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Alignment - Within Specs, but barely?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Tim in Hollywood, Jul 17, 2018.

  1. Tim in Hollywood

    Tim in Hollywood Junior Member

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    Hi all,

    2008 Prius Base. Around 130,000 miles.

    40,000 miles ago, I got the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 at Costco and alignment at a local shop.

    A few days ago, I took them in for a rotation, but Costco they refused, saying that they were too worn (shoulder wear).

    Got a new set of Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus. Took it to the local shop for alignment again.

    The document they provided makes it appear that for some of the adjustments, they only made the effort to get within the range, not in the middle of the range. (I've attached the document). Will this current alignment maximize the life of my new tires, or should the adjustments be more in the middle of the range?

    Thanks,
    Tim
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 Tim in Hollywood, Jul 17, 2018
  2. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    What tire pressure are you running and how often do you check?
     
    #2 kenoarto, Jul 18, 2018
  3. Tim in Hollywood

    Tim in Hollywood Junior Member

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    I had an earlier set of EP422s. Ran them at 42/40psi. Ran the recent set at 35psi each. Neither set seemed to last anywhere near as long as they should have.

    Still would like to know whether the alignment I got was suitable for maximizing tire longevity / uneven wear. Seems like more toward the middle of the range would be best. Thoughts?
     
    #3 Tim in Hollywood, Jul 19, 2018
  4. Laz45

    Laz45 New Member

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    Toe is in the middle... everything else you cant touch anyways unless you buy eccentrics, adjustable coil-overs, shims, etc's
     
    #4 Laz45, Jul 19, 2018
    kenoarto and bisco like this.
  5. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    Did the higher inflation have tire ending shoulder wear?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #5 kenoarto, Jul 19, 2018
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Only the front toe and camber are adjustable (unless special parts are utilized). It appears that both were correctly adjusted on your car.

    The rear toe potentially could be adjusted with the use of shims inserted between the rear axle and the axle stubs, which a specialty alignment shop might do for you at additional cost. If you adjust the rear toe to the middle of the range that might slightly improve mpg since there will be less drag.

    If you are concerned about tire shoulder wear, then you should increase the tire inflation back to 42/40 psi. Costco will want you to use 35/33 psi since that is the mfr recommendation, but of course as you learned, that will lead to excessive shoulder wear.

    If Costco is aware that you are using a higher tire inflation pressure than spec, then they will not honor the treadwear warranty. But if you have excessive shoulder wear they will not honor the treadwear warranty.

    So the bottom line is that the warranty is of dubious value.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Jul 20, 2018
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2018
    kenoarto likes this.
  7. Tim in Hollywood

    Tim in Hollywood Junior Member

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    Hi all,

    Thank you for all of the feedback. I wasn't sure whether any replies would be forthcoming, since this isn't the most popular area of PriusChat anymore!

    Patrick Wong, thanks for your specific feedback on my alignment details.

    A agree that tire warranties are suspect. However, I have found that the Costco that is the second-closest to me will give warranty credit (pro-rated). The nearest one will not. Manager at the nearest location always seems grumpy. Not sure if those observations are related? I *did* get a decent amount of pro-rated credit on my recent new tire purchase.

    The shoulder wear was on the tires with psi to mfr specification. I think I'll bump it up to 42/40 for this set of tires and see what happens.

    Hopefully this set will last a bit longer. Whatever happens, I certainly won't alert Costco to any psi increases that I make!

    Thanks again,
    Tim
     
    #7 Tim in Hollywood, Jul 20, 2018
  8. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    That's great. My local Costco in Tucson fits into the second category.

    I have found that Discount Tire in my area is more liberal with regards to treadwear credit; however the Costco pricing is sufficiently low so that it seems better just to buy from Costco and forget about the warranty treadwear credit. Of course if you manage to get low upfront pricing and also can get a treadwear claim then you are doing really well.
     
    #8 Patrick Wong, Jul 20, 2018
  9. RoadNoise

    RoadNoise Active Member

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    My Costco will inflate the tires according to pressures indicated on the driver door jam, which in my case is 39/36. I believe the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 is rated 44psi max.
     
    #9 RoadNoise, Jul 20, 2018
  10. Tim in Hollywood

    Tim in Hollywood Junior Member

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    My car is a 2008 Pruis (Base). Accordingly, Costco will only inflate to 35 psi (35/33 on the door jamb sticker). Oh well. I have an air compressor at home.
     
    #10 Tim in Hollywood, Jul 24, 2018
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