Tom Jackson wrote:
>
> I bought 4 new BF Goodrich tires for my 98 Accord LX 5-speed with
> 75,000 miles. The cars is very quiet now and very smooth. The guys at
> Costco told me to get an alignment and they implied it would protect my
> tire warranty. They said get an alignment every year. I think I have
> had one alignment since new.
>
> I am wondering if I really need one. There is zero vibration or shimmy
> in the steering wheel.
>
> If I take my hands off the wheel, (hold them an inch away from the
> wheel & when no cars are around) the cars drives totally straight and
> the wheel do not vibrate or anything.
>
> The tires have a 60,000 mile warranty, 500 rating and Costco provides
> free rotation, road hazard the works.

Some shops have a computerized slide slip meter that they can drive the car
over which senses how many feet per mile the tires are pulling sideways.
This test will help to determine if you really need an alignment. Call
around to a few different shops in your area. One shop that I know of will
do the test for free since it only takes a minute or two.

By the way, an alignment per year sounds excessive. The best thing you can
do for your tires is to keep them properly inflated to the car's recommended
pressure. Also check for unusual wear patterns and get them rotated front
to back regularly. I do mine at every other oil change. I also bought
tires at Costco, but I won't let them rotate the tires any more since they
messed up one of my lugnuts (just about the only way to mess up the threads
on a lugnut is to start the threads with the nut in your air tool instead of
by hand and people making this type of mistake are usually found in a high
school shop class or they belong there).

Eric