Im looking to upgrade my suspension piece by piece. Im goin to start with new tires and springs. After that, I plan to do tire and wheel balancing. Now, If i change the rims to the tires later on, do i need to realign the wheels or just balance the tires with the new rims?

Does a Rear sway bar force me to do any balancing/aligning?

 

Wheels dont get aligned, just balanced. Anytime you get new tires put on the shop will balance the wheel with the tire on it. Also when rotating its a good idea to balance. If you can feel a vibration from any of the wheels, balancing time. Alignments deal with the connecting rods contoling your steering and the camber and toe of the wheel position. If your car pulls to one side of the road, shifts when braking, or the stering wheel is turned but your still goin strait then alignment is needed. Most technicians will tell you to get an alignment anytime the suspension is altered.

 

hotweelze4me..yes wheels do get aligned on the car. that's why they call it a WHEEL ALIGNMENT. Yes it is the tie-rod ends that get adjusted from the suspension, but ultimately it is the wheels that their positions are being adjusted so the tires wear evenly.

but you don't need to do an alignment just because you got new wheels.. But, if you did get new tires and it's been some time since you had an alignment I'd have the alignment checked, don't need new tires wearing badly because of an alignment issue.

And no, getting a rear sway bar doesn't affect the alignment. And since it's not part of a wheel/tire assembly, no balancing is required. It's part of the suspension but doesn't change the alignment specifications..

 

I guess what I was trying to convey was that the wheels are not what is adjusting in an alignment and that new tires and wheels do not affect the alignment of the vehicle.

 

He mentioned new springs--you should always get an allignment after new springs. You should always get your wheels balanced when you put on new tires.

 

agreed. But many people skip the alignment if they dont feel any difference in ride or pull: which could lead to significant tire ware among other problems.