Wheel Alignment = FIRST and (in my view) the best mod I've ever done on both my 2021 and 2024 F150 Lariat

[HDT05]

Hi All

I live in DFW and even though I usually putt around at old f@rt speed (according to my better half)... I live not far from a Tollway and if you don't get up to speed real quick the early morning crazies flying along mean you're toast.....

As a builder I'm up and down that Tollway almost every day..... It's a bit of a speed run for a lot of drivers and to move with the traffic you can be doing anywhere from 0 to 70mph and still be left rocking by someone who has blasted past at Mach 8.0 (usually a black Toyota Camry or Nissan with the drivers seat low and back)...

I'm okay with doing my own thing at the proper limit and keep my gaps in front/drive heads up as it's also a regular occurrence to come around a blind bend with the traffic completely stopped dead in front of you.... usually some racer has clipped an innocent driver and caused a multi car rotation / re-work of their (and others) car lengths with flashing lights everywhere.....

That said, with my 2021 Lariat (which was both my first ever F150 and V8 truck) I was never actually comfortable on the Tollway amongst the traffic.... it felt on edge, unstable at any speed and certainly not what I expected from my new truck.

I'm no suspension expert but I knew it would (mid bend) change from understeer to oversteer, (I figured roll steer) particularly on sweeping curves that always gave me that 'urgent seat vacuum' moment. I also quickly learnt to have my wits about me when someone is changing 3 lanes in front of you without any warning and your following distance has disappeared instantly ('Texits' are a thing here lol).

Anyways, I always thought that this was the reality of driving a truck. It's higher than a car and the Lariat suspension is a little soft compared to a car so it is what it is.

That changed one day when I had an XLT loaner that was planted, predictable and easy to drive on the Tollway.

WTFord?

I asked the dealer why the XLT handled so much better than my Lariat (they had no idea) and they just referred me to their aftermarket guy (who only wanted to talk about lifting the truck or upgrading to a Shelby/Roush)....mmmmhhmmm.. I'm nearly 60 so yeah....

I spoke to all sorts of people... rolled up to suspension shops, went through the Roush specs... told them what was happening, asked if how my truck was handling was normal on a stock F150 and in truth went around in circles..... I ended up putting up a post on this forum asking about suspension mods/ people familiar with F150 suspension in DFW and buried in amongst all the replies was one (I can't remember who) that (after initially dismissing it) I later realized was a wise piece of advice.

Fast forward to my tires wearing out prematurely....

It turns out that I had roll steer all right... because although I had stupidly assumed a factory truck would be aligned and the steering set up properly from new, the truth was the front toe was hugely negative on both wheels....

So, I had the wheel alignment done at the replacement of the tires and it was a transformed truck.... the truck felt planted, predictable and easy to drive.

Fast forward again to 2024 with the newby also lurching at highway speed, some concerning tire wear patterns already with only 5,000 miles on it and I figured it was off to the local tire shop again.... and the tire guy asking why (with a 'are you crazy but I will take your money anyway' look) I wanted an alignment on my brand new truck....

Yet again with a proper alignment my truck is transformed. No problems to drive at highway (and lower) speeds.

So, long story short, it may sound silly but I would highly recommend to anyone that regardless of whether your truck is BRAND NEW or otherwise, the first and very best mod to do is... get a wheel alignment....

I was shocked....twice now it has transformed both my truck and my daily drive... and I love my F150 even more....

Cheers

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[Xman]

HDT, thank you very much. I will add this to my new F150 checklist for when my 2024 Lariat is delivered.

 

[Popplemer]

The toe on my truck doesn't look great but I have yet to find a shop that does a good job and doesn't just fudge the numbers so it shows green on the print out. Glad yours got sorted out!

 

[CoolCoyote]

Do you have a copy of the pre and post alignment readings you can share?

 

[gagliano7]

I have an XL and my truck handles like a car very little body roll. I was pleasantly surprised how good it handles.

 

[JayceeP]

Uneven tire wear…. Hankook Dynapro AT2 tires too?
Man what’s up with these Lariats

 

[SilverPigeon]

My steering wheel was crooked at inspection so I got an alignment before taking possession; I can't imagine how it would handle if things were bad down there. Glad you're sorted @HDT05 and RIP to Brocky in 05 ?

 

[JJSnell]

.... upgrading to a Shelby/Roush)....mmmmhhmmm.. I'm nearly 60 so yeah....

Hey now, I'm 54... Is there something wrong with Shelby's???

 

[Mengel]

I just received my Platinum Plus. Firestone has a lifetime wheel alignment and they had a Labor Day sale 40$ off. I aligned the wheels at 700 miles and will do this after every oil change.

 

[Dakar09]

Great post. I don't like the way my Hankook's are wearing either, just figured it was my aggressive driving style and crappy tires. But I do feel like something's "off" with the alignment. I'm getting snow tires put on the stock rims soon (and got a sweet set of Shelby wheels for the Spring to put some NICE tires on)...so I'll get the alignment checked when they mount the snows for me.

 

[Eighthtry]

My daughter had a firestone lifetime alignment on her Ford Fusion. She hit something on the road that made it start pulling right badly. Very badly. So what did she do? I told her to take it to firestone for an alignment, since of course, she has lifetime alignment and they are honorable people since it is a Firestone franchise. They came back and said no problem, it will be perfect after $1,200 to fix the front suspension damage. She called and asked what I thought. I told her to leave, or maybe it was to get the hell out of there, and sent her to an independent shop I use. They put it in the air, inspected it, put it on the alignment machine and aligned it. It drives perfectly, all for the cost of a new alignment.

