I have a 04 SC with 45K that I recently bought with great help from this Forum. Last month I put on new Conti DWS's and the ride is excellent. I have read about issues related to proper alignment ,however, and today I noticed Firestone in Denver are offering lifetime alignment for a special price of $99. (This special might be running nationwide) It is good for the next three days and they are also offering a one time alignment for a special of $35. When I bought the car the owner said to watch out for inner tire wear and I have read a variety of threads regarding this issue to further confuse me. My questions are:
1) Should I get the lifetime alignment service at this excellent price?
2) Should I just get it aligned once and have it checked regularly?
3) Several threads suggest no matter what you do with alignment you will have inner wear and to just have regular rotations and get new tires every 10-12K miles?
4) Several threads suggest that you do coil overs ? Whatever those are and your problems will be solved?
5) On a personal note my SC will always be a garage queen and I expect to only put 3-4 k miles on it every year. Other than rotations should I do nothing?
I look forward to the always excellent advice from fellow forum members. Thanks. John Bradley Jr.

 

That's a great price...I'd do that without a thought. You should search for thread in the Sc430 discussing camber issues to learn more and be prepared to discuss it at the firestone shop. With 3 to 4K a year I don't see you running into to many issues...but an occasional or deep pothole can cause havoc with the alignment. So it nice to have this as insurance.
Others will have to chime in on coilovers and their affect on the suspension. I've had my F1 Eagles and regularly and religiously rotate ever 5k. Also had an alignment done when they were put on and they are wearing normally with over 15k and no issues.

 

Bob, I thought you would be the one to respond to my question. I will take your advice and sign up for the lifetime deal from them and also review the camber threads. On a personal note I want to thank you for your sage and cogent advice on this matter as well as all other advice you give to others on the forum. As others have pointed out you probably know more about this car than the original designers of the 430! Thanks again.

 

Thank you...but that would be quite a stretch, knowing more than the engineers who designed her, but I appreciate the thought.

 

I would definitely take them up on the deal. I do that everytime I buy a new car even at higher prices. It is well worth the money.

BTW, congratulations on your new car.

 

Yup, I've signup my other cars for the firestone lifetime alignment. One alignment from the shop I frequent cost $99 already, so it is a steal.

 

I'll add one caveat ...what are the limitation(s) on lifetime alignments? More to the point, how often can you have them done, and what restrictions are present. If it's a mileage requirement and you drive very few miles, as you suggest, then it just might not make sense. As always it's a cavate emptor, let the buyer beware, world.

 

Bob-I checked on this very carefully at Firestone and then double-checked with corporate here in Denver. There are no special requirements for this offer and no mileage or other limitations. Several Firestone people said that most people often even forget they have the coverage or they sell the car. As a long retired Professor of Marketing I have seen things like this and fully expect that when you bring the car in they probably try to sell you extra's etc. I hope others will look at this and decide for themselves!

 

Hi John Jr.

How I wish I lived on your side of the pond sometimes.
I had a full alignment (just a one off) in London at a cost of $206.62 at todays conversion.
God knows what a lifetime would cost.

Best regards
Steve

 

We had a car earlier on that Firestone was recommending that we have it realigned every time we have the oil changed. His recommendation came with the full knowledge that we had the lifetime alignment. If it didn't require any time, I'd still do that with the SC but I don't. So I try to do it every other oil change. The Firestone folks never even question me. They double check that I purchased it and just do it. I don't even have to show them any paper since they look it up on their database. I used to do that at Sears but it became such a pain to get in and out of Sears that I changed over to Firestone.

 

When I signed up today the local Firestone manager told me he thought that this was a nationwide sale and the price would be good through tomorrow. He also indicated that the alignment could be done at any time and at any Firestone in the U.S.!!

 

I had Tire Rack ship a set of Conti DSW's last year to my local Firestone store (only one's around with RoadForce balancer) and paid the same for lifetime alignment. No restrictions, any Firestone store. Great deal especially for cars like ours. I've been in a few times and the alignment has need tweaking each time. Rough roads around here, especially once spring thaw arrives. BTW, 10K on the Conti's and the tire wear is even and modest. I run at 36 psi cold.

 

whats special about a roadforce balancer?

 

Here this will answer your question.

 

Hi John
If they align it to Lexus specs you will still have inside tire wear, I would ask if they will align it to any spec (not Lexus, some shops says they have to follow manufactures specs), if they will do that, tell them to take all of the negative camber out that they can. If they get each tire down close to -.5 degrees your tire wear will be much more even and performance will not be degraded unless you are on the track a lot. If they align it to Lexus specs all your lifetime balances will still cause inside tire wear!

Good luck
Mike