Noob needs advice!

[kPanda]

I have a 04 LE Camry Stock and my rear passenger tire recently went flat on me while I was driving... Took it in to a local tire shop and had them check it out, good thing I wasn't driving on the freeway when it blew on me. The tech at the shop told me 3/4 of my tires were worn out and its a good thing i came by.

So I ended up replacing all 4 tires.

Here's my question: I have approx. 92k miles and the tires have been swapped out twice. Do I need to get a wheel alignment?

Thanks in advance!

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by kPanda

I have a 04 LE Camry Stock and my rear passenger tire recently went flat on me while I was driving... Took it in to a local tire shop and had them check it out, good thing I wasn't driving on the freeway when it blew on me. The tech at the shop told me 3/4 of my tires were worn out and its a good thing i came by.

So I ended up replacing all 4 tires.

Here's my question: I have approx. 92k miles and the tires have been swapped out twice. Do I need to get a wheel alignment?

Thanks in advance!

the tire tech should have recommended it, especially since you do have that many miles. but then too, a full suspension inspection should have taken place to make sure you do not have any excessively worn parts. many others things are in play here like: how is the car driven, like you stole it?, is the tire inflation checked and adjusted monthly? are good quality tires being purchased? (pirelli's(sp?) stink). is someone driving the car using curbs to stop the car? is hard cornering happening each and every day?

the "factory" tires on just about any car, will last approx 40,000 to 50,000 miles. mid priced tires, about 60 to 75,000 miles. so, you are either abusing the car, or buying the cheapest tires there are.

[kPanda]

Originally Posted by Glenn8963

the tire tech should have recommended it, especially since you do have that many miles. but then too, a full suspension inspection should have taken place to make sure you do not have any excessively worn parts. many others things are in play here like: how is the car driven, like you stole it?, is the tire inflation checked and adjusted monthly? are good quality tires being purchased? (pirelli's(sp?) stink). is someone driving the car using curbs to stop the car? is hard cornering happening each and every day?

the "factory" tires on just about any car, will last approx 40,000 to 50,000 miles. mid priced tires, about 60 to 75,000 miles. so, you are either abusing the car, or buying the cheapest tires there are.

This was a family car before it was handed down to me. My parents drove it around and the first tire swap was around 50k~ miles. The second wasnt a complete swap, because only two of the tires were replaced when I ran over a wooden log on all 4 wheels that was dropped on the freeway. It was dead in the center of my lane and it felt like running over a speed bump going 80 mph. I immediately stopped and checked, also noticed 3-4 more cars pulled off to the side that also might have ran over/hit the same thing.

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by kPanda

I have a 04 LE Camry Stock and my rear passenger tire recently went flat on me while I was driving... Took it in to a local tire shop and had them check it out, good thing I wasn't driving on the freeway when it blew on me. The tech at the shop told me 3/4 of my tires were worn out and its a good thing i came by.

So I ended up replacing all 4 tires.

Here's my question: I have approx. 92k miles and the tires have been swapped out twice. Do I need to get a wheel alignment?

Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by kPanda

This was a family car before it was handed down to me. My parents drove it around and the first tire swap was around 50k~ miles. The second wasnt a complete swap, because only two of the tires were replaced when I ran over a wooden log on all 4 wheels that was dropped on the freeway. It was dead in the center of my lane and it felt like running over a speed bump going 80 mph. I immediately stopped and checked, also noticed 3-4 more cars pulled off to the side that also might have ran over/hit the same thing.

ok then, you may very well have front end damage. you may have put the tires out of camber, or pushed back the caster, and toe adjustments, by bending something at the highway speed you were doing. the car needs to be checked out completely for bent parts, then if so, they need to be replaced. since your folks got 50k miles on the car, what i said is true, that's about how long tires will last on average from the factory. you only got "about" 40k on your last set. this can be due to the timing of the log incident. was the log incident recent as of this year?? i also suspect the wheels themselves are not true and round. you need to spend the money and take the car to a real front end shop, not pep boys, or any discount repair shop. go to a real tire dealer, or even a dealership. all you need is a complete inspection first, then have them check the alignment, which they charge for this service, and this is not even making any adjustments. its checking only.

[thrawnis]

Short answer: Get an alignment if you haven't gotten one within the last couple sets of tires.

I get an alignment every two sets of tires unless something special occurred (tire blowout, etc.).

[kPanda]

The log incident happened last year, it has been about 9 months now, but I got the car fully serviced and checked out (family body shop) after the incident happened.

There seems to be nothing significantly wrong with the suspensions or internals (unless he had already replaced the parts). Although 2 of the rims have dents in them from the log incident but the tire guy told me i didn't have the replace the rims because no air was leaking. I have no problems while driving, and no weird sounds coming from the suspensions.

My only concern is the wheel alignment after this recent tire swap and if it is necessary? Does it improve tire and driving conditions? Benefits?

There seems to be nothing wrong with the car so I just wanted some input.

[Dave-o]

Originally Posted by kPanda

The log incident happened last year, it has been about 9 months now, but I got the car fully serviced and checked out (family body shop) after the incident happened.

There seems to be nothing significantly wrong with the suspensions or internals (unless he had already replaced the parts). Although 2 of the rims have dents in them from the log incident but the tire guy told me i didn't have the replace the rims because no air was leaking. I have no problems while driving, and no weird sounds coming from the suspensions.

My only concern is the wheel alignment after this recent tire swap and if it is necessary? Does it improve tire and driving conditions? Benefits?

There seems to be nothing wrong with the car so I just wanted some input.

doesn't cost much for an alignment check, it's worth getting it checked

[kPanda]

Thx guys!

I'm deciding to get springs also, so I will go ahead and get the wheel alignment after i get the springs installed.