17" wheels?

If by "staggered" you mean offset then I suspect the pivot point of the old wheel & tire combination is not in the center of the new wheel & tire tread.

A hypothetical line projected through the upper and lower ball joints down to the ground marks the pivot point on the ground. To have it be in the center of the tire's tread depends on a specified wheel offset, wheel diameter and tire height etc. I suspect your new wheels make the new tires pivot somewhere off the designed pivot point.

I'd first check the toe-in or toe-out as the case may be for that, if incorrect, can wear the edge of a tire. Center the steering wheel and roll the car to a stop using the parking brake. For a quick and dirty check just sight down the outer edge of each front tire (at its mid height) to its rear wheel. You may find that one, or both, don't achieve this crude alignment check. If that's so have a professional adjust the car's toe-in, or the whole front suspension.

-->> T.G. Lambach old wheel & tire combination is not in the center of the new wheel &

By "staggered" I mean 17" x 8 1/2" ET30 in the rear and 17" x 7 1/2" ET37 in the front. The stock ET is 49 on the 6 1/2" wheel. If I understand the offset thing correctly, the difference in the ET corresponds to half the difference in the width of the wheel and I *should* be OK.

JD

Did you get it aligned?

-tom!

You need to get it aligned at the shop with your new wheels.

That's on the agenda for tomorrow but as it was never an issue with the stock wheels I'm unsure of why it becomes an issue with the 17's.

JD

The wheels and tires are an integral part of the car's suspension. Changing them changes the interactions that take place between the road and the car's frame.

Glad the alignment helped. ;)

-tom!