Alignment needed after adjusting 5100s?

Flix

Flix

New member
I already had an alignment done when i first got the 5100s and lift coils installed years ago, then recently installed a shrockworks bumper and winch and needed to adjust the 5100s myself to account for the extra weight.

Does anyone know if i need (should) get an alignment done after adjusting my 5100s up one notch?

I'm also about to install new wheels and tires this week, so i could i always get it alignment checked just for piece of mind.
 
Flix said:
I already had an alignment done when i first got the 5100s and lift coils installed years ago, then recently installed a shrockworks bumper and winch and needed to adjust the 5100s myself to account for the extra weight.

Does anyone know if i need (should) get an alignment done after adjusting my 5100s up one notch?

I'm also about to install new wheels and tires this week, so i could i always get it alignment checked just for piece of mind.
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Yes, you should get an alignment after the above stated changes.
 
If your ride height after adjusting the 5100s ended up being significantly different than it was before installing the bumper and winch, then an alignment would be necessary.

If the ride height is the same and you didn't move anything, then the alignment should still be the same.

Never hurts to double-check, though.
 
TEujunga said:
If your ride height after adjusting the 5100s ended up being significantly different than it was before installing the bumper and winch, then an alignment would be necessary.

If the ride height is the same and you didn't move anything, then the alignment should still be the same.

Never hurts to double-check, though.
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LOL, did you read the post. Last time he had it aligned was "years ago". He just changed the suspension and is planning on "new wheels and tires". Alignment will change a little each time you off-road the truck.... It also changes just driving and hitting pot holes.... Changing anything in the suspension will change alignment for sure on IFS (especially wheels). Even if the ride height ends up similar.

If it drives perfect and no uneven tire wear.... then maybe no reason to worry, but if you want it aligned correctly plan on doing it often... Especially after all suspension or tire/wheel changes. I would personally not want to ruin new tires... but your call.
 
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Just get the alignment after you get the new wheels and tires. Not sure why you wouldn't. Spending thousands of $$$ on a front bumper, wheels, and tires but questioning if you should spend $70 for an alignment is just silly to me.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
 
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wfo9 said:
LOL, did you read the post. Last time he had it aligned was "years ago". He just changed the suspension and is planning on "new wheels and tires". Alignment will change a little each time you off-road the truck.... It also changes just driving and hitting pot holes.... Changing anything in the suspension will change alignment for sure on IFS (especially wheels). Even if the ride height ends up similar.

If it drives perfect and no uneven tire wear.... then maybe no reason to worry, but if you want it aligned correctly plan on doing it often... Especially after all suspension or tire/wheel changes. I would personally not want to ruin new tires... but your call.
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Apologies, yes, inadequate reading comprehension here, plus I didn't realize that changing wheels or tires would by itself affect alignment. I'm having trouble picturing why this would be so -- given a certain suspension setup, isn't the hub always located in the same spot (at rest) no matter what wheels and tires are bolted to it?

I agree with those who suggest a $70 alignment is cheap insurance in any case.
 
TEujunga said:
Apologies, yes, inadequate reading comprehension here, plus I didn't realize that changing wheels or tires would by itself affect alignment. I'm having trouble picturing why this would be so -- given a certain suspension setup, isn't the hub always located in the same spot (at rest) no matter what wheels and tires are bolted to it?

I agree with those who suggest a $70 alignment is cheap insurance in any case.
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With wheels it is the offsets. Your moving the contact patch in/out. This can be a big change depending on the wheel. With tires they all have a different contact patch. Just changing tire pressure will move your alignment. It's not as big of a deal as a change in wheel offset, but it's cheap and easy. Lifetime alignments are worth every penny on a truck like this... but it does depend on your use case. On my cars... I only check alignment when I feel or see a problem.. I also hardly rotate. With my 4runner. I make sure it happens every year no matter what. I also rotate way more often. It's constantly moving.. but I beat on it. Ignore alignment/rotation on a truck with aggressive tires.. and you will pay the price.
 
