My local tyre fitting emporium reckons tracking should be checked every 3 months to save the tyres. This is because of the terrible state of the roads knocking it all out of kilter. I know they are trying to get business but in my experience it does make sense.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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Basically I agree with steve.o however I have for 10 years or more now done my own wheel alignment based on feel, i.e. how the car drives, and generally get better than average tyre wear.
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I find that tracking alignment is generally very sturdy, even when travelling over poor surfaces.
I gave my nearside front wheel a proper whack on a kerb about a week before i last had my tyres changed and the tracking did not need adjustment. Potholes,ruts,deep drain covers etc all seem to have no effect either.
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A lot depends on the car. Larger cars tend to have more substantial steering and suspension assemblies - so are less easily knocked out of alignment. Some small cars have very flimsy tie rods and rack mountings - so knocking a kerb will put them out.
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Thats true. my 306 isn't a big car by any means and seems to be quite resilient to that kind of abuse.
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A lot depends on the car. Larger cars tend to have more substantial steering and suspension assemblies - so are less easily knocked out of alignment. Some small cars have very flimsy tie rods and rack mountings - so knocking a kerb will put them out.
On the other hand a larger car has more weight/interia behind it when it hits a pot hole etc, just the reason why it needs more substantial components.
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>> A lot depends on the car. Larger cars tend to >> have more substantial steering and suspension assemblies - so are less >> easily knocked out of alignment. Some small cars have very >> flimsy tie rods and rack mountings - so knocking a kerb >> will put them out. >> On the other hand a larger car has more weight/interia behind it when it hits a pot hole etc, just the reason why it needs more substantial components.
True - but in my experience its always the smaller cars that have the tracking way out - bigger stuff seems to be disproportionately stronger. I have seen few big cars with bent tie rods etc. One of the worst ever cars for bad tracking was the old Proton MPi - kicking a tyre would knock it out. Also the little Pugs and Cits often have wonky steering.
Don't forget rear alignment either - lots of cars have some rear toe-in in order to promote high-speed stability and the setting can be quite critical. Ideally it should be checked on a 4-wheel '3D' laser aligner (usually costs about £70).
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My local tyre fitting emporium reckons tracking should be checked every 3 months to save the tyres. This is because of the terrible state of the roads knocking it all out of kilter. I know they are trying to get business but in my experience it does make sense. -- \"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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If you had your car's tracking checked at 10 tyre depots, you would have 10 different results.
I think that if you tyres are wearing evenly, you would be better leaving well alone.
Whenever I have had my steering tracked, the steering wheel is always just off centre. This annoys me rather alot.
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I would agree with Steve.O that they should be checked whichever is replaced.
I learnt the hard way a few years ago when my Vectra had a bottom suspension ball joint fail on its MOT and was replaced without the tracking checked.
The following week we drove down to Portugal and the steering increasingly pulled to one side.
Had it checked when we got there and it was well out.
The small tyre garage who checked it had the most sophisticated equipment I have ever seen before or since, giving a large visual screen display which gave information on tracking and alignment of all wheels.
Very impressed with his text book method of checking including locking the steering wheel, rolling the car after each adjustment and bouncing the suspension. A lesson indeed to some of the monkeys who I have watched previously.
The owner said the tyres would now have taken wear and it would still pull to one side.
They adjusted it absolutely to the book but it didn?t stop the steering constantly pulling to one side.
Changing the front tyres across simply changed the direction the other way.
Only replacing the tyres eventually cured the problem completely. Never had it adjusted since and the tyres wear completely even.
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Thanks for all your thoughts on the matter.
It was a lower wishbone balljoint that I had changed (under warranty at 50K)
Dealer did not say whether tracking was checked, I'll ask next time I'm passing.
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Changing the front tyres across simply changed the direction the other way.
Why didnt you swap them front to rear?
WTM
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