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.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Getting an alignment only after replacing suspension components, hitting a curb or pothole, or when noticing uneven tire wear or vehicle pulling.Did this help you?
- 2Checking if old tires wore evenly and if the car drove fine before skipping the alignmentDid this help you?
- 3Inspecting whether the car pulls to one side or has existing alignment issuesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“How bad is my alignment? Is it needed?”source ↗
“How bad is my alignment? This is for an SUV. Is it worth the money to get it fixed? Only front two”source ↗
“Should I do an alignment as well (last was about 6 months ago)”source ↗
“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 ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3How to tell if a car alignment was rushed or done right
- 7Why does my car still pull to the side after a wheel alignment?
- 23How to tell if brake pads and rotors actually need replacing
- 18How to tell if car suspension bushings need to be replaced
- 10Camshaft timing looks off by a tooth but engine ran fine
- 2Camshaft timing off by half a tooth after rotating engine