When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So I just had some new Michelin Pilot Super Sports installed (245/35 and 275/30) and was thinking of buying the Firestone lifetime alignment, but after they put the car on the rack, they discovered the wheel alignments were already in the "green" (see picture below).
My old front left tire was beginning to show cord on the inside shoulder. I've been reading around the forum and it looks like the factory specs (specifically toe) is what is causing it.
How do my wheel alignment numbers look? The front left has 0.03 toe while the front right is 0.00.
I would still get the lifetime alignment. It's worth it in my opinion if you are planning on getting it aligned every 5,000 miles which you should be doing.
I would still get the lifetime alignment. It's worth it in my opinion if you are planning on getting it aligned every 5,000 miles which you should be doing.
Why? 5k miles? I wouldn't waste my time with that. I get an alignment before I go to the track and when I get new tires. This car doesn't have ball joint wear issues or bad hub issues as a general rule so I do not know why you would plan for such a small service window. I would have had 24 alignments by now based on that number.
Why? 5k miles? I wouldn't waste my time with that. I get an alignment before I go to the track and when I get new tires. This car doesn't have ball joint wear issues or bad hub issues as a general rule so I do not know why you would plan for such a small service window. I would have had 24 alignments by now based on that number.
Because the alignment always seems to be off ever so slightly. Even hitting a small pothole can cause misalignment. I'd rather be on the side of caution then to risk premature tire wear.
For me personally it's not a waste of time as my Firestone center is right across the street from my place of work so I just drop it off and walk over to work and then pick it up at the end of the day after work.
Don't do the lifetime alignment if you plan to lower car or do any sort of suspension work. What they forget to tell you that if you do this then they will tell you that it breaks the lifetime warranty cause they cant guarantee.
Just be careful as I have seen a few people get burned on this.
Don't do the lifetime alignment if you plan to lower car or do any sort of suspension work. What they forget to tell you that if you do this then they will tell you that it breaks the lifetime warranty cause they cant guarantee.
Just be careful as I have seen a few people get burned on this.
I had my Z lowered and had the lifetime alignment and they never gave me any issues. I think it depends on A) what store you go to and b) what's the extent of the work that they need to do to get your car aligned with the arms you have. If it takes 2 hours to align your car with the aftermarket arms you have I doubt they would be happy about that.
In the end just ask before you commit yourself to the lifetime alignment.
Damn I didnt even know they had a lifetime alignment option anywhere. The dealer doesnt play that. LOL I went back because my car was pulling to the right and they charged me again because they said the last time they did it everything was in the green. They even aligned the car with me in the drivers seat
Because the alignment always seems to be off ever so slightly. Even hitting a small pothole can cause misalignment. I'd rather be on the side of caution then to risk premature tire wear.
For me personally it's not a waste of time as my Firestone center is right across the street from my place of work so I just drop it off and walk over to work and then pick it up at the end of the day after work.
You have rubber bushings. Alignment will read differently every time you check it if you just move the car even a little. The only way to eliminate this is to put solid bushing on all suspension points. Rubber bushings are great for eliminating NVH, but they suck for precision alignments.
i have the life time alignment on all my cars and have done a complete front bushing replacement on my gs and inner and outer tie rods. they never said anything. in fact the way i found out my inner tie rods were out of spec is when i brought it in they said they couldnt do it because of them being out of spec. so i said well ill see you guys next weekend and its going to be all out of wack cause ill replace them my self. lol the guy just said try to count the turns so its not to far out of wack. i do mine every 8-10k when ever i change the oil.
You have rubber bushings. Alignment will read differently every time you check it if you just move the car even a little. The only way to eliminate this is to put solid bushing on all suspension points. Rubber bushings are great for eliminating NVH, but they suck for precision alignments.
I understand that the alignment will read differently every time but to clarify, for me when I take the car in to the shop the alignment is out of OEM spec ever so slightly.
This must have just been the shop that I went to. They said guys like us get the lifetime and constantly change out things and they are constantly re-aligning. They lose money.
if you ever have a shop that say something like that or there giving you $HlT, just bring them pizza or a case of red bull 70% of the time it works every time.
I understand that the alignment will read differently every time but to clarify, for me when I take the car in to the shop the alignment is out of OEM spec ever so slightly.
I don't understand how you could do that with the specs provided by Lexus. Toe adjustment is the ONLY thing you can change, and the spec allows for both significant toe in and toe out with the lights still showing green. The only time I have been "out of spec" was when I took apart the suspension to install poly bushings. The rest of the time it's within allowable limits.
If I were aligning a car and the toe difference is .03* I would not not even bother loosening that jam nut. Look at your limits, preferred spec (dead center) is slightly toed in at .01*. You split the difference so your steer ahead is dead even perfect.
Buy the lifetime alignment, like yesterday, as it is the best product Bridgestone/Firestone sells.
Ask them for the "bar graph" print out of your before and after. The only reason I would give this version to a customer would be to confuse them into not knowing what I really did.
I don't understand how you could do that with the specs provided by Lexus. Toe adjustment is the ONLY thing you can change, and the spec allows for both significant toe in and toe out with the lights still showing green. The only time I have been "out of spec" was when I took apart the suspension to install poly bushings. The rest of the time it's within allowable limits.
Yeah, I don't know. Last time I took it in the right and left rear toe was out of OEM spec. I'll probably take it to the shop in another 7k miles to see where I'm at. Camber is fine.
Firestone Wheel Alignment
