Alignment After New Tires or Suspension Work

Should I have my alignment checked with new tires?

Many drivers choose to have the alignment checked when they put on new tires. The reasoning is simple: if the angles are off, a fresh set of tires can start wearing unevenly right away, and you will have just paid for them.

A check also tells you whether the old tires were wearing evenly. If they were, the angles are probably fine. If they were not, you have learned something useful before it repeats on the new set.

Which repairs and events call for an alignment check?

Any time a part that sets the position of the wheel is replaced or disturbed, the geometry can change. Common examples include:

• Steering parts: tie rods and other components that connect the steering to the wheels.
• Suspension parts: control arms, ball joints, struts and similar pieces that locate the wheel.
• A hard impact: a pothole or curb strike that may have shifted the angles.
• New symptoms: pulling, an off-center steering wheel or uneven tire wear.

Your owner manual and the technician can tell you which repairs on your specific vehicle affect the alignment.

What do toe, camber and caster mean?

These are the three main angles an alignment measures, and each one is simpler than it sounds:

• Toe: look down at your feet. If your toes point slightly toward each other or away from each other, that is toe. For a car, it is whether the fronts of the tires point slightly in or out when viewed from above.
• Camber: viewed from the front, it is whether the top of the tire leans in or out. A perfectly upright tire has zero camber.
• Caster: the forward or backward tilt of the steering axis when viewed from the side. It influences steering stability and how the wheel returns to center after a turn.

What happens during an alignment check?

A technician measures the angles and compares them to the manufacturer specification. They also look over the steering and suspension parts, since a worn part can prevent the car from holding an adjustment.

If the angles are within specification, you leave with that answer. If not, they can be adjusted, and if a part is the reason, you will know what needs attention first.