Never get the car aligned when you get new tires put on.
The last time I took the Boxster in for new tires, the guy at the tire place called and said
"your last tires were worn on the inside so we should align it too". Of course, being a smart alec, I said "you're kidding, right?". The guy says
"What? It will help with the tire wear." I reminded him they had just lifted the car off the wheels to put new tires on it.
"Yeah, so?" So the ride height is now 1"+ higher than normal!!!
"What are you talking about?" You have to drive the car for awhile for the shocks and springs to compress back down to the correct ride height. Your alignment will last me about 2 miles!! Then he says
"Oh, that makes sense".
Of course, he tells my co-worker the same thing a few weeks later when he takes his car in for tires.
Try an experiment some evening when you get home and you're not taking the car out later that night. Measure your ride height somewhere around a front tire. Lift the front tires for awhile (say 30min-1hr). Put them back down and measure the ride height again at the same spot you measured before. It will be a pretty big difference. Then let it sit over night and measure again in the morning. It will compress some, but you will still have about a 1/2"+ difference in height.....and they want to align it 5 minutes after putting new tires on it? I thought those guys were "experts". ROFL
If you do this, don't feel bad, we've all done it before we learned anything about the suspension. Just a little tid-bit to help with your tire wear a little.
