Quote:
Originally Posted by edge
My tires wear issue was all messed up on my fronts, uneven outer wear. Turns out I had suspension repairs done 4 months ago, now I'm buying new tires and don't want to screw them up so I assumed that I needed an alignment, maybe I don't after the suspension repairs. Maybe I should just see if they ride straight and balanced with the new tires before I pay $140 for an alignment specialist. The local dealer wants $250 for 4 wheel balancing.
I can get Michelin Primacy MXV4 for $149 + $11 Bal & Mount - $17.50 Michelin rebate card (today is the last day for the offer) = $142.50 plus 6% tax at my tire dealer or the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position for $132- $17.50 Costco instant rebate +$15 Bal & Mount = $129 plus 6% tax. Any thoughts which is a better deal. Costco has free lifetime rotation. Thanks.
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Edge,
If I understand you correctly, you have wear on the outer edge of both front tires. This is means it is toed in. This is the most common cause that requires alignment. For toe, most any shop can do it properly, but make SURE that you tell them to set it on ZERO! Many books will offer a wide tolerance for this spec. Toe can be set to some specifications that are published for some cars and be WAY away from zero. This will cause wear on the inner or outer edges.
$250 for balancing is HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A reputable shop should not charge more than $10 or $12 per wheel at the most. $140 for alignment is a high price, but not as RIDICULOUS as the quoted balance price.
If you are one to do such work yourself, toe can be very successfully set in the driveway. If you are interested in the home procedure for accurate toe setting, speak up and I will go through it for you. As far as balancing goes, you just need to find a reasonably priced source and MAKE SURE that they do a DYNAMIC balance with weights in both inner and outer planes. These cars will vibrate with a static balance which consists of weights on the inner plane only.
Hope this helps.