Justify an alignment

[JimRummy]

I just recently went from the stock 225/70/14 to 215/75/15 (which to my understanding is basically the same tire, just a larger wheel) on my 93 4.0 2WD. My question is does that change justify getting an alignment?
It doesn't pull or anything like that, and all seems fine, but as I just broke 100k and it is 100% OE i just don't want to break some 20 year old part because of some slight difference in camber/caster.
All/any input is appreciated!
Thanks

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

No, it does not require an alignment because of a tire size change.

 

[JimRummy]

Cool, good deal. Better safe than sorry.
I know this is probably a silly question, but after going to BFG AT's what tire pressure should I be running? The shop that put them on put them to 35psi (like the door sticker days), but I was just curious if that still applys..

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

It's what I have always gone by. If you read the sidewall of the tire it will list the max pressure cold and will state to follow the vehicle manufacturer spec for pressure.

 

[srteach]

The only reason to go with higher pressure is if you carry heavier loads in the truck. Even then, I would max out at 45psi on a ranger.

 

[Will]

If the center of the tire has moved it would change the spring rate as the distance between the beam pivot and the center of the tire decide how hard the nutcracker squeezes the spring. If you used a stock wheel the track shouldn't have changed, but if you used an aftermarket wheel with, I guess, negative offset, there is a harder squeeze on the coil spring and the wheel would tip in more at the top giving you negative camber.

2WDs are better because the beams are longer, but caster, camber and toe are all tied together on these suspensions because the tires don't move vertically up and down--they swing down and back and pull their toes together on down-travel. Changing anything likely effects the other things.

I'm not saying you need an alignment, I'm saying you might need an alignment depending on what you do. If you do get it aligned, make sure they pick the truck up under the tires, not under the coils. They will badly misalign it if they lift it under the coils. The first time I took a Ranger in to have it aligned they screwed mine up horribly. Now I do it myself, as do many others around here.

 

[RavoHimself]

for tire pressure the door tag is usually good. what i like to do, especially since you have new tires, is put them to the max psi. get you're drive way wet, and slowly drop the psi untill the entire tread gets wet, this way you get even tread wear. me personally, i run 42 up front cuz i have the 4.0 and 32 out back

 

[CHKNFKR]

Call or email the manufacturer and ask them for the recommended static loaded radius. Get out your tape measure and air up all four tires to the height they call for. Put a tire pressure guage to each tire and record the pressure. Now you will know the PROPER pressure required for that specific tire on each corner of your vehicle. Each time you change tire type or size you will have to call or email the manufacturer again. This is the only proper method of tire inflation.

 

[adsm08]

The justification for the alignment in this case is that is costs a fraction of one of the four tires you just put on. The alignment will help protect your new tires from odd wear if something else is out.

 

[JimRummy]

Hmmm very interesting.. Valid points on both sides.. So whats the verdict boys & girls?
Alignment or no?
Would a basic $70 alignment actually change the camber and what not?

 

[badmts]

I have the answer! Get an alignment CHECK ($19.95 at FIRESTONE) first, they will provide you with a computer printout of CURRENT specs and if it is out you should set it to prevent tire wear and poor fuel mileage (both cost MONEY).As for tire inflation the pressure on the door is for the OE size but can be used as a guideline,I tell my customers to put it between the door and the sidewall if they insist on playing around with it -a cool way to set tire air pressure is to use the "STATIC LOADED RADIUS" of the tire determined by the tire mfg. ,you put a ruler next to the tire and inflate it until the center of the axle is a predetermined distance from the bottom of the tire (6 o'clock ) people will ask all kinds of questions ,this way insures proper inflation no matter load or temp!

 

[cdawall]

If you haven't had an alignment in a while get one. The tires have nothing to do with the alignment however the $50 it cost to get an alignment is worth it to find out your 20 year old truck probably has bad balljoints, TRE's etc.

 

[kryptonitecb]

For all the nay sayers it is recommended to get an alignment every 6 months. I've had friends work at alignment shops have brand new cars with improper alignments from the factory. Tire wear changes your alignment, hitting a curb can change it. Even if your vehicle doesn't "pull" it can be out of alignment.

I'd first find a shop that knows how to align ttb. I went to 3 NTB's and all the techs told me my truck couldn't be aligned cause it has "one of dem funny ford dangs". They would only adjust the toe which does nothing if caster/camber is off.

Sent from road while ignoring traffic

 

[4.0B2]

for tire pressure the door tag is usually good. what i like to do, especially since you have new tires, is put them to the max psi. get you're drive way wet, and slowly drop the psi untill the entire tread gets wet, this way you get even tread wear. me personally, i run 42 up front cuz i have the 4.0 and 32 out back

this... see when you get the entire footprint touching the ground

 

[sparkye]

For all the nay sayers it is recommended to get an alignment every 6 months. I've had friends work at alignment shops have brand new cars with improper alignments from the factory. Tire wear changes your alignment, hitting a curb can change it. Even if your vehicle doesn't "pull" it can be out of alignment.

I'd first find a shop that knows how to align ttb. I went to 3 NTB's and all the techs told me my truck couldn't be aligned cause it has "one of dem funny ford dangs". They would only adjust the toe which does nothing if caster/camber is off.

Sent from road while ignoring traffic

Having scrubbed several tires which hurts the wallet, I would say when in doubt, get an alignment. That's why I paid for a lifetime alignment (lifetime = on that specific vehicle for as long as I owned that specific vehicle) at Firestone (it was a promotional special and I think it was about $80) and now I can get a full alignment done for free anytime. That's what I would recommend. It's a LOT cheaper than buying a new set of tires after only 12,000 miles!