Wheel alignment

[Matt Alsop]

Hi, I have my Fiesta Mk 7.5 Zetec S Red Edition booked into Kwik Fit on Monday to have four new tyres fitted. I've shopped around then booked and paid online which gave me a decent discount on Michelin Pilot Sport 4. In fact the discount on the website is now less than I got when I booked several days ago. My question is as follows because on previous occasions I've been offered a "free wheel alignment check" when I've turned up to have the tyres fitted and have always declined. Is it necessary to have a wheel alignment check and more importantly is it even possible for them to adjust the rear wheel alignment on this car if they find it's not correct ?  I notice the prices for adjustment are not shown on their website.

I have the original Continental tyres on the car at the moment at 29,000 miles. Two of them are worn to a point where I want them changed before the arrival of autumn wet weather, another tyre has a puncture and the last one has a structural failure (deformed area of tread). The front two tyres have more wear on the outside edges than across the rest of their width. The rear tyres have more wear on the inside edges compared with the rest of their width.

[Bobr]

Sounds like you definitely need your wheels aligned.   Incidentally, the alignment check is free but the actual alignment is charged for.

[williamweb]

29 minutes ago, Matt Alsop said:

Hi, I have my Fiesta Mk 7.5 Zetec S Red Edition booked into Kwik Fit on Monday to have four new tyres fitted. I've shopped around then booked and paid online which gave me a decent discount on Michelin Pilot Sport 4. In fact the discount on the website is now less than I got when I booked several days ago. My question is as follows because on previous occasions I've been offered a "free wheel alignment check" when I've turned up to have the tyres fitted and have always declined. Is it necessary to have a wheel alignment check and more importantly is it even possible for them to adjust the rear wheel alignment on this car if they find it's not correct ?  I notice the prices for adjustment are not shown on their website.

I have the original Continental tyres on the car at the moment at 29,000 miles. Two of them are worn to a point where I want them changed before the arrival of autumn wet weather, another tyre has a puncture and the last one has a structural failure (deformed area of tread). The front two tyres have more wear on the outside edges than across the rest of their width. The rear tyres have more wear on the inside edges compared with the rest of their width.

So you have positive camber on the front when you should be running negative👍 

[TomsFocus]

Kwik Fit tend to use a Hunter aligner so you're probably looking at £30-50 for front toe adjustment.  And it will almost certainly be out, hence the 'free' check lol.

Rear toe can't be adjusted on the Fiesta.

Front outer edges often wear more quickly due to cornering, particularly if you do a lot of town driving as opposed to straight line motorways, that's not necessarily an indicator of poor alignment.

[Matt Alsop]

48 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Kwik Fit tend to use a Hunter aligner so you're probably looking at £30-50 for front toe adjustment.  And it will almost certainly be out, hence the 'free' check lol.

Rear toe can't be adjusted on the Fiesta.

Front outer edges often wear more quickly due to cornering, particularly if you do a lot of town driving as opposed to straight line motorways, that's not necessarily an indicator of poor alignment.

Thank you. That does all make sense and that's what I needed to know......that it's front toe only that can be adjusted. I can tell by eye that the camber looks correct........front wheels leaning inwards slightly at the top. I have done a fair amount of slow town driving but a change of job means I'm 90% on the dual carriageway these days. I can imagine they'll always find the toe needs adjusting even if it's 0.5mm 😉

[Matt Alsop]

Well I've had the tyres fitted and sure enough they checked the wheel alignment without me requesting it. I'd booked online and paid for the tyres online. I was about 2 minutes walk away from Kwik Fit to collect the car when they called my mobile. They wanted to adjust the front tracking at a cost of £59 "to avoid scuffing my new tyres" which I declined. They've given me a print of the report from the alignment and I've noticed something interesting. The front toe angle is absolutely perfect in the middle of the green band. It would seem they wanted to adjust it because the steering wheel isn't quite straight when the wheels are straight........not that I can notice by driving the car. I fail to understand how that effects wear of the front tyres !

It must be said the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres feel amazing. Much more comfortable ride and the reduction in road noise is beyond belief..............until they start wearing I expect.