Four wheel alignment - to do or not?

My '03 C4 cab is due for some new tires. I'll probably buy the Sumitomo HTR Z3 (18"). The car is not driven aggressively. My local indie shop suggests buy them from Tire Rack and have them shipped to a tire store near his shop. They are equipped to do a 4 wheel alignment then mount/balance the new tires. I've owned this car for about 8 months, doing maybe 5000 miles. The tires which came on the car still have a couple thousand miles left on them. I don't see any irregular wear on the current tires, nor is there any vibration/pull when driving the car. The question is should I get the "full boat" including the alignment or not? Car has 36000 miles on it. Original paint. Steering wheel is dead center when going straight down the road.

Your Indy is steering you in the right direction, literally, lol. Yes, it may feel right, track tight and all that, but have you had the car on a lift. When I put mine on a lift a few months after driving, I saw that the inner side of the rear tires were worn very bad. I could not see this from the car siting on the ground. Just my two cents, but I would get it all done. I have an 04 C4S Cab and I run the same tires. They are not expensive and I know I will get about 7,500 miles on the rears and about 13,000 on the fronts. Cheers.

Any excess cupping ( wear inside or outside of tire? Sent from my iPad using Rennlist

yes you should do it

I think it's a good idea to do it every so often.

Yeah if the tires are wearing perfectly & you're having no problems be sure & pay someone to see if they can change that!

These cars are very sensitive to alignments. Ive had good and not so good alignments. Sometimes I think I should have left the car with factory settings. If she goes straight once the new rubber is mounted then decide if its necessary? Nothing more aggravating then spending the $ then having the car pull one way or the other.

With new tires getting a fresh alignment is not a bad idea Firestone offers a lifetime alignment for around $180 you get unlimited alignments (at least that is what they told me) BTW, the HTR ZIII is a really nice street tire and a great deal price wise I have a set on my 986 and have done a bunch of track days as well as a few AX on them and they performed really well and did not get greasy when really hot For general and spirited street driving, you should be very happy I can't comment on wet performance and it rarely rains here in San Diego

I got an alignment on my Cayenne after putting on new tires for no other reason than because I put on new tires. Now it pulls to the right. Had them check.... all in spec. Brought it to Porsche and they said it was a % off on front right toe. They made it better but it still pulls to the right... they say it's because of how much our roads are sloped to the right... My point... if your tires have even wear and it doesn't pull I wouldn't mess with it.

Why not get the alignment checked? They give you the before and after specs. You can see if there was any change. If the car is dead-nuts right - then nothing lost. If the alignment is off, you saved yourself time and money down the line. You have a car that originally cost almost $100K, don't skimp on a $100 maintenance item. -td

Is Firestone actually equipped to do the alighnment?

If the tires are not showing signs of wear arising from a bad alignment and the car doesn't pull or manifest any other issues that can arise from a bad alignment, I would not bother with the alignment. Absent any signs the alignment is off I do not get an alignment although once in a great while when I get a new set of tires on one of my cars and the dealer offers an alignment on special I will get the alignment. Even though the car is steering ok and tire wear acceptable the alignment is "off" but not a lot. For when you do opt for an alignment, for an alignment the tank should be full, the spare tire/tool kit (if any) should be properly stowed, and all dead weight (junk) removed from the car. Some shops make a "big deal" out of adding ballast to the car to compensate for the driver's weight. Porsche does not call for this. I have had the alignment done each way and as as I could tell there was no positive (or negative) benefit. If the car is that sensitive to the driver's weight what happens if one carries a passenger? Be sure you specify you want the steering wheel centered. I always insist on an alignment that does *not* attempt to compensate for road crown as I drive on a variety of roads, some crowned, some not crowned, and some crowned the other direction. I prefer the car be neutral and if I have to counter steer a bit to deal with the tendency of the car to want to pull due to the crown so be it.

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Based on my years ago experience with a Firestone tire store when I had new tires fitted to my Boxster I don't care if the store is equipped to do the alignment or not, I would not use a Firestone store for a Porsche alignment. In fact I would not use any chain tire store for a Porsche alignment. My experience is they can't even do a "regular" car right. I had my 2006 GTO "aligned" at one and the front tires wore out in short order. Upon fitting new tires and getting an alignment at the dealer the front toe was found to be excessive. Why I have no idea.

There's no shortage of advice on how to spend YOUR money. If you're buying the Sumi's to save money I would use the same frugal mindset and blow off the alignment. You're having no issues. Spend your money on something else. And, yes on buying the Sumi's from Tire Rack. I've been through several sets. You'll here stuff about noise and performance stuff but I haven't noticed a thing but great performing cheap tires. In my DE days I ran Pilot Sport Cups on the track so I know the difference.

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+996. Based on your usage, type of driving, and observed history, I'd say skip it. It's not like you're buying really expensive tires either so risk is minimal. I know typical RL mentality is to always PM and replace parts(necessarily or unnecessarily) so I can definitely understand the responses here. OTOH, if you recently changed any suspension components and/or plan on participating in future DE/track events, I think an alignment can definitely help. But as another posted, it doesn't hurt to at least get your alignment checked(by a known, good, trusted alignment specialist) as there are several ones that do it for free.

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Yes. A Porsche is still a car My last alignment was at an Express Tire store. They dialed it in perfectly and I was extremely pleased. With the coupon I had, it cost only $50 Sorry Macster, I think it really depends on the technician doing the alignment, not the shop and I hover, making sure the numbers are where I want them. I am pretty sure the alignment equipment is basically the same , other than for some of the really high end race shops

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I agree that the technician can make all the difference. Actually the newer Hunter laser based machines can provide more accuracy but merely because it also reduces the chances of messing things up. However, I always tend to go to places that have the newer machines with the sensors that clamps onto the tires instead of the rims as I've gotten a few nicks and scratches before from the older type.

Just do it.

Just had some tires mounted at Firestone and the lifetime alignment is $199. 'They said you can get it aligned every day if you want. Also told me that they do have coupons from time to time with discounts sometimes of $50 The store I was at had a brand new alignment rack with all the bells and whistles

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Hopefully someone there knows how to use it.