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TEujunga said:
... given a certain suspension setup, isn't the hub always located in the same spot (at rest) no matter what wheels and tires are bolted to it?
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This. Provided you're not rubbing on the body mount after swapping wheels and tires, wheel offset is irrelevant to camber/caster/toe settings. However any time you change your suspension geometry, definitely go get an alignment done.
That said, I agree with everything else [MENTION=106176]wfo9[/MENTION] said. I usually align mine about once a year, or after any substantial offroading seasons
 
Jono.ful said:
This. Provided you're not rubbing on the body mount after swapping wheels and tires, wheel offset is irrelevant to camber/caster/toe settings. However any time you change your suspension geometry, definitely go get an alignment done.
That said, I agree with everything else [MENTION=106176]wfo9[/MENTION] said. I usually align mine about once a year, or after any substantial offroading seasons
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Disagree that offset is irrelevant. It changes the geometry in subtle ways. Mainly on how the tires are weighted which will change the alignment. Point is.. there is no such thing as a perfect alignment.. it's always moving as you move down the road and load the vehicle... Change how that vehicle contacts the ground statically or its relation to it... Get an alignment.
 
Jono.ful said:
This. Provided you're not rubbing on the body mount after swapping wheels and tires, wheel offset is irrelevant to camber/caster/toe settings. However any time you change your suspension geometry, definitely go get an alignment done.
That said, I agree with everything else @wfo9 said. I usually align mine about once a year, or after any substantial offroading seasons
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not true. it will change the camber, which in turns changes the toe setting.

its the same basic idea as spacers on the strut/coil over. you get more lift than the actual size of the spacer, this is due to the geometry of the control arms.

a wheel with different offset puts different pressure against the control arm, based on how far in/out it is. this is turn give you the same amount of difference in ride height, as the coil over spacers.

wfo9 said:
Disagree that offset is irrelevant. It changes the geometry in subtle ways. Mainly on how the tires are weighted which will change the alignment. Point is.. there is no such thing as a perfect alignment.. it's always moving as you move down the road and load the vehicle... Change how that vehicle contacts the ground statically or its relation to it... Get an alignment.
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yes.

sometimes the difference is negligible, but you can never know that without having it checked. tires are expensive, alignments are relatively cheap.

and, as said above, if you are planning an alignment, AND new tires, get the tires FIRST. you will get a much better alignment.
 
nevada said:
not true. it will change the camber, which in turns changes the toe setting.
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Explain.

Upper and lower control arms are fixed points. By just changing the tires/wheels you are not changing the suspension geometry whatsoever.
Your example of adding a coil spacer is completely different in that if you think of the frame, uca, lca, and strut/spring as a square (approximately, more like a parallelogram but whatever), by adding a coil spacer you are effectively changing the length of one side of the square. Where as in changing a wheel/tire combo, all you are doing is changing what hangs off the side that square, not the square itself - the square stays exactly the same shape.
While I agree that over time, larger tires and additional weight can have an effect on how quickly your alignment will drift out of spec, just changing wheels and tires will not affect alignment from before to after. If you were to put the truck on a rack immediately before and immediately after the wheel/tire change, the numbers would be exactly the same.

Adjusting the spring perch will affect geometry, and the OP should go for an alignment after doing so, but simply changing wheels and/tires will not.
 
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Jono.ful said:
Explain. Upper and lower control arms are fixed points. By just changing the tires/wheels you are not changing the suspension geometry whatsoever.
Your example of adding a coil spacer is completely different in that if you think of the frame, uca, lca, and strut/spring as a square (approximately, more like a parallelogram but whatever), by adding a coil spacer you are effective changing the length of one side of the square. Where as in changing a wheel/tire combo, all you are doing is changing what hangs off the side that square, not the square itself - the square stays exactly the same shape.
While I agree that over time, larger tires and additional weight can have an effect on how quickly your alignment will drift out of spec, just changing wheels and tires will not affect alignment from before to after. If you were to put the truck on a rack immediately before and immediately after the wheel/tire change, the numbers would be exactly the same.
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You are correct (sort of). The spindle carries the weight of truck at the same spot, so the overall geometry of the suspension does not change with wheel offset change. But as you move the tire out/or in.. The weight is carried differently by the tires construction. Same as you change rim width... The existing camber gets exaggerated. etc... Changing tires and wheels always changes alignment from my experience. How much it changes it, will depend on many other factors....

