How often should you align your wheels? Shop offering 4yrs alignment for $130
 

I just got some BFGoodrich g-Force KDW2 tires delivered from tirerack which by the way came SUPER fast... I ordered on Sunday at 8pm and they were delivered today at noon.

I called couple of shops and alignment is around $80 at every shop and 1 shop offers unlimited alignments in 4 years for $130. Should I pay $50 more to get this option?

YES! Around here an alignment can be around $150 for lowered cars. Take the deal as long as its a reputable shop that won't butcher your car lol..

Firestone offers L I F E T I M E alignments for the same price....check it out.

Get it aligned at least once a year. If when you bring it in it is significantly out of alighment, I'd do it every 6 months.

When I did a search earlier, I saw titles of some threads where people didn't like Firestone one... maybe I should read the threads to see what their experiences were.

How's Firestone's reputation on the alignments? The shop where I would be getting it done is Sun Tire (probably a local shop) and it got referred to me by a fellow 08 Nismo member.

I'm pretty sure my alignment is out of whack now. I have almost 19k on my stock RE050s and I hit a curb couple of months ago. However, car only starts pulling a lil bit to the side after about 5 seconds of not holding the wheel on a highway.

Took the words out of my mouth.

So how many alignments do you get for $130? 2? 8?

Here is a key about alignment: Find a shop that can tweak alignment to your needs not just what the book says. A suspension pro can be very beneficial for performance and handling. Sears, for example, is going to go by the book, and give you a quick kiss good-bye.

Hell yes!.......I choose NTB with their limited years over firestone lifetime offer because of that very reason.....I straight up walked in there and if they would align to my liking........

NTB guys there were enthusiast as well and Firestone was all "blah..blah, policy and our liability etc..etc"

I have since gotten lucky to find that the NTB near my new house has an ex-nissan dealership tech guy doing their alignment and he is straight up cool cat and will get my alignment where i want it.

I track my car and have gotten my car aligned as much as 8 times in a years period time before...


-J

:+1: You provide good advice.

“…and 1 shop offers unlimited alignments in 4 years for $130” doesn’t sound right to me. Offers like this often come from startup shops looking for new business or shops hoping to sell product or additional services.

Not all alignment shops are equal. To see this go back to Nissan’s tire feathering problem. Everyone was pointing fingers (a tire problem to an alignment problem to a suspension design problem), but as it turned out some of the Nissan dealerships had faulty alignment equipment. Nissan eventually fixed the problem by requiring its dealers to recalibrate their equipment.

The absolute worst thing is to go to a shop that messes-up your proper alignment when doing a new alignment. I’ve experienced this. Now I only use one shop that I trust. I have them do an annual alignment (and I pay for each alignment). That’s a small investment when comparing the high cost of tires for the Z.

--Spike

whats NTB?

i would trust places like firestone/sears to do stock alignments but for lowered cars id go to a performance shop. is the offer good for lowered cars too?

Well… it could be “National Transportation Board” or maybe “National Tire Brand”...?

…but wait …If you input www.ntb.com, guess what you get…

National Tire and Battery :band:

--Spike

I've had excellent experiences with Firestone. I'm lowered on Eibach pro-kit, with spc rear camber arms/toe bolt. It just so happens that the techs at the firestones I go to are into tuning cars as well, so they can appreciate servicing a lowered car. I've never had issues with the guy at the counter complaining cause my car was lowered. I have the lifetime for about $150 or so or whatever it is, and get it done 2-3 times a year and have been very happy so far.

^^ Proof again that a good technician at a bad shop is better than a bad technician at a good shop. But, do good shops even employ bad technicians?

The problem with trusting a name (Firestone, Sears, etc.) is the fact that there is a wide variation among different shops operating under the same franchise. You still have “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”

I prefer using a small shop with a stable group of technicians. I think you get better service than with a large shop that experiences a lot of turnover.

BTW: There is nothing wrong with requesting a printout of your tire shop’s latest calibration of their alignment equipment.

--Spike

Which Firestone is this? I am also in Cali and will have the same setup thanks in advanced.

Firestone will also...

Scratch your car/wheels
Get your interior dirty
Not care about the work they are doing
Do things to your car/sucker you in to fixing things that do not need to be fixed

I wouldnt ever take my z to a firestone...ever...:icon22::icon8:

Sorry, i was under the impression there was more than one Firestone in the U.S.........

:rolleyes:

I have had nothing but good experiences...and they use new lift systems that are underground...you just drive over a flat surface and the lift catches car from underneath, perfect for lowered cars.

Thank you all for the advice guys. I sent a text to few local my350z members and I received couple of recommendations.. one of them was the shop that offers unlimited alignments in 4 years for $130. The guy told me I can come in as often as I want but he recommends it once in 6 months or if I hit something that would knock the alignment out. I will have to call that shop today as well as the other recommended shops and check the following with them:

1. Do they align to the factory specs or can I give them my own specs? A question about this question I have for you guys is... if I have factory everything would I really need to align it to anything other than factory specs?

2. Can they provide me with a printout of their latest calibration of their alignment equipment?

3. ???

Also, considering that Nissan required their shops to re-calibrate their alignment machines... wouldn't Nissan dealership be the safest bet?

I have zero problems with my firestone. Guess I just got lucky. I request the same tech every time, I watch him work on it, I request what specs I want it at, he lets me sit in the car while aligning etc as well.

NTB

5 yrs

$160

I say do it - never know when your going hit that BIG OL pot hole and your toe is -.14 degrees..