What up everyone. I'm new to the forum. So I've lowered my car about 2-2.5 inches and I have 17s on it. I also threw in a camber kit and new struts everything is skunk2. It needs an alignment and the camber adjusted of course and the front tires have some wear on the inside. I hit up a few shops in the area and i'm hearing that i need to pick up a a new set of tires before i get the alignment done from one shop and i'm told that i don't need new tires for the alignment. Can someone help me out on this? And if by chance you're from Orange County california, know of any shops that will do a good job on my car? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

It usually best that your tires are in good shape and properly inflated before any wheel alignment.

 

ya it can help line them up better for them but i dont think its a must.... but if your geting a alignment you might as well buy new tires anyways.

 

hey if ur in the garden grove area, check out Vollies
they do hand alignments and wont bitch about your lowered cars or custom specs.
i dont have a camber kit in the front so its like -.5 -.8
and the rear i have it adjusted to -1.8 on both sides, but i think most people reccomend to have -1.0 front and back.

 

Definitely get new tires before you align it. What happens when you align a car when its been riding on tires that are wearing funny because of poor alignment is when you fix the alignment, the car will actually start to pull and wear the tires worse than they were. I aligned my 98 ex myself at work expecting to completely eliminate my pull.. And I was wrong. It actually got worse.

If your tires are fairly new and that's why you don't want to get new ones.. Some tire shops will give you money for slightly used tires, or you can try to get rid of them on craigslist.

Also make sure that if you pay for a 4 wheel alignment, they do more than just front toe and send you out. Rear toe is adjustable.. Its just harder, so a lot of shops would just leave it. Try to get the car into some sort of performance oriented shop so they understand your needs. At my work.. If its not easily adjustable or if we don't have specs.. We send people on their way. Good luck.

 

it depends on how badly worn ur current tires are. if the inside of the front are significantly worn down, then an alighnment may not prevent them from wearing down prematurely or it could cause pulling. some types of tires can suffer from camber wear, the alignment can be fixed, and they will still wear on the inside or outside faster. if there is still plenty of life left on your tires, get an alignment and see how long they'll last. though the best bet would be to get a new set and then get an alignment.

 

Thanx fellaz. I live in garden grove so I'll be sure to hit up that shop after I beat the crap out of my front tires and get a new pair. Thanx for all the help.