• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Buying tires & 4 wheel alignment.

skijay

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
911
Points
16
Location
MA
How come when you go to a national tire chain or retail store that sells tires they insist on selling a 4 wheel alignment. They make it sound as if it's "mandatory" when buying new tires. My OEM tires at 43k still look great but the winter performance is not as good as it was the previous two winters. I do not see any uneven wear and have the tire rotated every 7,500 miles or so. In fact my rotations have been done at the dealership and they never mentioned any uneven wear. (They also do alignments)

I have found a decent set of new tires at Costco - where they don't do alignments. Included is lifetime rotation and road hazard. I would prefer to buy here as they have the brand and the size I need (225 / 55R /17) which seems to be a hard to find passenger car tire (not an SUV tire).

What do people do regarding the alignment?

Oh, my previous vehicle a Saturn VUE had front end / rear wheel (wheel bearings, control arms, suspension bushings, front drive shaft, etc.) issues from day one and many parts were replaced from about 10,000 to 100,000 under warranty / extended warranty that required alignments and those were all covered under the warranty.
 

ski stef

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
1,029
Points
36
Location
Breckenridge, Colo.
not sure but i usually always get an alignment after i switch tires over or put new ones on. My car came with an extra set of rims and snow tires so I switched them over myself. I didn't think I'd need to bring it in but my wheel was shaky for a while at higher speeds and didn't feel right. I think it was just two of the tires needed to be balanced. I don't think alignments are very expensive ($60?) ..if your car doesn't feel right after the new tires are put on get it aligned.
 

Terry

Well-known member
Joined
May 9, 2004
Messages
2,215
Points
48
Location
Fryeburg Maine
They do it for 2 reasons. #1 to upsell service to get you for more money and hopefully sell you some front end parts as well.#2 to help cover their ass so the tires don't wear out prematurely due to alignment issues and then they have a pissed off customer because they didn't get the advertised life out of the tires.
 

wa-loaf

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
15,109
Points
48
Location
Mordor
Since you are in Mass. Direct Tire does not push the alignments on you and their prices are as good as the other chains. Also do free remounting of Snows if you buy them from them. I bought my snows from them 3 years ago and they are still swapping them for nothing. I'm talking about a full remount and balance too, not just switching separate wheel sets.
 

mlctvt

Active member
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
1,533
Points
38
Location
CT
If your previous tires were wearing perfectly normal, you get no weird feedback through the steering wheel and you didn't change any suspension components there is no need for a wheel alignment.
I've had cars go 10 years without needing a wheel alignment, tire wear and everything esle was normal.
 
Last edited:

hammer

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
5,493
Points
38
Location
flatlands of Mass.
If your previous tires were wearing perfectly normal, you get no wierd feedback through the steering wheel and you didn't change any suspension components there is no need for a wheel alignment.
I've had cars go 10 years without needing a wheel alignment, tire wear and everything esle was normal.
Same here but I think I'll go with the alignment on my next tire purchase...did some checking around and my specific vehicle make/model is known to be a little more finicky WRT alignments and tires. Think it will be $60-$80 well spent.
 

skijay

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
911
Points
16
Location
MA
I went to Sears to price the tires I want and when I got the estimate, the alignment was automatically tacked on. The other item was the $51 each for new TPMS sensors. I need them after 40,000 miles.

I'm liking Costco for the tires..
 

hammer

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
5,493
Points
38
Location
flatlands of Mass.
I went to Sears to price the tires I want and when I got the estimate, the alignment was automatically tacked on. The other item was the $51 each for new TPMS sensors. I need them after 40,000 miles.

I'm liking Costco for the tires..
Why would you need new sensors after 40K miles?

I checked Costco out for new tires and all they would recommend were tires costing close to $200/each. Searches on TireRack brought up recommended tires costing much less.
 

SkiFanE

New member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Messages
1,260
Points
0
Location
New England
I don't know how anyone could live and commute in the Boston area w/o getting an alignment every now and then. We usually buy 4 tires at a time and get one then. I hit potholes, curbs, everything all the time. There a big pothole on 128 I try to avoid every single morning...sometimes I remember, sometimes not lol, been there about a year. Guess I treat my cars like skis haha.
 

skijay

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
911
Points
16
Location
MA
Trying to find a great all season tire that has longevity, great for dry and wet pavement and good for the snow is not that easy. Since 1991 I have always had dedicated snows (4) on each FWD or RWD car that I had owned. So I would purchase a good quality "summer" tire and Blizzak for the winter. Very easy.

Does anybody have any experience with Michelin Primacy MXVX, Toyo Versado LX II or Mastercraft Touring LSR tires?

What do drivers here with Audi, BMW (with X-drive), Mercedes (4 Matic), Volvo (AWD models), VW (4Motion) or Subaru, or other AWD cars (not SUV) use for an all season tire, that you drive with in the winter? Thanks
 

o3jeff

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Messages
9,792
Points
0
Location
Southington, CT
I've read good things about the Continental DWS over on the Acura(RDX) board, will probably be my next set of tires.
 

