Topic: wheel alignment after switching over to winter tires.

[bigfoot]

I switched over to my winter tires (mounted on different rims from my summers) and
noticed a slight bit of vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds.  I don't believe
I noticed the vibration with my summer tires - furthermore, i inspected them for mis-alignment before
storing them - and didn't find any.

My summer tires are 205/50R15 and the winters are 195/60R14 - I am not sure if the
difference in width warrants an alignment.

Given that winter tires do tend to run a bit rough, how can i be sure that the vibration isn't
an alignment issue.  The last time i took the car into the garage over a similar issue - they performed an alignment before discovering that one of the lower control arms was the actually problem - and I had the joy of paying for both!

Thanks in advance for your advice!
 

[msian]

Do you mean a "wheel balance"?

Vibrations at highway speeds could very likely be due to a not-perfectly-balanced wheel/tire.

A bad alignment would usually cause abnormal tire wear that could be quite noticeable if the alignment is off by a lot. Does your car, say, pull to one side at highway speeds? Do you have to constantly correct steering?

[bigfoot]

Do you mean a "wheel balance"?

Vibrations at highway speeds could very likely be due to a not-perfectly-balanced wheel/tire.

A bad alignment would usually cause abnormal tire wear that could be quite noticeable if the alignment is off by a lot. Does your car, say, pull to one side at highway speeds? Do you have to constantly correct steering?

I was referring to wheel alignment - but perhaps balancing could be a source as well.
I haven't noticed the car pulling to one side - but i haven't being looking out for it.  I will
looking for signs of pulling during my lunch time drive.

[msian]

I could be wrong...but I don't believe a bad alignment would cause vibrations at highway speed unless the alignment had caused significant wear on your tires already.

Also, I don't believe a difference in negligible width in your case would warrant a wheel alignment either...

[canadianexpress]

is it possible if the Rims are not hub centric and causing the vibration?

[ArticSteve]

The vibration is not due to wheel alignment.  The "wheels" are still out of balance.  I broke down and bought my own static balancer.  Thing works fantastic.  Getting various wheel weights is a problem for many.

[morty]

Alignment and balance are 2 seperate entities. Bad alignment will not cause vibration, but a worn suspension part will. Sounds like it was a wheel balance problem and you have figured it out with an industrious solution.

[bigfoot]

Thanks for the advice everyone...i am going to monitor (as much as i can) the
tire wear and vibration through to the next oil change - hopefully, i will get a better indication
by then.

[mrthompson]

Why not spend the $40 + tax to get them balanced?