Do I need an alignment?
11-03-2008 | 07:26 PM
#1
Thread Starter
JK Jedi
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 4,470
Likes: 1
From: Westchester, NY
Do I need an alignment?
Ok, so I switched from the SRAs to BFG MT tires at about 8,000 miles. I have 12,000 miles now and rotated the tires once since getting them. Keep in mind the BFG's were used tires but looked good when I got em. Lately I notice my front end is shaky when hitting a bump, the steering is flighty and the wheel wobbles anywhere from 40 to 60 MPH at random times. Most importantly the outer tires are wearing badly. They are scalloped. I have tried rebalancing twice but still have these issues. I have never had an alignment, could an alignment fix these issues?
11-04-2008 | 12:45 AM
#2
JK Junkie
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,472
Likes: 4
From: Virginia Woods
If these tires are much heavier than stock they have raised the unsprung weight higher than your stock shocks can effectively control. A bouncing wheel/tire combo will wear the tire each time it ''comes down'' from a bounce causing cupping and vibration. New very firm shocks will help in mileage and driving satisfaction with oversize tire combos. For max wear rotate 'em every 3-4000 miles...
11-04-2008 | 06:23 AM
#5
JK Jedi
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 7,213
Likes: 7
From: Georgia
Ok, so I switched from the SRAs to BFG MT tires at about 8,000 miles. I have 12,000 miles now and rotated the tires once since getting them. Keep in mind the BFG's were used tires but looked good when I got em. Lately I notice my front end is shaky when hitting a bump, the steering is flighty and the wheel wobbles anywhere from 40 to 60 MPH at random times. Most importantly the outer tires are wearing badly. They are scalloped. I have tried rebalancing twice but still have these issues. I have never had an alignment, could an alignment fix these issues?
If this was due to the tires being heavier, they would be wearing on the inside edge, because they would be toed out more than the old tires were going down the road. I bet dollars to doughnuts that if you really inspect the old tires very closely, you will see they are worn on the outside edge as well, though perhaps not as badly. Although difficult at best to diagnose online, I am going to say that you have too much toe in that's causing the tire wear problem. Usually the only way to correct the tire wear that has come from this is with a truing maching, and of course a good alignment. I would recommend going down to around zero to .10 degree total toe. This is only .05 on each side max. I like measuring toe in degrees, as this is more precise. Good luck finding a shop with a truing machine, though. It is unfortunately, a lost art and not many shops do it anymore.