my car drives straight but last night i noticed my front left tire looked flat. i got it checked today, and the psi was 26. well after they inflated it, it was still flat looking. the tire is beginning to roll on the (side) part without tread. i was told that i need to get alignment done.

is this correct? i don't see how aligning could fix this, since all i thought that does was make the car drive straight. if not, what else could it be?

 

it's hard to say.

have you checked it for a leak? And how flat looking is it? sometimes tires just look a bit flat. I seriously doubt that it has much to do with the alignment though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lightlude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">have you checked it for a leak? And how flat looking is it? sometimes tires just look a bit flat. I seriously doubt that it has much to do with the alignment though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

it's definetly not a leak because i had it filled back up to 35 psi and it basically looked the same. i just don't want to get alignment done and find out that i wasted my money.

 

the reason they said you need an alignment is the uneven tire wear. if one side of your tire has less tread you have uneven tire wear and you need an alignment. what i suggest you do is go to another shop that has free diagnostics (theres some around here i don't know about your area though). tell them you think you need an alignment. they'll check it for free and if its off get it fixed, if not no money wasted.

 

thanks for the suggestion. i think i'll call around tommorow morning and find out who has free alignment checks. were any of the ones you were reffering to national companies. i ask becuase that could narrow my search.

 

a little o/t but how much would you expect to pay for a full alignment?

 

the place i know of that has free diagnostics around here is buffalo tire and car care. i'm not sure if they are national or not. for a four wheel alignment (may differ in you area) you should expect to pay between 40 to 60 bucks. Oh btw front wheel drive cars require four wheel alignment

 

there is a place that offers lifetime alignment. here in knoxville the roads suck too. should i just wait and save up for that? it's like $100. considering how much you said one alignment is 40-60. i think it's a good deal