Is wheel alignment required ?

[cuddapah]

I took the Z4 for service and Service Advisor said rear tires need to be changed. She said front tires still have some life and can be changed later. So I got new rear tires and they did the standard wheel alignment. I noticed there is some change in the drive and noticed that the tech who worked on the car 'forgot' one lug nut on driver side rear wheel. To my surprise I noticed that rear tires had tire pressure 36psi and front tires had 65psi. Service Advisor apologized (as usual) and 'took care' of the issues. She said her tech thinks that wheel alignment is not required even though he forgot the lug nut. Now I noticed that sometimes the car pulls to the right. Not specific to speed and roads seem to be ok. My question is whether wheel alignment is required or not when they took care of the issues (missing lug nut and overinflated tire pressure). Appreciate your suggestions.

[jparnes1]

wheel alignment is not a de facto service for new tires. did the old tires have an irregular tread wear pattern or did your car not track straight? Then yes, an alignment is a good idea, otherwise it's not needed. It sounds like your tech was a goofball and I would ask to see a print out of the alignment specs to be sure they are within the correct parameters.

[Zedfor]

I have to disagree with Major jparnes1. Usually, on these cars, it is advisable to perform and alignment when you replace the tires. Personally, I would replace the tires as a set (all four). That said, take the car back to the shop and have them fix it correctly. Maybe they need to put a more experienced tech on it or have the manager inspect the job when it is finished this time. Demand it be done correctly, but in a nice way. Don't come off as an a$$hole, or you will rue the day you ever took it to that particular shop. Trust me on this.

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by Zedfor

I have to disagree with Major jparnes1. Usually, on these cars, it is advisable to perform and alignment when you replace the tires. Personally, I would replace the tires as a set (all four). That said, take the car back to the shop and have them fix it correctly. Maybe they need to put a more experienced tech on it or have the manager inspect the job when it is finished this time. Demand it be done correctly, but in a nice way. Don't come off as an a$$hole, or you will rue the day you ever took it to that particular shop. Trust me on this.

Nice to see another ZSCCA member here! But I can't understand why you would replace all four if only the rear are worn. If you are using the same tires as on the front to replace with, it makes no sense. And what makes this car so special that it needs an alignment with new tires? An alignment is done if the car is out of alignment, not because it's getting new shoes. If yo examine the condition of the wear pattern on the tires, you will know if you are out of alignment.

[HerrK]

Originally Posted by cuddapah

I took the Z4 for service and Service Advisor said rear tires need to be changed. She said front tires still have some life and can be changed later. So I got new rear tires and they did the standard wheel alignment. I noticed there is some change in the drive and noticed that the tech who worked on the car 'forgot' one lug nut on driver side rear wheel. To my surprise I noticed that rear tires had tire pressure 36psi and front tires had 65psi. Service Advisor apologized (as usual) and 'took care' of the issues. She said her tech thinks that wheel alignment is not required even though he forgot the lug nut. Now I noticed that sometimes the car pulls to the right. Not specific to speed and roads seem to be ok. My question is whether wheel alignment is required or not when they took care of the issues (missing lug nut and overinflated tire pressure). Appreciate your suggestions.

I hope you have 65 psig documented on the service write up.

Personally I would go back to the shop and demand new frt tires. If your are running the stock RFT you will note on the sidewall they state "Never inflate beyond 50 or 51 psig" (Depening on the specific tire). The tires may have been damaged by the over inflation and that could be the cause for your handling issue. Don't let the dealer get away with this one. Point out the sidewall information to them, although I'm sure they already know they screwed up. The tire carcass and belts are designed for a max pressure range - otherwise they wouldn't put it on the tire - it is a SAFETY issue. Remind the dealer of this! Mention the NHTSA, tell them you will call them!

As for replacing all four tires when only the rears are worn/replaced - that is rubbish. If that were true every time BMW replaced 1 RFT due to a punctured tire they would be changing all four - NOT.

If the tires are wearing well and the car is handling ok you don't need an alignment. If you don't understand the meaning of handing ok and are paranoid, then spend the $200+ at BMW and have them align it.

