Steering alignment

Hi Folks,

I replaced two of the tires which were really worn out and i did not
want to take a chance with the buffalo winter. The other two tires
were brand new when I had purchased the car 6-7 months back. I had the
new tires put on the front and the old ones at the back. But having
the new tires on the front dis-aligns my streering. Once I put the old
tires back on the front, the streering again aligns properly. Now the
question is why would only the new tires create an alignment problem?
Should I get a steering alignment done with the new tires at the
front? If I do that, would it dis-align the steering again when I
rotate the tires?

 

More likely, the old tires are worn badly to match the poor alignment.
I found the same thing with my '87 Accord - the tires that came with it
were very badly worn on the inside due to extreme negative camber caused
by the previous owner chopping the springs to lower it over 2". After I
put new struts in the front to level it back up, the steering became
very stiff... until I put new tires on, and it loosened right up.

Solution: have an alignment done.

 

Thanks for your response.
When I get the alignment done and 6 months down the line when I rotate
the tites...would I not have an alignment problem again? I have 03
Accord EX, NA.

 

You might or might not have steering issues if you put them back on the
front in 6 months. While they are on the back, they will tend to wear off
the parts that are wrong as a result of the previous bad alignment and
eventually will be back to normal. If you put them back on the front and it
behaves badly, you should check them for tread separation or other damage,
then just live with it until they wear down to being right again. You never
want to change the alignment to accommodate a weirdly worn tire.

 

Thanks guys for your insights. I got the alignment done. The alignment
was way off with toe being 0.52 for left front tore and 0.32 for right
front tire. The suggested range is +- 0.08. I am just pretty satisfied
with it now. I am so surprised that the dealer was not able to figure
such a simple thing out.

 

I'd be worried about a tire dealer who didn't recognize poor alignment
just from the wear patterns on the old tires.