alignment???

[sweetpeet]

if I change my tires and go from 28 to 33, do I really need alignment? and what is alignment for?

[Hertz]

no you dont need one. unless you do something like crank the torsion bars to make them fit. an alignment does just what its name states. it makes sure your tires are straight. any work done to the suspension throws your alignment off. a bad alignment will cause your tires to wear quickly and unevenly. it will also put some unnecessary strain on parts.

[BRUTAL]

anytime you alter ride height, tire size, wheel size/offset you need to have the alignment checked. Keeping in mind that stock alignment spec are a starting point and not the end all. I have 2 models of Jaguars at work, 03-07 Stype, and 04-08 XJ8 that if aligned to the original manufacture specs WILL wearout the inside of the front tires due to insufficient toe in. the Stype specs have been changed, the XJ8 have not. I look at what the tires tell me, and then look at the starting point of where the alignment is at and make adjustment based upon experience to correct what I see in tire wear. Now when you increase tire size(diameter) as you have done you alter the pivot point between the ground and suspension, this changes in many cases the alignment, not always but many times. The type tire you also use and many other variables come into play. I have seen(1 example) of a Kumho tire get chewed up inside with the specs(stock) that the Michelins before had no problem with, I increased the toe in for the 2nd set of front tires(Kumho) and they they wore great. So bottom line is dont be penny smart and dollar stupid, have the alignment checked, save the printout in you glove box, and get a tire tread depth tool to measure tread depth(couple $$ at autoparts store) and measure both the inside and outside tread blocks every couple thousand miles, youre looking for NO MORE than a 2/32nds difference between the 2 measurements, if theres more you need to go have the alignment checked and adjusted to FIX the wear ie if there's more wear inside of both fronts=more toe in need. If more wear outside edge wear then decrease toe in.
You have to ask yourself this "whats cheaper $50-90 alignment, or $600-800 for new tires?"

[houdini]

just a change in tire size will not neccesitate an alignment. however, i don't know how you would go from a 28 to a 33 without altering the suspenion, so i guess yes, an alignment would be good.

information on alignments for you
Wheel Alignment A Short Course

[BRUTAL]

My point on this I am trying to relate is this, yes while you dont have to run down and get an alignment, you have no idea how much the tire swap will alter the toe, and yes any change in ride height does change toe. I could show you this by pushing up and down on a car while I have it set up on the alignment rack and you can watch the toe more than anything else swing in and out. And toe is the biggest wear angle in your suspension, get it wrong and youll wipe out tires in no time. At the very least get the tread depth indicator, monitor inside and outside tread wear, also run your hand fore and after on the tire, in you feel feather edging where it catches your hands(sharp ridges) one way and smooth the other way or scallopping/cupping where one tread block wears lower that the one before or after it. Like Houdini linked(I didnt read or go) but there are lots of good articles and pics on the web. Educate yourself so you at least understand whats going on and can speak to the person doing you alignment on whats what. A final point is this any abnormal wear in the tires due to alignment suspension issues is going to increase your gas mileage and at todays prices that can easily hit you harder over the life of your tires than a one shot alignment charge. If its wearing the rubber off faster its increasing the rolling resistance and decreasing your mileage, the same as underinflated tires will. This is just food for though no matter who you are or what you drive......

[sweetpeet]

Originally Posted by houdini

just a change in tire size will not neccesitate an alignment. however, i don't know how you would go from a 28 to a 33 without altering the suspenion, so i guess yes, an alignment would be good.

information on alignments for you
Wheel Alignment A Short Course

why would I need to change my suspension? if I have a body lift my tires should fit, right?

[thebrandon]

depends how big it is

you wont NEED the alignment but like the guy who wrote you an essay said, it wouldn't hurt

[houdini]

brutal, i think you are thinking about about camber, not toe. either way....unless the front end suspension/geometry is changed, the alignment is not altered regardless of the tire size put on the truck.

[BRUTAL]

No, I am talking about toe, on an alignment, you start at the rear and adjust rear camber and toe on vehicles that are adjustable, toe is always set last, then move to the front and set caster and camber, then set toe last again as any changes to caster and camber changes toe and as I stated before this is the biggest wear angle. You can be off on caster and camber and other that a vehicle that wont track straight it wont wear tires out like screwing up the toe setting. When you change ride height you can and you do alter the suspension in relation to the road, the tire is taller and the vehicle will now sit taller. the distance between the splindle and the ground is now raised and so are the point of turning. Without getting really far off into engineering of different vehicles if there's bump steer(not good) you do alter toe setting as a tire moves up and down in its arc of travel. And as ride height is changed it can affect a change in suspension, many manufactures even have different specs to use on the same vehicle that comes with different tires, and different tuned suspensions. But as I wrote in my previous essays(and I hated them in school. go figure) Its doesnt hurt to check and he may be out now at stock. Athough I admit that our trucks do hold their alignments better than most...till you wheel, then all that weight on a rock twisted all over to 1 side while someones yelling driver, passenger has tweeked mine out of spec alittle everytime I go. But then I do my own alignments at work so no biggy

[Hertz]

Originally Posted by sweetpeet

why would I need to change my suspension? if I have a body lift my tires should fit, right?

if all your truck has is a 3 in body lift you are going to run into some rubbing with 33s. you could probably make them fit but it would require a torsion bar crank (which you will definatly need to have an alignment done since you are going to have to crank the hell out of those bars) and some handy work with the sawzall.

31s is a better option.