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
I just put a set of the Conti DWS's on our 02 A6 quattro. We've got maybe 1500 miles on them so far? I'm very impressed with them! The fist thing I noticed was how quiet they are. They ride very smooth as well. I haven't had them in deep snow, but in a light coating, they were excellent. They perform great in the rain. Our road in VT has experienced some "mini" mud seasons with the warmup. No issues there...traction control didn't even kick on.

We've never had the A6 aligned since we've owned it. Tirewear has always been even. I've had the Jeep aligned a few times, but that's because I've replaced a few links in the steering system.
 

hammer

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
5,493
Points
38
Location
flatlands of Mass.
I've read good things about the Continental DWS over on the Acura(RDX) board, will probably be my next set of tires.

I just put a set of the Conti DWS's on our 02 A6 quattro. We've got maybe 1500 miles on them so far? I'm very impressed with them! The fist thing I noticed was how quiet they are. They ride very smooth as well. I haven't had them in deep snow, but in a light coating, they were excellent. They perform great in the rain. Our road in VT has experienced some "mini" mud seasons with the warmup. No issues there...traction control didn't even kick on.

We've never had the A6 aligned since we've owned it. Tirewear has always been even. I've had the Jeep aligned a few times, but that's because I've replaced a few links in the steering system.

I've also read some good reviews of the Continental DWS tires over on swedespeed.com. Only downside I read is that the sidewalls aren't quite as stiff. I still have some usable tread on the OEM tires so I'm waiting for now...
 

o3jeff

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Messages
9,792
Points
0
Location
Southington, CT
I've also read some good reviews of the Continental DWS tires over on swedespeed.com. Only downside I read is that the sidewalls aren't quite as stiff. I still have some usable tread on the OEM tires so I'm waiting for now...

What are you putting them on? I have Michelins on my car which are known for soft sidewalls so I am not worried about the Conti's. Have read that some people didn't get a lot of mileage out of them but others have so who knows.
 

hammer

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
5,493
Points
38
Location
flatlands of Mass.
What are you putting them on? I have Michelins on my car which are known for soft sidewalls so I am not worried about the Conti's. Have read that some people didn't get a lot of mileage out of them but others have so who knows.
I have a Volvo S40 which has Michelin MXV4s on it now. They are a bit noisy and have been getting noisier with wear, and the snow traction is not that good even for an all-season tire, but I'm up to over 43K on them so I can't complain too much.

One other big advantage on the Contis is cost...Michelins run close to $200/tire and the DWS is in the $130-$150/tire range.
 

drjeff

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,430
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn, CT
It drives me crazy (sorry about the pun ;) ) when i'm following behind a car that is obviously out of alignment as you can see by it's back and front ends NOT tracking on the same line! :eek: For some reason, these folks also seem to very often be the ones that refuse to get out of the left lane while driving 1-2 mph below the speed limit :mad:
 

Geoff

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
5,100
Points
48
Location
South Dartmouth, Ma
Trying to find a great all season tire that has longevity, great for dry and wet pavement and good for the snow is not that easy. Since 1991 I have always had dedicated snows (4) on each FWD or RWD car that I had owned. So I would purchase a good quality "summer" tire and Blizzak for the winter. Very easy.

Does anybody have any experience with Michelin Primacy MXVX, Toyo Versado LX II or Mastercraft Touring LSR tires?

What do drivers here with Audi, BMW (with X-drive), Mercedes (4 Matic), Volvo (AWD models), VW (4Motion) or Subaru, or other AWD cars (not SUV) use for an all season tire, that you drive with in the winter? Thanks


How about the Nokian WRG2? Nokian calls it "All Season Plus". I know several people who use them year 'round on Subarus. It's not a true snow tire because the rubber compound is too hard but it's a pretty good compromise for somebody who drives up from the flatlands every weekend and doesn't want to swap tires.

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11899&

imageloader
 

skijay

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
911
Points
16
Location
MA
Thanks everybody! I received better information here than I did on a car specific forum. I do have a friend who recommended the Nokian WRG2 also (he out them on their Outback). I also like the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. I can find those locally. What I do not understand is two places I went to never mentioned the Continental tires - and they do come in my size. I looked on TireRack and they are less than $150 each.
 

marcski

Active member
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
Messages
4,576
Points
36
Location
Westchester County, NY and a Mountain near you!
I've also been thinking about the Conti's extreme contact DWS's. I've been running P6's on my Audi as they were the OE tire. They are ok..a bit pricey for the wear. Although the Quattro does tend to burn through rubber pretty quickly. And as mentioned the DWS are a good deal compared to other tires in terms of cost and I have read good performance and wear reviews.

I am also going to have to get a set of snows or good all seasons in the fall for my new car, which should be in in a few weeks, as that only comes with summer tires. Maybe I can get a deal on 2 sets of tires!!
 
Top