Alignment

MY car was pulling left so I took it to the shop. It needed alignment because the front tires were bad. That shop was already doing the alignment and then called me about the tires. I chose to move the car to another place to buy 4 tires as the first place did not have the size I needed. I drove slowly a couple miles and got the new tires. Was it okay to do the alignment and then put the new tires on? I was afraid to ask for fear I would not be told the truth. My daughter and I had serviced her car the day before and met up with the gender problems of the shop wanting to do more than we felt necessary.

Yes. New tires don’t really change any of the parameters of the alignment in any great way.

Is the car driving fine now? No pulling? You’re likely OK.

that’s right–no pulling

You don’t nave to get tires the same day, or even the day before. Shops that want to do more than what you feel is necessary is now a gender-neutral, equal opportunity phenomenon.

Modern alignments are done with the car suspended on the base of the lower control arms, near the ball joints. This way its the wheels that get aligned, not the tires.