Hunter wheel alignment

[CondorX5]

I wondered if I was being over cautious when I stopped at the local tyre dealers with a Hunter Alignment machine after having my winters fitted for this year..........I had the last alignment done about 7 or 8 months ago with the summer 21” setup.  The tyre wear had improved amazingly since then with the 21’s wearing smoothly all round.

But sure enough, with the non-staggered new 18” winters,  the wheels needed some adjustments again. Given the price and difficulty in getting some of these star marked runflats, I reckon doing the alignment twice a year is well worth it - less than the price of even a single winter thre, let alone the 21” summers! 

[X5Sport]

I think I need to start doing this too.  My X6 is showing unusual wear on the outboard front edges and my Škoda wore through the extreme inboard edge leading to a flat (10mm of the edge worn and the rest at 4mm!)

The lack of maintenance of our roads is becoming more of a concern if tracking is being knocked.

The catch with the Škoda is that it has radar cruise control (ACC) and camera monitored lane control.  Adjust the tracking and the ACC throws a warning and needs a £350 recalibration that needs an Audi Dealer due to so few Škoda Dealers having the kit yet.

Has anyone with the BMW equivalents had this little challenge?

[Barroni]

Interestingly I just purchased 4* Bridgestone Duellers at 'Pro tyre'  Due to the £900 cost they threw in a month tracking check free of charge.  I went in yesterday and already there was 1 adjustment to be made. 

The guy actually suggested to have the tracking done quartely, but definitely twice a year.  His point was if your sticking £900 shoes on the beast you might as well spend £60 a year to protect their longevity. 

Dont know if Ill go quartely but certainly I think I will every 6 months.  I only do about 5K miles a year.

[Nictrix]

[quote="X5Sport"]
I think I need to start doing this too.  My X6 is showing unusual wear on the outboard front edges and my Škoda wore through the extreme inboard edge leading to a flat (10mm of the edge worn and the rest at 4mm!)

The lack of maintenance of our roads is becoming more of a concern if tracking is being knocked.

The catch with the Škoda is that it has radar cruise control (ACC) and camera monitored lane control.  Adjust the tracking and the ACC throws a warning and needs a £350 recalibration that needs an Audi Dealer due to so few Škoda Dealers having the kit yet.

Has anyone with the BMW equivalents had this little challenge?
[/quote]
I have active cruise control and lane warning system on my X6 and had no problems after getting an alignment done last year. I didnt even think it might have been a problem.

[henrym3]

Does it make any difference to the tracking when you swap between different sized wheels ie summer/winter.
Has anyone asked these tracking garages if they do a yearly deal ie £100 for 2 or 3 checks a year. I ask because it seems this is quite popular in the USA.

[CondorX5]

Certainly seemed to with mine - last done about 6 months ago on my 21” staggered summer set. Swopped to 18” non staggered winters and had the alignment checked on the new winters and it needed adjusting - fronts were ok but both rears needed adjusting quite a bit. Our local Hunter specialist checks free of charge and then quotes for any adjustments needed- you can watch them checking the car on the computer screen in the waiting area and check the readouts yourself and then discuss any changes with them.