How Long Should a Wheel Alignment Last?

ShortyX on 15/11/2019 - 00:46
Last edited 15/11/2019 - 00:47

Back in Aug 2017, our front tyres needed replacing (car had 22,500 km on it) due to excessive wearing on the inside of the front tyres, apparently due to a bad alignment. We had new tyres installed and a wheel alignment at Jax Tyres. The car has tyre pressure monitoring on the dash and we ensure the pressure is 38 psi when cold (18" wheels, manufacturer recommends 36 psi)

I checked the tyres again this week (photos here) and found that there is slight wearing on the outside of the tyres (car now has 50,000 km). Does this wear seem ok? Should I be raising an issue with the dealer or Jax? Or just get a wheel rotation and another wheel alignment at the next service?

Automotive Wheel Alignment

Comments

  • KingJuf on 15/11/2019 - 00:56
    +5

    Depends on your driving, mount the curbs etc likely to put wheel alignment out. Regardless you should be rotating tyres every 10k-15k to get the most life out of it.

    • ATTS on 15/11/2019 - 08:06

      noob question, but is mounting a kerb, driving over a kerb?

      • pegaxs on 15/11/2019 - 08:20

        yes.

        • Euphemistic on 15/11/2019 - 08:56
          +4

          Thank goodness for that. The kerbish people were getting worried.

      • elgrande on 15/11/2019 - 12:44

        Is mounting a horse driving over a horse?

    • Oz8argain on 15/11/2019 - 10:00

      rotating as in swap the wheels around? do you have to do alignment everytime?

      • Eeples on 15/11/2019 - 10:23

        depends on the car.
        It might mean swapping the right front and right rear. And swapping the left front and left rear. Tyres.

        • Euphemistic on 15/11/2019 - 12:05
          +1

          According to my local tyre place you should swap front left to right rear because this puts the most loaded tyre to the least loaded. Straight front to back isn’t the best option.

          • Eeples on 15/11/2019 - 16:33

            @Euphemistic: Who should?
            Depends on the car/tyre.

            • Euphemistic on 15/11/2019 - 18:17

              @Eeples: https://www.racq.com.au/cars-and-driving/products-and-servic…

              Staring front to back switch should only occur with directional tyres. Side to side if front and back tyres are different sizes.

              • Eeples on 15/11/2019 - 20:52

                @Euphemistic: I know.
                Does your local car place know it?

                • Euphemistic on 15/11/2019 - 21:36

                  @Eeples: Probably, The car I had there had non directional, same sized tyres and was rear wheel drive. They told me the correct method for my vehicle, I had forgotten that some cars have different sized wheels and directional tyres. I guess they’d be in the minority though, most cars would have same sized non directional tyres.

  • ShortyX on 15/11/2019 - 01:00

    Thanks - the front tyres have 27,500 km on them so definitely due for a rotation. I should check if the scheduled servicing includes tyre rotations.

    • KingJuf on 15/11/2019 - 02:30

      Im actually suprised your first set only lasted 22k, maybe it is worth bringing up with the dealer. What car is it?

      If something in your steering system is bent this could be causing the bad tyre wear, they should be able to pick this up when doing a wheel alignment though.

      Faulty tyres and suspension are also possible causes providing you regularly check tyre pressure.

      • ShortyX on 15/11/2019 - 10:19

        Im actually suprised your first set only lasted 22k

        Agreed, something was wrong for them not to last, although it was only the inside edge with excessive wear. I should have checked them earlier to pick up on it but didn’t. :(

  • RockyRaccoon on 15/11/2019 - 05:57
    +3

    POTholeLUCK

  • whooah1979 on 15/11/2019 - 06:10
    +1

    Stop hitting the kerbs.

  • whooah1979 on 15/11/2019 - 06:14

    https://www.beaurepaires.com.au/services/wheel-alignment/

    Beaurepaires guarantees their wheel alignment services for a period of 3 months, or 3000km, whichever comes first.

  • tdw on 15/11/2019 - 06:18

    too much negative camber also causes excessive wear on the insides of tyres.
    i'd ask the dealer or independent mechanic to check the camber is still within spec (as well as suspension etc. that others have mentioned)

  • Euphemistic on 15/11/2019 - 06:20
    +3

    Should be rotated and aligned every 6-12 months or 5-10,000km spending on your driving style and how many impacts the suspension has received. Ie if you live in a suburb full of potholes or speed humps get it sooner. If you drive off road or carry heavy kids then sooner etc.

    Leaving for more than 12 months is a recipe for uneven or premature wear.

    Any tyre co that guarantees the lifespan of their tyres will want a 5000km rotate and align.

    • apsilon on 15/11/2019 - 06:33
      +1

      This. There's no issue here other than lack of maintenance.

    • ShortyX on 15/11/2019 - 10:20

      Thanks. I think I’ll get it done every scheduled service (usually 12 months as we don’t do 15,0000 km in a year).

  • [Deactivated] on 15/11/2019 - 07:24
    +1

    that seems about right for a heavy car. no excessive wear on your tyres. the outside edge will always feather due to being loaded when going around corners, and the top heavy nature of you car. Plus you go around right hand bends faster than left hand ones so more load = more wear.

  • Cheeper on 15/11/2019 - 07:25

    That tyre wear looks reasonably even. Seems to be a lot of wear for 23000km though?
    Driving style, tyre brand and even the type of car can result in higher than usual wear.
    What kind of car is it? Subaru? Hard CBD driving?

    • Euphemistic on 15/11/2019 - 08:57

      Poor alignment after hitting a pothole or two?

    • ShortyX on 15/11/2019 - 10:16

      Kia Sorento. Hankook tyres (new front tyres were same as factory tyres). Mostly town driving with some highway trips.

  • Skramit on 15/11/2019 - 09:45
    +1

    You could get a wheel alignment done, drive out of the shop hit a pothole and it'll be out again.

    All an alignment does it zero it back to straight. As soon as you hit bumps or holes or whatever it can be thrown out again depending on severity, speed etc.

  • Chris Topher on 15/11/2019 - 18:29

    Shockers, bearings, tie rods, steering, mechanics that don't know how check those items*, all contribute to correct alignment.

    • They must be checked under load conditions.
    • Chris Topher on 19/11/2019 - 16:33
      • They must be checked under load conditions

      Both front tyres must be OFF the ground and the suspension loaded.

  • Architectonic on 16/11/2019 - 16:23

    Looks like typical tyre wear to me. You may need a toe adjustment on the front, and you should get the tyres rotated.

  • brad1-8tsi on 18/11/2019 - 12:57

    it would be nice to know what type of car…

    I've seen alignments last a week (crap driver, bad roads and poor suspension design) or years.

    I've had 1 alignment on my car in 193,000km and the tyres wear evenly but I x-rotate them every 10,000km. I run the pressure around 40psi (38 around town.
    42 on a trip). The manufacturers recommendation is 30psi.

    Without seeing the current settings, it looks like a bit too much toe-in but maybe it needs a bit more -ve camber. I'd also run another 2-4psi up front.

    So:
    X-rotation
    More pressure at the front
    Wheel alignment. Try and find an aligner that aligns to the tyre wear rather than just aiming to get the needles in the green zone.

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