alignment after new wheels?

[mjw930]

As strange as it seems wheel width and offset will not effect alignment. But, different wheel specs respond differently to various changes to alignment so if you are competing with the car you might want to experiment with different settings.

Example, 18" wheels and tires may be able to get acceptable cornering with less camber since the slip angle of the tire is less.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

You may or may not need an alignment once the wheels arrive, but be aware of any unusual feel or behavior and if found get the Car aligned ASAP to prevent premature wear to the Tires.

I assume you bought a Wheel and Tire Package? If so, be sure that they are dynamically balanced. Wheels and Tires, believe it or not, are not truly round. They are only round to within a certain degree ±. Dynamic Balancing is done on a Computerized machine which first Road Tests the Wheel and Tire by spinning it to 50MPH and then pressing it against a Roller to find it's Runout (eccentricity). It is not the same as Spin Balancing a Tire. Ask if they are using a Hunter GSP 9700 (best) or 9600 (they should be) Balancing Machine. Also, ask them for the printout for each Wheel/Tire, the machine will do this printout.

The Tech will then mount the High side of the Tire to the Low wide of the Wheel, or vice-versa before determining the Mass High/Low side of the Combo and adding a weight to compensate. If this is not done, especially on a Performance Car, Suspension, and Tire, you can get some vibration at a given speed which is not due to, or eliminated by, alignment.

And, there is an acceptable degree of runout and Mail Order Tires are notorious for being out of spec (do Manufacturers sell-off these Tires and keep the ones in Spec for their own Authorized Distributors? Who can say) , but the incidence of out of spec and near out of spec Tires is higher with these MO outlets. I have bought many Tires through such outlets as Tire Rack, Discount Tire, and such, but I always tell them I will have the Tires Dynamically Balanced and reserve the right to return any which are not within spec. I had to do this once. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

[Brucelee]

I would realign and rebalance the car if I replaced tires AND/OR wheels.

Given the cost of our tires, I think this is prudent.