Alignment story

[MikeNC]

Just wanted to share my story. Former 4 door wrangler owner and moved to gladiator in 2000. They both drove similarly. I thought it was just a jeep thing. I have a sport-S max tow and drove the original set off tires off of it. Upgraded to 33's. Noticed abnormal wear patterns in the front, and took it to dealer for an alignment. It was literally life changing. It drives as smooth as my wife's volvo. I no longer have white knuckles in construction areas and can actually take in some of the scenery as i drive. Not sure if they come misaligned or what but if you haven't gotten aligned by a reputable dealer I highly recommend it.

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[ttn333]

Just wanted to share my story. Former 4 door wrangler owner and moved to gladiator in 2000. They both drove similarly. I thought it was just a jeep thing. I have a sport-S max tow and drove the original set off tires off of it. Upgraded to 33's. Noticed abnormal wear patterns in the front, and took it to dealer for an alignment. It was literally life changing. It drives as smooth as my wife's volvo. I no longer have white knuckles in construction areas and can actually take in some of the scenery as i drive. Not sure if they come misaligned or what but if you haven't gotten aligned by a reputable dealer I highly recommend it.

Driving my Jeep home from the dealers was a harrowing on the experience on the highway. I had to drive it on the slow lane. It is my first Jeep. Thought it was a "Jeep thing". Turns out the tires were way over inflated.

 

[SoK66]

There was 45 lbs of air pressure in my new Gladiator's tires whe I drove it home. I reduce it to 35 lbs, 37 is way too much IMHO. It came with some wretched 255/75 (32”) BFG KM2 mud terrains, a tire I had on my JK and hated, so I swapped them out for some Rubi spec 285/70s (33”) KO2s as this is going to be my daily driver. Thing was super squirrelly on the highway.When I got it home I discovered the tire store had them
inflated to nearly 50 lbs. I reset the pressures to 35, all has been well.

In stock trim the only alignment variable adjustable on the JT is the toe-in. If anything else is out of spec something is bent or a bushing or two are worn out. In general terms this is a good thing. A fully adjustable Jeep suspension in the hands of your basic untrained tech is a nightmare waiting to happen.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Without before and after specs the "got it aligned and it drives better" isn't of much value. As stated above, the only thing they can adjust on a stock Jeep is toe. Was it toed out? Toed in too far? Easily adjusted in your driveway with a tape measure and a 15mm wrench or you could pay someone.

 

[Rocksalt]

my personal experience... I have never went to dealer for anything other than tsb's.
Tire rotation, road force balance alignment i always bring to my trusted local shop

 

[Hootbro]

45' PSI tire pressure is what they put in at the factory for shipping and transport purposes. It is in the PDI for the dealership to drop them down to the door label 37' PSI spec but most never do it. All three of mine were delivered with 45'+ PSI even after I mentioned it while doing the delivery paperwork.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

A fully adjustable Jeep suspension in the hands of your basic untrained tech is a nightmare waiting to happen.

You can say that about any car or truck. Unless they know what each angle or setting does, why to set things certain ways - or why not, then you may as well let anyone do it.
An alignment is much more than caster, camber and toe - but most look at a screen, try to do what they can to make it match and move on.
I spent weeks learning suspension and steering and alignment. I'd bet most doing "alignments" today can't really explain what or why.

 

[Charles 236]

45' PSI tire pressure is what they put in at the factory for shipping and transport purposes. It is in the PDI for the dealership to drop them down to the door label 37' PSI spec but most never do it. All three of mine were delivered with 45'+ PSI even after I mentioned it while doing the delivery paperwork.

It is in the PDI to set tire pressure to the door sticker specs for the test drive, as you noted. The PDI also specifies setting tire pressure to maximum pressure noted on sidewall for storage, and regular movement of the vehicle, to prevent flat spotting the tires. The problem comes when a customer chooses the vehicle, and the salesman has the final prep done. Washing it, filling up the fuel tank, and verifying the battery state of charge, and finally, reducing the tire pressure from the storage settings to the door sticker specified pressure. No salesman has yet successfully done this.

 

[SoK66]

You can say that about any car or truck. Unless they know what each angle or setting does, why to set things certain ways - or why not, then you may as well let anyone do it.
An alignment is much more than caster, camber and toe - but most look at a screen, try to do what they can to make it match and move on.
I spent weeks learning suspension and steering and alignment. I'd bet most doing "alignments" today can't really explain what or why.

I agree. Ask them about thrust angle, see what they say.

 

[MikeNC]

Just to clarify, not a testimony for dealers versus trusted local shops. I've also aligned dozens of vehicles with a tape measure. Just didn't think I needed to do that in 2020-2023 with vehicles from the factory. Moreso just to state my surprise on the whole topic. And yep, i didnt get the adjustment sheet but I for sure am going to get measurements of what right is for mine. I might go back and see if they have it in the computer. I think i was so overcome with joy how it was driving that it clouded my mind.

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