Alignment and New Tires and now the ride feels off or maybe just different

Mid December I noticed the inner edge tread on the front right tire was bald while the outer tread had plenty of life left. Drivers side was bad too but not bald. Called a friend in the offroad truck business for an alignment recommendation and got it in same day. I learned my lesson that I did this backwards. I should have had new tires put on first. 2 days later I had new tires put on and took it back to the alignment shop and had them do their thing again. Attached are the reports from both alignments and I labelled them 1st and 2nd attempt.

Just got back from a holiday road trip that was over 300 miles each way. I noticed at highway speeds the steering feels weird. Its like the steering is constantly course correcting on its own. On smoother newer asphalt it feels as it should smooth and straight and the steering is settled. On the older stuff you can feel the steering wheel moving in your hands. And it definitely has bump steer going on. I frequent this route so I can can say prior to the new tires and alignment I didn't experience this.

A couple more details that may be helpful. 2018 TRD Offroad DCSB. Old tires were Nitto Ridge Grappler's 265 70 16. New tires are Falken Wildpeak AT3's 265 75 16. 3ply vs 10ply. Tire pressure is a bit higher with the new tires as I was told running the old tires at 30 psi was not right. I am now running the new tires are 35 psi. I am 99% sure the alignment ship did not take into account my 1.5" lift over stock. The truck was aligned after I installed the new Elka Suspension 2 years ago.

My questions for you guys. Please have a look at the Old values on the 1st attempt and the New values on the 2nd attempt. Based on my concerns about the steering feel would you take the truck to another shop and have them look it over and try to align it again if need be? Or am I just experiencing the stiffer sidewalls of the Wildpeaks and the higher psi?

 

Alignment looks fine. Only thing I notice is the your truck had a camber offset to compensate for road crown which is commonly done but it your case caused premature wear, both alignments look fine.

 

Thanks for your feedback. So if you were me would you skip having someone else look at it? Is the steering feel just the result of the different tires?

 

Looks good. It's the tires. The 10 plys are stiffer, and the sidewall doesn't wiggle much. So when you catch the tire ruts on the road, you feel it more then you used to.

 

Awesome! Thank you for the feedback. I will move on and just enjoy the new tires.

 

Just so you know, your tires have nothing to do with your alignment. The reason they say to do the alignment after you get new tires is because people think that the alignment will stop tire wear which it won't. Looking at your numbers, it doesn't look like anything changed with your second print out. Most likely they just pushed up on the bumper or had a big guy sit in the seat because the numbers changed slightly. It does look good. Nothing to worry about with your alignment as previously stated by the others.

 

Reduce your new 10ply tire pressure as well.
I run 40 psi in 235-85-16 on my 6000lb GMC K2500...

 

After the first alignment and the new tires it drove straight and true under acceleration and hard braking. There were two reasons I went back the second time. The main one was the steering wheel was not straight it was way off to the right. And secondly I just wanted them to check the alignment with good tires.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

Tires probably play a part in it. 10 ply is a big difference.

not to be a person to start an argument of doubting your choices….but can I ask why you went with 10 ply? Our trucks are light and the sl load would have been fine. I run those and aired down to 14 psi multiple times and gone over many rocky terrains. 40k miles so far and seems on.

 

Technically to achieve proper load ratings he should be at 38psi but everyone runs what they want. To your point reducing it would make things more comfortable.

 

I think you might have some misconceptions about alignment jobs. AFAIK, an alignment does not depend on your tires or your current ride height. However, your alignment will change if you change your ride height, so typically people get an alignment after lifting their truck. As long as your alignment was done at your current ride height, you are good. The alignment shop doesn't need to take your lift into consideration.

My guess is that you are feeling the difference in the tires.

FYI, 3ply, 6ply, etc is outdated terminology. Modern tire ratings are LL, SL, XL for passenger (P) tires and B, C, D, E, F for Light Truck (LT) tires.

Here's a good article on tire load ratings.

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/1407-understanding-tire-load-ratings/

 

It wasn't my goal to go E rated. I liked the feedback these tires received here on the forum.

 

I only got the alignment done due to the uneven wear on the front tires. Someone told me that if you don't mention the lift the tech will go with the software provided mfg's specs for stock ride height. Is that not correct?

 

Good alignment tech, should recognize that it has a lift. If not he shouldn't be doing alignment/mechanical work.

 

Doesn't really answer my question. Also, it can't hurt to mention it. No loss.

 

I do not think lift height has any bearing on the alignment specs nor do I think the alignment machines have any way of knowing if the truck has a lift. So no, I do not think you need to mention it to the tech. You can however ask them to align the truck out of spec. For example you could ask for more caster. You can also ask them to move the wheel forward to gain clearance for larger tires.

 

Understood. Thank you. I appreciate the information.