Wheel Alignment

[Npath]

I was shopping for new tires and at the end of the discussion, he suggested a wheel alignment.

Is it recommended to get a wheel alignment after installing brand new tires, or is he trying to get more money out of me.

I've got 50,000 Km. (31K miles).

Recently, during a tire rotation, I noticed some cracks within the groove of the treads. I filled the cracked area and don't see air bubbles, so I think it would be OK for the time being.

[disallow]

I was shopping for new tires and at the end of the discussion, he suggested a wheel alignment.

Is it recommended to get a wheel alignment after installing brand new tires, or is he trying to get more money out of me.

I've got 50,000 Km. (31K miles).

Recently, during a tire rotation, I noticed some cracks within the groove of the treads. I filled the cracked area and don't see air bubbles, so I think it would be OK for the time being.

I would recommend it. It ensures they can't come after you later if you have a warranty claim on the tires for 'lack of maintenance'.

I have a 08 civic, and got new tires put on it at 8000kms. They offered a free alignment inspection, which I figured I would defer until the vehicle was older. In retrospect, I should have taken the inspection, and would have probably needed an alignment. The reason I replaced the tires at such a low mileage was because I thought the tires were horrible. (Goodyear Eagle RS-As) Every time I hit a patch of ice, I thought I was going to end up in the ditch. And yet people would be passing me while I had to limit my speed to 80kph or less to feel safe. The new tires (Nokian WRG2s) are winter-all season hybrids, and were much better. Still felt a little squirrelly on ice, so the next winter at 35000kms, I took it in to an alignment shop. My alignment was WAY off. However, since I had driven so much, I couldn't go back to the Honda dealer. But it wasn't bad on the ice anymore, so I can only deduce that the alignment was off from the factory.

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[Budrbean]

You'd be surprised how easy it is to mess an alignment up. In my opinion it should be checked every 10,000 miles if you want your tires to last. Thats why when I bought my tires at Firestone I bought the lifetime alignment. I paid $120 and for as long as I own the vehicle I can take it in and get it aligned for no additional charge. They told me I can bring it in as often as I like, even every oil change if thats what I want. Considering each alignment costs $70 otherwise, cant go wrong. Get the alignment, its not a selling point. And if you dont believe that then get them to print out the alignment and it will show you what is out of whack. A high percentage of vehicles arent even aligned properly from the factory.

[Sven1olaf]

imo absolutely get an alignment done with a full set of new rubber. also, it is very important to rotate at regular intervals.

i am going to start a 5 wheel rotation at every oil change with my set.

[Npath]

You'd be surprised how easy it is to mess an alignment up. In my opinion it should be checked every 10,000 miles if you want your tires to last. Thats why when I bought my tires at Firestone I bought the lifetime alignment. I paid $120 and for as long as I own the vehicle I can take it in and get it aligned for no additional charge. They told me I can bring it in as often as I like, even every oil change if thats what I want. Considering each alignment costs $70 otherwise, cant go wrong. Get the alignment, its not a selling point. And if you dont believe that then get them to print out the alignment and it will show you what is out of whack. A high percentage of vehicles arent even aligned properly from the factory.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I will definitely get a wheel alignment with my next set of new tires. Lifetime alignment sounds good as I have lifetime oil changes at my local Nissan dealership where I bought the SUV, new.