In the end, I think most people would agree it makes sense to re-align when changes to tires and wheel size changes are made. It's just a function of time anyway. Things move and new tires or wheels almost always call for an alignment on a truck in my book with aggressive tires that are sensitive to uneven wear.

It's not the end of the world if you don't do it...

Change in springs or any mechanical components, tie rods, control arms... absolutely require it.
 
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I actually recommend buying a lifetime alignment for the vehicle. It will pay for itself within 2 or 3 alignments.

Just pick a place you can trust.
 
wfo9 said:
You are correct (sort of). The spindle carries the weight of truck at the same spot, so the overall geometry of the suspension does not change with wheel offset change. But as you move the tire out/or in.. The weight is carried differently by the tires construction. Same as you change rim width... The existing camber gets exaggerated. etc... Changing tires and wheels always changes alignment from my experience. How much it changes it, will depend on many other factors....
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Fair points. I'd be amazed if we're talking about more than a tenth of a degree though.
Alignments up here run anywhere from $150-200, and it's damn near impossible to find anyone willing to spend the time to do it properly (set max caster, then adjust for camber and toe to within spec). Even speed shops who claim to specialize in suspension setups have left my rear alignment cams fully to the minimum and claimed they "did the best they could". Uh-huh. Suffice to say I'm loath to get alignments unless I've done major work, or the truck drives like garbage. Fortunately - somehow -
uneven tire wear hasn't been an issue for me, and I rotate frequently as well.

:yo:
 
Thanks everyone for your input. Prior to the bumper install, the last service at the dealership came out with the tires having even wear and nothing out of the ordinary.

But as a piece of mind, I'll end up spending the $150 - $200 CAD (~$50 USD, jk) to get it aligned after installing the new wheels and tires.
 
Jono.ful said:
Explain.

Upper and lower control arms are fixed points. By just changing the tires/wheels you are not changing the suspension geometry whatsoever.
Your example of adding a coil spacer is completely different in that if you think of the frame, uca, lca, and strut/spring as a square (approximately, more like a parallelogram but whatever), by adding a coil spacer you are effectively changing the length of one side of the square. Where as in changing a wheel/tire combo, all you are doing is changing what hangs off the side that square, not the square itself - the square stays exactly the same shape.
While I agree that over time, larger tires and additional weight can have an effect on how quickly your alignment will drift out of spec, just changing wheels and tires will not affect alignment from before to after. If you were to put the truck on a rack immediately before and immediately after the wheel/tire change, the numbers would be exactly the same.

Adjusting the spring perch will affect geometry, and the OP should go for an alignment after doing so, but simply changing wheels and/tires will not.
Click to expand...
nope. because with a different offset to the wheel, you are putting different leverage against the springs. they will compress more or less, thus the camber will change. any time the camber changes, the toe changes also.
 
nevada said:
nope. because with a different offset to the wheel, you are putting different leverage against the springs. they will compress more or less, thus the camber will change. any time the camber changes, the toe changes also.
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You're really reaching for that one. By that logic, you should probably go get an alignment done every time you have a passenger because the weight distribution will also effect ride height :bored::crazy::nono:
 
Jono.ful said:
Let's defer to some scientists on this one physics forums: relationships between tire/wheel size and alignment
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from your link,


When you add a wider tire you change the scrub radius and effectively soften the spring rate ( wheel rate) miniscule as it is.
Click to expand...

that sounds a lot like what I said above.



also, if your passenger is heavy enough to affect the suspension, and cause drivability, or tire wear issues, and is in the vehicle EVERY time you drive, then yes, you should get an alignment with them IN the vehicle.

in fact, I have known this to happen. but with the driver.
 
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