Do I need a wheel alignment with every tire change?
Getting a wheel alignment when installing new tires protects fresh rubber from wearing out unevenly and keeps the vehicle stable on the highway. Skipping this step when buying new tires is a gamble that leads to rapid tread wear.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Getting an alignment only after replacing suspension components, hitting a curb or pothole, or when noticing uneven tire wear or vehicle pulling.
- 2Checking if old tires wore evenly and if the car drove fine before skipping the alignment
- 3Inspecting whether the car pulls to one side or has existing alignment issues
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“always get the alignment when you do all four, saves your new tires from wearing weird and you’ll feel the difference on the highway. some shops will try to sell you on just two tires and skip it but that’s a gamble i wouldn’t take with fresh rubber.”source ↗
“Should I do an alignment as well (last was about 6 months ago)”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to tell if a car alignment was rushed or done right
- 2Why does my car still pull to the side after a wheel alignment?
- 11How to tell if brake pads and rotors actually need replacing
- 7How to tell if car suspension bushings need to be replaced
- 5Camshaft timing looks off by a tooth but engine ran fine
- 2Do I need a new tire after hitting a curb?