I've asked this previously, but now I have more information.

I bought lifetime alignment so can align with every oil change. Seemed like a good move to spend $210 to align maybe four times a year possibly for the next 2-3 years instead of $100+/- for one time. 50 miles daily about half on rural curving, bumpy roads. As it is, winding, hilly roads eat brakes and tires so keeping aligned can only help.

I may be having a loss of confidence with the alignment shop.

Last week I removed the plastic Wheelskinz, got new tires at Costco and went to the alignment and oil change. They gave me the alignment sheet and said I needed a passenger camber bolt. I purchased a kit and went back yesterday (after driving 200 miles) and they charged $115 to swap it out and align. Before they did the work I asked about the Wheelskin covers and how their sensors mount, so we walked out to the truck. Asked if the Wheelskins would affect the measurements, I said I can remove them in 5 minutes. He took a look and said the covers would not get scratched, I assumed that means the sensors don't touch the face of the rim. He said to leave them on, then as we are walking away he said "It's better with them on." That triggered me.

I got the alignment sheet and it seem peculiar when checked against the alignment a week earlier. I'm concerned that the Wheelskins do make a difference, which I can take them off in the future no problem. But I just want to understand what's going on. When I questioned the dramatic differences, they said at 120k that the tie rods may need to be replaced and they can give me a deal of $100 off $1100 next week. Again, losing confidence.

The first photo is the alignment (Wheelskins off) a week ago and they note needing the passenger camber bolt.
--- drove 200 miles, replaced camber bolt ---
The second photo is the alignment (Wheelskins on) yesterday.
I find it curious the alignment could be so far off after driving 200 miles and I'm suspecting the Wheelskins account for that difference or the tech has different skills that the other tech has that did the alignment a week ago.

I'm planning on going back there on Monday and taking the Wheelskinz off to realign. That should tell me everything?
Looking for input.

 

I’m not totally familiar with the wheelskinz but if it were me I’d want to have them off especially if they’re easy to remove. That’s going to give you the most accurate alignment.

 

Best is right against the wheel face, but it depends on how the alignment rack is designed.

If it was mine I would take the covers off, just to eliminate any doubt. If the shop keeps finding that parts are needed above the cost of alignment then that raises a flag to me.

Get some experience with the covers off and see what kind of data trend emerges.

The local Subaru dealer is known for checking alignment on every car that gets serviced. A friends brand new Ascent with 4700 mi. "needed" an alignment when he took it to get the first oil change.

I had our Impreza in for a suspected trans noise and they said it needed an alignment as well. Didn't even ask them to check it, they just loaded it on the rack and checked it. Never got it done, 50k mi later it tracks straight, no pulling, no abnormal tire wear.

I'm sure if the alignment rack sensors are not mounted properly they can indicate a problem when there isn't any.

 

I'm of the opinion lifetime alignments are a scam. Mix that with the "Wheelskinz", my guess is they are like hub caps, an incompetent tech may have left them on during the alignment.

Just for comparison,


I asked Steve to push castor out to the limits because of my 3.5 inch wider track width and bigger tires (adding a bit more straight line centering because the tire/suspension changes made my truck twitchy), a bit of negative camber best he could. I do have SPC UCAs with castor/camber adjustments in the ball joint mounting. KM

 

Seems a tad obsessive. I've had my truck aligned once in 92K miles. It tracks straight, the tires don't show unusual wear, and the fuel mileage hasn't changed, so I don't have any indication that my alignment is off, in spite of doing some offroad driving and the occasional pothole. I can't imagine why I would want to pay to have an alignment done 4 times a year, or even once a year. Looks like an unnecessary maintenance scam.

Any sort of flexible and easily removeable wheel covering should obviously be removed before alignment.

 

The local Chevy dealer has some kind of camera system that "checks alignment", among other things, when you pull into the service department. I'm highly skeptical about how accurate it can be.


I agree that I'd remove the wheel skins to get the most accurate alignment.

 

I had an alignment done 40k miles ago when I added 1.5" wheel spacers and a 1" front strut spacer lift. No irregular tire wear and it still tracks true.

 

I appreciate the info. I don’t know much about suspension.

i originally had an alignment after I added Fox coil overs and leveled 17 months ago. A few months later I added R.AS. and I’ve re-adjusted the R.A.S. I’ve had wear on the old tires on the outside edges even though rotating, so that was a concern. I’m more aware and slowing down my curvy, hilly driving speeds, but it still will wear tires faster and outside edges I believe.

I’ll take the covers off in the future, which was my gut instinct. Also, I’ll take a look at them doing the work so I can see what type of equipment they are using, and I can probably find a utoob video to learn a better overview.

Sounds like him saying “it’s better with them on” is a crock of shizz.

Now I need to see how I can check/verify condition of the tie rods. I may trust them for oil changes or a couple alignments, but I’d rather verify anything else.

 

Taking corners and curves too quickly will wear front tire edges because the tire folds over in the curve. Its not alignment related.

Had the very same issue because my drive to work at my old full time job was like that. Retiring fixed it, lol.

I also increased front tire pressure a pound or 2 to make the tire stiffer and force the middle of the tread to wear more evenly.

Lower profile shorter sidewall tires with larger diameter wheels will also be better suited for higher cornering speeds but they dont ride as well.

 

I get an alignment after suspension changes…for people that keep their truck a long time, unless you are changing the front height, not sure why you need more alignments.

seems like the lifetime alignment is a ploy to get you to buy alignment bolts and other suspension parts.

i just paid $90 for an alignment at Ford, in and out in 20 min and they adjusted my toe.

i wouldn’t go back to the shop, id also probably ask for my money back for the lifetime alignment but id just consider that a loss. Also, tie rod ends on these trucks aren’t expensive and easy to install. They range from $9 to $70 per side, if you have lifetime alignments, swap them out and take it back for them to align