Do vehicles go out of alignment as miles add up?

CarlB said:
The specification for most vehicles is a large range, so what feels and drive poorly is often still "in."

Just depends on the level of precision and matching between left vs right you care about.
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People get used to it over time. If it's got an obvious pull to one side when you let go of the wheel, I get an alignment, cause then you're just wearing a bunch of front end parts out ore maturely. Remember you have power steering, so that little bit of effort with your hand is actually a ton of effort with the power steering pump. Typically this only happens if you smack into something real good.
 
pcoxe said:
I'd suspect the rubber bushings in control arms would be the greatest contributor to alignment change. The rubber can deform over time, or completely rot away.
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It's also why alignment can change so much with cornering, braking, acceleration loads.

Rubber deflects and can create toe changes. Plus as the control arm moves through its arc it can adjust it.
 
What causes tires to never make it to their mileage claim? Or is that typical? Like say they have a 50,000 Mike warranty and only last 30k miles?
 
The motor guy said:
What causes tires to never make it to their mileage claim? Or is that typical? Like say they have a 50,000 Mike warranty and only last 30k miles?
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In my opinion, it's lack of tire maintenance. You know, tire rotations and air checks. Also worn/malfunctioning brake and suspension components can have a significant, if gradual, effect on tire performance and wear, decreasing their lifespan, sometimes drastically if you're really negligent.
 
ChrisD46 said:
Would you automatically get a wheel alignment with a new tires installation OR only if there appeared to be a problem with uneven tire wear with the previous tire set ?
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I don't think I've ever gotten an alignment just because I bought new tires. I would if I felt the veicle didn't drive quite right or the tire shop said I needed it but not otherwise.
 
The motor guy said:
What causes tires to never make it to their mileage claim? Or is that typical? Like say they have a 50,000 Mike warranty and only last 30k miles?
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Most tire wear occurs in the cornering mode. Driving straight ahead is practically free. So if you do a lot of cornering, like city driving, then your tires are going to wear faster than if you do - say - country driving. I've seen the same tires range from less than 10K to over 100K and the difference was how the vehicle was used.

But there are certain places which aren't very good on tire wear. South Florida with its concrete made of "new" limestone and Pittsburg with its windy road are 2 examples where tire wear is just going to be poor.
 
CapriRacer said:
Most tire wear occurs in the cornering mode. Driving straight ahead is practically free. So if you do a lot of cornering, like city driving, then your tires are going to wear faster than if you do - say - country driving. I've seen the same tires range from less than 10K to over 100K and the difference was how the vehicle was used.

But there are certain places which aren't very good on tire wear. South Florida with its concrete made of "new" limestone and Pittsburg with its windy road are 2 examples where tire wear is just going to be poor.
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Makes sense. Yeah lots of left and right turns at intersections. I'll chew through a set Michelins just as fast as these pathfinder tires.
 
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