Can struts affect alignment?

Changing wheels and tires doesn't change your alignment settings. However if its been a few years since your last alignment, then it isn't a bad time to have it checked.

Re: wheel alignment with McGaughy drop spindles? Yes. The McGaughy spindle moves the steering arm toward the inside. So you must adjust each tie rod shorter by the distance the steering arm moved.

Actually, they can affect ride height. If your car comes with no or low-pressure gas charged struts, and you put in high pressure gas charged struts, it will raise up a bit because the gas pressure exerts a constant pressue on the strut rod.

So, does wheel balancing affect alignment? Not necessarily. However, because the symptoms of misalignment and lost balancing are so similar, it is difficult to know which one might be the problem leading to damaged tires, suspension problems, and steering problems.

rotating your wheels DOES NOT mess with alignment.

Rotating your wheels DOES NOT mess with the alignment.

Its Recomended to do often to help keep the wear on the tires even..

Damping changes won't affect alignment.

If you just changed the preload, then your alignment should not be affected at all. The BCs have a separate preload and ride height adjustment afterall. If you did adjust your ride height though, then it could. It really depends on how much of a change you made.

The answer is yes. The alignment will change a lot when you adjust ride height. In a perfect world the steering axis would perfectly match the steering rod points and the a-arms would keep the spindle in a perfect vertical motion.

Damping changes won't affect alignment.

Alignment assumes even greater importance as vehicle performance increases. Incorrect wheel alignment conditions affect tire wear and can cause drifting and/or pulling during cruise, acceleration and braking, plus poor directional control.

Generally, an alignment will cause very slight changes to your ride height since your tire position and pressure have been corrected.

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However, large changes in the ride height on your vehicle shouldn't be alignment related..

Tire wear, engine performance, smoothness of the ride, braking, and other components can all be adversely affected by a vehicle suffering from improper wheel alignment. If you continue to drive a vehicle that is out of alignment, you will be faced with bigger and more expensive problems to repair.

Changing the ride height WILL affect the alignment.

It affects camber more than anything else.

As you raise the ride height, you will have less static negative camber..

Yes and no. Changing the ride height WILL affect the alignment. It affects camber more than anything else. As you raise the ride height, you will have less static negative camber.

No, the alignment will not be affected. Different rim width and offset will affect the scrub radius and camber, although minimal, with smaller offset the wheel will stick out further out and the car will sit lower.

An imbalance in your temporomandibular joint can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, teeth grinding, limited jaw movement, muscle soreness and can change the alignment of your jaw. When your jaw alignment is off, the effects ripple through your entire body.

Unlike shock absorbers, struts provide structural support for the vehicle's suspension. As a result, struts affect riding comfort and handling, as well as vehicle control, braking, steering, wheel alignment and wear on other suspension components, including the tires.

Sway bar links, be they front or rear, don't effect the alignment. The only time you need an alignment is if you disturb the steering linkage or suspension mounting points…

There are several things that are affected by a car that is out of alignment. Tire wear, engine performance, smoothness of the ride, braking, and other components can all be adversely affected by a vehicle suffering from improper wheel alignment.

A ball joints is made to fit tightly into its steel casing; excessive wear will allow for more room for the ball to move in the socket, which can affect wheel alignment, tire wear, and suspension noise. ... Bad ball joints can lead to abnormal wearing of your tires.

Does changing the sway bar end links affect the alignment of the car? They have nothing to do with alignment. When the car is level they should have no tension on them. They only work when one wheel moves up/down relative to the other wheel.

It's totally unnecessary. Having the alignment checked about every 40-50k miles (or more often if the car has hit a lot of potholes or curbs) is a good idea though. ... Align your car when you get new tires-not when you rotate them. Also, balancing is not required either during rotation.

Wheel alignment, or tracking as it is also referred to, dictates the angle in which your wheels come into contact with the road. ... Accurate wheel alignment ensures optimal car handling – resulting in a smoother ride, longer lasting tyres and improved fuel economy.

Tire height will not change the alignment.

Yes, spacers affect the alignment. Spacers (or wheels with odd offsets) may also technically affect your suspension warranty.

Unless you mess with lowering, camber, or caster, adding spacers to widen your wheel stance will not need you to get an alignment.

you are just pushing the wheels out more.

