When we put on four new tires, is it a requirement to have the front end aligned?
This question comes up often. If you monitor the condition of the tires and the wear is even with no anomolies, I personally don’t feel it necessary, especiallly in a car without much mileage. Others here feel it’s a good policy to prevent abnormal tire wear and to get a routine look-see of the condition of the chassis.
If you have no idea whether the tires were wearing normally, and it’s been a long time since you had an alignment, it may be a good idea.
Required? No.
Good idea? Yes.
I can’t imaging investing in a set of new tires and not having a 4-wheel alignment (not just the front wheels) done. It’s cheap insurance.
No.
Two excellent indy tire shops I use give a free rotation 6000 miles latter to inspect wear patterns of tire to see if any further work required.
It’s not an etched in stone requirement but it’s a very good idea to have it checked ever so often. (say 30-50k miles, depending)
It only takes one pothole to knock something out of whack and it’s also quite possible to have no noticeable symptoms on a vehicle that is out of alignment.
A good alignment tech should also inspect suspension components and advise the car owner of any problems that may exist rather than allow the car owner to find out the hard way when a ball joint gives up the ghost at highway speeds.