Do I Need An Alignment and Balancing When Buying New Tires

Have you ever asked yourself whether you should have an alignment and tire balancing done when buying new tires? This is a question that a lot of people ask and before I answer it, I would like to briefly go over what balancing and alignment actually are, and why they are important.

Alignment Versus Balancing

Wheel alignment simply refers to making sure all four of your wheels are pointed in exactly the same direction and that all of them are perfectly straight up-and-down. If your wheels are not properly aligned your tires will wear out much faster than they normally would and they will need to be replaced sooner. In addition, improper alignment can also have a negative effect on your vehicle’s handling and could become what dangerous.

Tire balancing is the process of detecting and compensating for any imperfections or inconsistencies in the construction of the tire. The tire must be balanced properly so that when it is rotating, it will do so smoothly. When a tire is not properly balanced you will definitely feel it when driving down the road.

Do I Need Alignment and Balancing When Buying New Tires?

Now that you know the difference between alignment and balancing, we can answer the question of whether you need to have this done when you are buying new tires. When it comes to balancing, the answer is absolutely yes, you should have your tires balanced every time you have new tires installed.

If your tires are out of balance, it can cause a noticeable shaking of your steering wheel when you are driving at certain speeds. Although brand-new tires are manufactured by machines and should be uniform, imperfections do happen and balancing your tires will allow any imperfections to be detected and compensated for.

When it comes to alignment, the decision to have your wheels aligned when purchasing new tires is entirely up to you. You’ll hear arguments on both sides of the coin on this issue. Many people say that it is not necessary to have get an alignment because putting new tires on your vehicle does not affect the alignment of your wheels.

If you have some reason to believe that your wheel alignment has been affected, like hitting a curb a little too hard for example, then you may want to have an alignment done. Also, if you noticed uneven wear on your old tires, that is a sign that you need an alignment.

Although an alignment is not always necessary when buying new tires, some people will recommend having it done anyway as a preventative measure. Making sure your wheels are aligned will prevent premature tire wear, increasing the life of the tire. Properly aligned wheels will also increase your gas mileage. The suspension of your vehicle itself will change over time and having your alignment checked from time to time is a good idea.

Personally, we recommend getting an alignment done when buying new tires. The idea of spending $600 or more on a set of high performance tires and seeing them become worn out 5000 miles later due to improper alignment is not something anyone wants to go through. For us the bottom line would be that unless you’ve recently had an alignment done in the last few months, we’d opt for it.

So to sum things up in a simple way, you should have your tires balanced every time you put new tires on your vehicle. When it comes to alignment, it may not be necessary if you’ve had one recently, but if not, we’d suggest getting it done as a preventative measure.