drwhosc

Hey all, abut a year ago, I had my front end aligned. Needless to say it was done poorly. I have bald outside tires, so seems like I have toe in wear. so I need to get new tires and an alignment. The shop I went to says do the alignment first. They are also telling me I can do the tires the same day. So my concern is that when I get the new tires put on, the weight will come off the front end and I don't know where the car will settle.

Should I get the tires put on, drive for a bit then get the alignment, or will it be ok to get the alignment dialed in then lift the car and add new tires.

thanks

Mikebte

It is always a good idea to align the car with the new tires, can't argue with that idea.
What I did, I had the car aligned, followed by installing new tires. While the new tires are being put on, the tire shop can check ball joints and all the stuff they feel good about checking. After install I drove a few hundred miles and then returned for a second alignment.
I have had 0 issues since I did this, but I am sure other options exist.

FredR

I prefer to have the car aligned with the new rubber mounted but if the current alignment is so bad it has caused severe differential wear then maybe it is better t get the alignment sorted first. If you are getting a set of tyres from the alignment shop maybe you can work a deal to "check the alignment" and only set the front toe in, fit the new rubber and then take it back later for a full alignment [if needed] when fully settled. If they are a decent shop they might only charge you for the one full alignment.

It is also quite easy to adjust toe yourself if you are up to it, especially if it is so far out.

dr bob

There's a thread on DIY alignment (use the search tool) that includes links to Earl Gilstrom's guide. If you have four jackstands, some fishing line or thread, a tape measure and a good small pocket ruler/scale, you can set the toe yourself pretty easily. You'll want to have 15mm and 22mm open end wrenches handy for the tie rod and locknut, otherwise it's among the easiest adjustments to make on the car.

Interesting that you've scrubbed the outer edges. The common failure mode is toe'd out, from the car dropping ride height after the alignment is complete. While excessive toe-in can do that, it takes a bunch. Plus that scrubs literally the outer inch or so only, leaving the rest of the tire pretty good. In my limited experience, I see outer-edge wear much more as the result of over-exuberant cornering with underinflated tires. Regardless, it's an easy exercise to check and adjust toe with some simple common tools.

J.W. Kiser

In order to get a proper alignment on a 928 you cannot allow the company doing the alignment to lift the car. This is often done because the company doesn't have a long enough ramp to keep the front nose from rubbing. Obviously the tire company must lift the car to put on the tires. You must then take the car and drive for 10 or 12 miles prior to aligning. Again, do not allow them to lift the car when doing an alignment. I would be 99% this is what happened last time.

hacker-pschorr

For starters, 10-12 miles will not properly settle the nose on any 928 I've owned. It takes much longer & depends very much on the type of driving being done.

Secondly, and I know I'm a broken record on this around here, basing the accuracy of an alignment on some arbitrary number of miles in my opinion is very risky.
I've always found it interesting the way this community digs into the fine details of everything, but with an alignment.....meh...just ignore the WSM and drive X miles & hope the bushings have settled??

My local shop has been doing 928 alignments for a couple of decades (shop owner has owned 928's since the 80's) and they lift every single one & they come out perfect. They don't even have a drive on ramp.

Best to read & follow the WSM - This is actually NOT unique to the 928. A good alignment shop will verify if the car is settle & check ride height every time.

drwhosc

Well maybe I am corning too hard. I will get the alignment done, and see where if things are out of whack. I have all the tools to do the alignment, but prefer not to. I do it on my 71 911. Much easier.

dr bob

Grab & record the ride height before lifting the car at all. Make any ride height adjustments needed, drive and settle the car. Measure and record the new settled height. Rinse, repeat. Until you have the ride height you want. Then, have it aligned. Alert the shop that your ride height must be at your target number during all adjustments. The WSM pull-down method that Hacker describes is ideal, and isn't a problem for a good alignment shop. Most important: After the alignment is done, measure and record the ride height. If it isn't down at your target yet, drive some and measure again to verify that the car "settles out" at your target number, which is the height the car was aligned at. Periodically, measure and record the height numbers. Adjust the car as needed to maintain the height it was aligned at. If you follow his simple procedure, the tires will survive until something wears significantly, there's impact damage, or your wrenches touch the suspension and steering again.

None of this is rocket surgery. Set it where you want it, align it where you want it, maintain it where you want it.

Fogey1

Great advice.