It is important
to remember that when installing wider tires and/or wider wheels with
more negative offset than factory and when ride height is changed, especially
on late model IFS (Independent Front Suspension) equipped foreign &
domestic P/U's & SUV's, it also changes alignment settings and load
on the steering components.
When front-end alignment goes uncorrected, it shows up on the tread
surface of tires which have excessive wear to the inside or outside
portion of the tread. The same can be said of tires with a 'chopped'
and/or 'feathered' look to the tread. Most often, we can trace tires
requested for adjustment due to "fast tread wear" back to
a vehicle with poor or uncorrected front-end alignment.
Here is the way to avoid this unwarrantable problem:
1.
Correct
changes in front end alignment due to torsion bar or spring adjustment,
lift or lowering kit installation, severe off road use, wheel width and/or
offset or some combination of the above.
Note: Brand name suspension manufacturers and vendors always recommend
front-end alignment after lift or lowering kit installation or suspension
height adjustments.
2.
While a steering stabilizer is a good idea with the installation of
any tire/wheel combination larger than OE, and may disguise the 'feel'
(darting, hunting, wandering, wheel shimmy) that goes along with poor
alignment, it will not fix this. Only a competent alignment to suggested
specs is sufficient. This may also mean replacing worn suspension/steering
components such as ball joints, tie-rod ends, idler/pitman arm, control
arm bushings and wheel/axle bearings. Even on low mileage vehicles,
this is important, due to the possibility of low quality original equipment
components.
Finally, vehicles with oversize tires and wheels may need more frequent
alignments, due to increased load on suspension and steering components.
Proper maintenance and alignment will not only increase tire life and
driveability, it will also extend the life of suspension and steering
components.
Bottom line = Check your vehicle for worn suspension/steering components
before/when suspension height is altered and geometry changed; after
worn components replaced, if any needed, get it aligned. Tires being
adjusted for fast/uneven tread wear on vehicles with poor alignment
will not be warranted.
This is Mickey
Thompson TRUCK / OFF-ROAD Technical Bulletin #2.
For more information regarding Mickey Thompson Performance Products ph:
330.928.9092