New wheels, new tires, need alignment?

I somehow got my wife to give the ok on buying new wheels and tires for '09 DC TRD Sport. I'm getting 16x8 mojave's and 265/75/16 BFG AT/KOs (woohoo!). My mechanic is insisting that I get a wheel alignment and not just the balancing. Do I really need to get it done? Luckily (or unluckily), the wheels are back ordered to mid/late July...so i had some time to ponder this. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

it's probably not a bad idea.

 

I didn't and it tracks straight as an arrow. It won't hurt anything to do it so if you want to pay for it go right ahead.

 

No not needed. Guy is just trying to make an extra buck.

 

^agreed... not needed

 

^^ agreed

 

yeah like they said. not needed but maybe a good idea if you have the coin

 

I got an alignment done for the first time after 5 1/2 years on mine (installed 5100's). The toe in/toe out which is usually what needs adjustment was still perfect. Personally, unless you see an indicator that it might be out of alignment (uneven tire wire on the worn out set of tires, pulling to one side, steering shake, or you've run into things like curbs really hard with one tire), then I think it's a waste of money. But a lot of tire shops will tell you to get it done each time you get a new set of tires (I wonder why? $$$). Well, I went through three sets before my first alignment and there still weren't any problems!

And remember that if you're going to 265/75 on aftermarket wheels without any lift, you MIGHT need to do some trimming or removal of mudflaps. The 265/75 is the largest size you can go on STOCK rims without rubbing (people tend to forget that little important bit of info).

 

^^ Agree, except for the part about vibrations (alignment will not cause vibrations). If your current tires are not wearing irregularly and the truck is tracking properly then there is no need for an alignment just because you get new tires.

 

I said steering shake, not vibrations. Steering shake will occur if the toe out is well out of adjustment. Had this problem on past cars (Rx7 for one...and yes, the toe out was severely out of spec. Thought I'd add that here in response to Aero's post below mine.). In those cases, it usually will shake when accelerating and ease up when decelerating. But with the Taco's, I will say that steering shake is usually not caused by an alignment but rather improperly balanced tires.

 

I did alignments for 10 years, and never once saw a vibration or steering shake due to alignment. I would imagine if the tires a SEVERELY toed in or out, then yeah, the car may actually hop from the sideways friction.

 

Hey, thanks for the warning. I guess all the discussions on here have been about the largest you can go on stock SUSPENSION. well, hopefully this tool I used (http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp) was right about clearance.