I recently had mine in for the battery cable recall. My dealer spot checks alignment on every 3rd or 4th car coming in for service, while they are writing up the service ticket - no charge. I've had this done twice now, same results pre and post tire change - alignment is still spot on. The dealer did not do the tire replacement and the car has 25+ K miles on it. I even went up in profile and width on my new tires. My wifes E46 still goes down the road with 130K+ miles true as always, no abnormal tire wear, post lower A arm and bushing replacement just like it did when she brought home the CPO at 18K miles.

If you've pound major pot holes on a routine basis, the car drifts all over the road, and the tires exhibit abnormal wear - by all means get the alignment.

The dealer screwed up - 65 psig WTF!

[CedarZ4]

I agree with jparnes in regards to changing all 4 tires at once. On any 2 wheel drive car, it's really not necessary and just a waste to change all 4 at once. Since we are RWD, most likely the rear will wear first. Just get 2 matching rears and replace them. If you are a FWD (and staggered) or AWD, then that's different. A lot of information on the technicals if you're interested, just do a quick google search.

In regards to the alignment... I'm on the fence. I think like jparnes said, if your tires are not showing uneven wear, you can probably get away without an alignment. Hell, when I used to have a super old beater car from circa 1980s, I've never did an alignment and I came out fine. No shimmy and any real uneven wear. You really have to knock your alignment out to really show major uneven wear. However, I do agree with Zedfor that it is generally a good idea to do a alignment every time you get new tires. Here's why. Even when you drive out of the garage right after an alignment, your alignment is already very slightly off. That's just the nature of it. With the amount of rough roads and potholes you hit, your alignment will most definitely be off. Probably not to the point where you have major uneven wear, but it adds up. What if the last pothole you hit 1,000 miles ago before tire change really knocked your alignment off? You won't be able to see uneven wear.

Let's look at a really basic scenario. Say your last tires lasted 30,000 miles (I know, who am I kidding if you're on OEM RFT Potenzas). Everything was fine for the first 20,000 miles. In the next 10,000, enough rough roads ruined your alignment, but again not enough to show uneven wear. You put on new tires. For the first 10,000 miles on your new tires, your alignment deviated further from OEM spec. Because your alignment was already slightly off, this resulted in a misalignment enough to ruin the remaining 20,000 miles, which then will cause shimmy and uneven tire wear. For $100-$150 (even at a BMW dealer, if you have a coupon), I think it's a good thing to do every few years, which is just how much new tires will last, regardless of uneven wear.

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by CedarZ4

Let's look at a really basic scenario. Say your last tires lasted 30,000 miles (I know, who am I kidding if you're on OEM RFT Potenzas). Everything was fine for the first 20,000 miles. In the next 10,000, enough rough roads ruined your alignment, but again not enough to show uneven wear. You put on new tires. For the first 10,000 miles on your new tires, your alignment deviated further from OEM spec. Because your alignment was already slightly off, this resulted in a misalignment enough to ruin the remaining 20,000 miles, which then will cause shimmy and uneven tire wear. For $100-$150 (even at a BMW dealer, if you have a coupon), I think it's a good thing to do every few years, which is just how much new tires will last, regardless of uneven wear.

Good point. In our cars you'll replace the rears then all four. I agree that at that time it will have been a few years and an alignment would be a good idea.

[cuddapah]

Thanks everybody for your responses. I dropped off the car for service this morning and will post their findings in the evening.

[cuddapah]

Service Advisor said they swapped the tires. Their notes in resolution says "VEHICLE HAS TURE PULL CHECKED PRESSURES AND SWAPED TIRES TO".
So far I drove around 100 miles and it seems to be ok.

[jparnes1]

Wait a sec....are you saying they swapped front for rear? How is that possible? If that's what they're saying, LMFAO!

[nicknaz]

I hope he means the dealer replaced the tires they F'd up with over inflation with a set of new ones!

BTW, I personally feel that hitting a pothole doesn't put the car out of alignment and it is enough to do the spot checks and do alignment only in response to uneven wear (not caused by usage!) or excessive pulling to the side. Most roads are sloped from crown to curb so it is hard to find a truly flat surface, IMHO

In 3 years of living with many potholes in Chicagoland and launching the car off berms and curbs as needed at the track, my E90 328 had alignment perfectly in specs