New wheels installed...steering seems off? **Continued thread merged in here**

[SaleenGT2001]

also...used tires can take a set from the old car's alignment and can cause all kinds of alignment issues on a different car

not true at all.i dont even know where to get started with all the bad info in this thread.

rims and tires DO NOT change any of your alignment angles. my car is the same withthe15" rims as it is with the 18" rims.

wheel centerline?no it does not change simply b/c your tires are wider.

heres what you need to do.
1. go get your alignment CHECKED.most shops do it for free
2. tell them you ONLY want a check and a print out of how your car is sitting.
3. post the results of the check on here and i can tell you what is causing your problems.

i do this everyday and have done it for years. there is a TON of bad info in here. i can tell you what needs to be done if you can just post up the specs

 

[NewMStang]

not true at all.i dont even know where to get started with all the bad info in this thread.

rims and tires DO NOT change any of your alignment angles. my car is the same withthe15" rims as it is with the 18" rims.

wheel centerline?no it does not change simply b/c your tires are wider.

heres what you need to do.
1. go get your alignment CHECKED.most shops do it for free
2. tell them you ONLY want a check and a print out of how your car is sitting.
3. post the results of the check on here and i can tell you what is causing your problems.

i do this everyday and have done it for years. there is a TON of bad info in here. i can tell you what needs to be done if you can just post up the specs

Interesting...but in genral it's safe to say this isn't a tire issue, correct?

 

[mransr]

not true at all.i dont even know where to get started with all the bad info in this thread.

I dunnaknow...I only did front end and tire work for about 10 years

I don't know how you could think a tire that was on a car with an incorrect alignment (and was worn incorrectly), wouldn't effect the driveability of different car it was installed on....naturally it wouldn't change the physical alignment of the new car, but it sure could make it drive like it had a bad alingment...

my point being, if the alignment was good before putting on the new wheels and (used) tires, it would still be good after they were installed...I would look at the tires being the issue before blaming the alignment...



anyway...that's my .02, take it or leave it...

 

[streethorse]

Thats some pretty extreame wheel gap.
A taller profile would help along with a 2" drop. New tires for the front
are probably going to fix the pulling issue, when tires are near death
they start doing that, they may be old and dry, check the DOT code on the
tires and you can see how old they are.

 

[flstang65]

The penny test should be done with Lincoln's head facing you and with his head down in the tread. If the tread is so low that you can see all of his head, then you need new tires. Thats just my .01 Haha

 

[eliteJAE]

Take that baby mud boggin

I just did the same, and I had different treads at different wears on the front and it feels crappy, even though my alignment is good WITH cc plates and a 1.75 inch drop.

I'm just gonna get a better set of matching fronts eventually, but i'm pretty sure alot of it vibration is from stock shocks with a heavy drop and no iso's

Get the free check if you can.

 

[Midnight2V]

TO SALEENGT2001, MAYBE YOU SHOULD RE-READ MY POST.

I didn't say a wider tire will move centerline, I said if you change the profile - i.e. the overal height of the tire, that will change the location of the centerline of the tire. You are effectively moving where the tire reaches the ground either closer or further away from the center of the wheel hub. The only time that won't change where the tire centerline is in relation to the suspension is if you had a 0* camber setting. You are correct in that it won't change the suspension angles, but then again I never said anything about it changing the suspension angles.

As far as a set of new wheels changing the tire centerline - any wheel that uses any amount of offset from the stock mounting position compared to wheel centerline will in fact change where both the wheel centerline and the tire centerline are in relation to the suspension. This is basically moving the tire centerline in or out depending on the amount of either positive or negative offset the wheel uses.

In any case you should always get an alignment, but that may not correct all the issues. The stock suspension specifications and tolerances are specifically for the tires/wheels mounted at the factory. Any time you change wheels, tires etc., you will change the overall characteristics of the suspension. Ultimately the only way to correct this is to tune the suspension for the new combination. Just getting an alignment back to stock tolerances will not correct the problem. A reputable suspension tuner can determine a new set of specifications and tolerances for your particular setup.

I hope this helps anyone reading, and helps to clear up any misconceptions concerning my previous post.

One thing that I didn't mention that has a huge impact on the maneuvering characteristics and ride quality of the vehicle is the tire sidewall. Any time you change the wheel size you will change the sidewall height to maintain the same overall tire height, which will drastically change performance and ride quality.