New tires and wheels installed/alignment

Hi all,

I just bought a new Tacoma off-road and installed new wheels and tires at 300 miles.

Would you guys suggest and alignment? I was thinking I might not need one. I can't really tell but it does seem I'm pulling to the right very very slightly but it could just be the road leaning to the right.

Would this be a waist of money on a new truck or is an alignment recommended with a new wheel and tire change?

Thanks

 

If you have 300 miles on the truck, the dealer will check the alignment for free.

 

I’ve had 2 alignments done on my truck and they were both covered under warranty. I believe they’re covered until 10k or 12k miles if I recall. Call up your dealership and ask!

 

They still cover it with new wheels and tires put on?

 

Did my wheels and tires about the same mileage as yours, and never had it aligned. It's been perfect.

However, if it's pulling, it needs to be checked.

G.

 

I have 1100 miles on my Tacoma. Since new it will drift (not pull) towards the passenger side on a pitched road.
If your truck pulls toward the pitch then I would be worried.

 

The only way to know if you need an alignment is to have it checked. I wouldn't assume that it was aligned before you bought it and if you put money into new tires, and extra $100 for an alignment is money well spent. Most places will check it for free. I can almost guarantee you that it will need some adjustment.

 

Some tires have radial pull that favor the passenger-side...looking at you Cooper.

It's normal for these to have a 'bad' alignment from the factory.
Whether it's set-up that way or breaks-in that way; who knows, who cares?
I'd wait until 1,000 miles, let things settle in then get an alignment.

 

I’m at the dealer now and they drove my truck over some sensors that check the tires and the alignment. It shows the alignment is off. They also told me after they took it back that the alignment is off pretty bad. I guess it wasn’t aligned correctly at the factory or something.

They said they are covering it under warranty even with the new wheels and tires since that wouldn’t be causing any alignment issues and since it only has 600 miles on it.

 

That is a stand up dealer. Most wouldn't be so nice.

 

Yeah they’ve been pretty nice so far.

 

It’s still pulling to the right not sure why maybe I should just leave it as is. The mechanic left after they aligned it so they said to come back in the morning to have him ride with me.

 

This is before they aligned it.

Possibly a bad tire since it’s still pulling?

 

You need to post the alignment specs. That sheet looks like it is from a Hunter Quick Check machine which is less than accurate and doesn't measure caster which is what would cause the pull. It could very well be a tire pull, but knowing the caster would help.

 

I’m here again now so I’ll see if I can get a detailed sheet on it.

 

If you are there, you might as well ask them to cross rotate the front tires. If the tires are causing the pull, it will either go away (typical if your pull is to the right) or start to pull the opposite way.

 

They just came and told me the back is out of alignment pretty bad as well. They said the front was out bad too so kind of strange but they said it’s going to take a while so I’m heading to work and will update once I come back later.

 

must be a good dealer to be able to align the rear, if it pulls alittle right like mine did, i swapped the front tires and goes straight as can be.. sometimes its just a tire thing.

 

Might be time to run. The rear is not adjustable. If it is pretty bad, then something must be bent. My guess is they probably do not know what they are doing. That is common with dealers and alignments. They don't have dedicated techs and probably not familiar with the equipment.

 

Like I said earlier in my post, if your truck is on a crowned road a little drift to the passenger side is OK by my book. If you are on a flat plane and it is happening, then maybe check the alignment. If on a crowned road and it drifts towards the centerline, for sure check alignment. In my 50 years behind the wheel I have had a few alignments come back worse than when went in.