid because I didnt' purchase any tires. The guys told me that the car inner tie rod is worn and need to be replace and that the alignment can on got so far this time. The price they give me was 478 before tax which I thought was steep, so I decline the work. Any recommendation on this issue?

And yes, 140 for lifetime alignment but this might be the last alignment for the car