New tires on 98 Accord LX - Do I need an alignment?

Stephen:

Out of curiousity - do you see customers who actually get 60,000 million on a set off tires especially front wheel drive cars?

Any brands you prefer? I always had weird stuff with Michelins as they would seem to attract nails.

Reply to
Tom Jackson
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I've gotten at least 40,000 miles off the original tires on every car I've bought since 1985 (before then - no). The Original equip Michelins on the

2000 TL went 49,000. The original Bridgestones on my 2002 Pathfinder still have at least one rotation (6,000 miles) left on them at 52,000.

If the OP is only getting 25,000 from tires on a standard sedan, then I would say more frequent alignments are definitely in order.

Reply to
E Meyer

I imagine it could also depend how hard they're driven. ie: around corners, etc. Tire inflation as well, but inproper inflation would show uneven wear.

Reply to
Dave L

Yes. If you are only getting 25,000 miles on a set of tires, check the following:

Tire air pressure -- too low and the tires will wear out quickly, as well as being less safe.

Tire size, type, and rating -- sportier tires (with higher speed ratings) tend to have lesser tread life (S and T rated tires may last 80,000 miles, though some "budget" tires have far shorter tread lifes; H rated tires typically 50,000 to 60,000 miles, and sportier tires with higher speed ratings like V, Z, W, Y typically less). Check the load rating on the tires as well.

Type of driving -- city driving will wear out tires (and other things in a car, like brake pads and oil) in less mileage than highway driving.

Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

Most all tires have some sort of mileage warranty; If you choose to look at it and use it is up to you. The higher performance tires do not; especially the 50 series and such and those with z-rating ect. Also some aggressive truck tires do not also; this is up to the manufacture

A car that is radically out of alignment MAY cause handling problem and be unsafe; but generally speaking most alignment issues boil down to pulls, drifts and tire wear.

I perform about 150-200 alignments a year, seldom are they dangerous on the road prior to the job.

Reply to
Stephen H

Well 60,000 million--never ;)

A few push the 60K number; a regional tire distributor is advertising a

100,000 tire. Realistically that rubber would be so hard that I wonder if it would have any grip. Most people have forgotten about any warranty by the 60k mark, and if you don't quite make it then the tire dealer offers them a pro rated offer perhaps 10 dollars off each on the new set.

My tire preference is the brand we sell, based on performance and what I see on a regular basis. Also my discount plays into it allot. There are a few of our names I don't like based upon the tread depth. I don't like tires that have the edge tread 2/32 less than the center because if you corner allot then you wear the tires edges and then your tire looks worn out while there is still tread in the center.

I hate Michelins only because thy have a stiff sidewall and are hard to remove from the rim sometimes. But as far as being "nail magnets" it seems as though all tires are equal. We do see more nails and flats in tires that are 80% worn...

Reply to
Stephen H

Our Prius came with Potenza tires, which have a treadwear rating of 160 (!) - those really were "nail magnets." We had more punctures with those in two years than we had altogether in a 2-car family for more than 20 years. I think the soft compound let road debris get a perch and work its way into the tire. The Pirellis we put on haven't had a puncture yet.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

maybe not pottering about town or straight line on a freeway, but i assure you, if the rear alignment on a civic is out, it radically affects cornering stability - it makes a huge difference to the adhesion limit and therefore can significantly reduce cornering speed. do the experiments yourself some time.

Reply to
jim beam

jim beam wrote in news:iridndeOacqZWGDenZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

In principal I agree but, how many people actually drive 9-10ths on the road? I think alignment guy's speaking of normal drivers.

In the back and front on normal honda's, the only adjustment is toe (how pointed in the tires are to each other). In the front, if the caster's off you actually have to loosen and move the entire subframe fore and aft (which means effectively it's not adjultable) . Camber's completely not adjustable. If you have bad camber, you've either lowered the car or something's bent.

You can put adjustable parts in, if you want to change the camber, upper control arm's in the back and front can be replaced with adjustable ones.

Reply to
Dufus Systems

Absolutely Stephen! This DOES happen. Even the so-called luxury marque nameplates ship vehicles ocassionally with alignment issues right out of the chute.

Ron M.

Reply to
Ron M.

but how many accidents occur at any less than 9/10th's? /and/ adhesion limit depends on alignment!

right, but if it's bent, straighten it! that's why we check these things!

unless the car's lowered and as long as the bushings are factory, standard settings are fine.

Reply to
jim beam

yet OTOH, I've only seen a few punctures on the Prius/Potenza Combo... Perhaps you just had a string of bad luck? ;) But seriously, When the Prius came out it was pointed out that the tires had a heaver load rating than Standard Potenza's--We had to order extras in. We saw a lot of premature wear on those tires, not lasting near as long as needed, so the BOSS suggested bumping the pressure up a bit (34psi I believe) and the wear slowed down. A local shop put a Toyo on the car and when the dealer saw it they suggested the car be towed to a good tire shop to have a proper tire with the adequate load rating put on.

Now this is all fine and dandy; and mind you this is Toyota thought process not my personal thought. Just be sure the Pirellis are rated for that car.

Reply to
Stephen H

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