Unless you mess with lowering, camber, or caster, adding spacers to widen your wheel stance will not need you to get an alignment..

if you mean to ask "will the car still go straight when i put a different size or offset tire on" then yes, it wont affect alignment.

Worn out shocks and struts are unable to keep the tire in constant contact with the road surface which can cause loss of control of the vehicle. ... Any time the vehicles steering or suspension components are changed a wheel alignment will be required.

Thus, as jerromyjon said above, changing the wheel offset or tire size will not change the alignment. ... Consequently, if you want to keep the same handling with different wheel offset or different tire size, you will have to change the alignment such as caster, toe, and camber.

Changing wheels and tires doesn't change your alignment settings..

Alignment and Tracking Incorrect alignment can result in rapid irregular tyre wear and can even affect the handling and safety of the vehicle.

The correct wheel alignment is also important to prolong the life of your tires by preventing excessive wear at one edge of the tread.

You should also be aware that poor alignment can also adversely affect your car suspension system.

Shock absorbers and struts are common components in a car suspension system..

Removing the spacers will return the alignment geometry back to the correct “scrub radius”. The BMW engineers designed the suspension and wheel offset for the best scrub radius resulting in better steering feel and to minimize tire wear.

Suspension components, including poor shocks or struts, become worn or loose affecting alignment.

Unless you mess with lowering, camber, or caster, adding spacers to widen your wheel stance will not need you to get an alignment. you are just pushing the wheels out more. Unless you mess with lowering, camber, or caster, adding spacers to widen your wheel stance will not need you to get an alignment.

The only real solution is to rotate often. That still won't change the actual alignment settings. After a tire rotation, the wear patterns on the tires could affect the driving characteristics of the vehicle on the current alignment settings, but it still won't affect/change the actual settings.

control arm bushings don't affect alignment really, they just help locate the arm properly during suspension movement.

If they are destroyed yes your alignment could be effected, but you would have noticed steering issues way before that..

control arm bushings don't affect alignment really, they just help locate the arm properly during suspension movement. If they are destroyed yes your alignment could be effected, but you would have noticed steering issues way before that.

A ball joints is made to fit tightly into its steel casing; excessive wear will allow for more room for the ball to move in the socket, which can affect wheel alignment, tire wear, and suspension noise. Bad ball joints can lead to abnormal wearing of your tires.

– It can severely affect the metals and makes them weaker. The effective functioning of a car depends on the strength of most of its parts. Iron used in suspension struts and coil springs of a car are not very strong. ... – Rust can cause the metal parts to get stuck when they are supposed to slide over each other.

A life out-of-alignment can damage more than your reputation. ... Well, poor integrity hurts your reputation and people don't trust someone with a shady reputation.

A life out-of-alignment can damage more than your reputation. ... Well, poor integrity hurts your reputation and people don't trust someone with a shady reputation.

Sway bar links, be they front or rear, don't effect the alignment. The only time you need an alignment is if you disturb the steering linkage or suspension mounting points… ... So it's good to get an alignment every now and then.

sway bar does not affect alignment..

A ball joints is made to fit tightly into its steel casing; excessive wear will allow for more room for the ball to move in the socket, which can affect wheel alignment, tire wear, and suspension noise. Bad ball joints can lead to abnormal wearing of your tires. A ball joint's lubrication can also dry out.

Well-Known Member. Sway bar end links, or anything to do with a sway bar, won't affect wheel alignment settings.

control arm bushings don't affect alignment really, they just help locate the arm properly during suspension movement. ... Control arms have a very important role holding both front wheels on the road. If a control arm is excessively worn, damaged or bent, the vehicle is NOT SAFE to drive.

The short answer is—it depends on the type of suspension your car has. On some vehicles, the installation of new shocks and struts may affect your car's wheel alignment. ... Furthermore, it's more common to need an alignment after replacing the front struts/shocks than those in the rear.

The vehicle's suspension system has two major roles. First, it maximizes the friction between the tires and the road to provide good handling and steering stability, in doing so secures safety of the vehicle as it maneuvers on the road. ... Worn struts and shocks can greatly affect how the wheels touch the road.

Changing your wheels and tires does not affect your alignment in any way. It's when you do any kind of suspension work that your alignment changes.