What I have found is that many dealers cannot perform alignments on the own cars.

My experience

Sewell Village Cadillac. My 2010 CTS V. My new tires lasted 1,200 miles before the inside tread was down to the cord. Twice. Not once. Twice. I read the alignment specs. There was a 300 foot/pound torque spec on two bolts. Sewell excuse? Don't know, but I bet their inch/pound torque wrench probably didn't read that high, assuming they even picked one up.

Young Chevrolet. 2018 Corvette Z06. A little inside tire wear. Not too bad. Bought new tires. Had it in for warranty work. They are "The Corvette "experts". They aligned it. Inside tires down to cord in 1,000 miles. They fixed it.

Heritage Rockwall GMC. 2023 GMC Yukon Denali XL. Had it in for warranty work. About to head out on 4,000 mile road trip. I will have them align it. Got 1,200 miles down the road, inside of half worn tires that I inspected before I left were worn down to cord. I am in Auburn, Alabama. No GMC dealer. We were staying in Lanett, Alabama, about 30 miles way because it was graduation at Auburn and no room in the Inn, and, by some miracle, there just so happened to be a GMC dealer. I had the Yukon towed, courtesy of GMC because I wasn't driving this one anywhere because I could see steel cord, to this podunk dealer, unloaded it, and left it sitting on the dealer lot all night hoping that someone wouldn't steal it. The wrecker driver dropped us off at our hotel, which by some miracle happened to be, you guessed it, in Lanett, Alabama. Hitched a ride with a hotel employee's sister with no teeth to the dealer, about 10 minutes away, gave her $20, then went in and introduced myself to the service writer. I told him the problem, he said "lets go look but I already know what it is". He looked at the tires and said "Yep. We will send it to Bubba's Alignment and Ice Cream Parlor down the street. We happen to have two tires that match those, because this is not our first rodeo on this. The first rodeo we were on our head with our boots pointing straight up and the bull heading back our direction. Bubba was beside us. We found the solution pretty quickly. It was in the owner's manual, of all places." In other words, they had done this before. I have air springs on that car, not coils. It is 4WD and they adjust up and down depending on what drive mode that I may be in, which is adjustable. The owners manual says to drive it on the rack, turn it to X drive mode, then align the damn thing. I had them document all they did, give me copies of the owner's manual page just for icing, brought it into my dealership, they looked at it, took it back into the shop, came back out, and wrote a check. No questions asked. Of course I wrote a check for sticker and waited 6 months during the pandemic for the privelage, but I was out of options on that.

I did not charge them for the education, since it was free to me. I now look up specs on alignments before I take them in and give them to the service writer, whether dealer or independent. One can trust no one, but I now trust my independent and Lanett GMC, which is 1,200 miles away, if I give them the specs up front.

Thanks for the heads up. I have not paid much attention to my handling. I will reform. I should know better than to think anyone knows how to do anything without being told how to put the finger in the nose. Once accomplished, the cleaning can begin.

 

[Popplemer]

My daughter had a firestone lifetime alignment on her Ford Fusion. She hit something on the road that made it start pulling right badly. Very badly. So what did she do? I told her to take it to firestone for an alignment, since of course, she has lifetime alignment and they are honorable people since it is a Firestone franchise. They came back and said no problem, it will be perfect after $1,200 to fix the front suspension damage. She called and asked what I thought. I told her to leave, or maybe it was to get the hell out of there, and sent her to an independent shop I use. They put it in the air, inspected it, put it on the alignment machine and aligned it. It drives perfectly, all for the cost of a new alignment.

What I have found is that many dealers cannot perform alignments on the own cars.

My experience

Sewell Village Cadillac. My 2010 CTS V. My new tires lasted 1,200 miles before the inside tread was down to the cord. Twice. Not once. Twice. I read the alignment specs. There was a 300 foot/pound torque spec on two bolts. Sewell excuse? Don't know, but I bet their inch/pound torque wrench probably didn't read that high, assuming they even picked one up.

Young Chevrolet. 2018 Corvette Z06. A little inside tire wear. Not too bad. Bought new tires. Had it in for warranty work. They are "The Corvette "experts". They aligned it. Inside tires down to cord in 1,000 miles. They fixed it.

Heritage Rockwall GMC. 2023 GMC Yukon Denali XL. Had it in for warranty work. About to head out on 4,000 mile road trip. I will have them align it. Got 1,200 miles down the road, inside of half worn tires that I inspected before I left were worn down to cord. I am in Auburn, Alabama. No GMC dealer. We were staying in Lanett, Alabama, about 30 miles way because it was graduation at Auburn and no room in the Inn, and, by some miracle, there just so happened to be a GMC dealer. I had the Yukon towed, courtesy of GMC because I wasn't driving this one anywhere because I could see steel cord, to this podunk dealer, unloaded it, and left it sitting on the dealer lot all night hoping that someone wouldn't steal it. The wrecker driver dropped us off at our hotel, which by some miracle happened to be, you guessed it, in Lanett, Alabama. Hitched a ride with a hotel employee's sister with no teeth to the dealer, about 10 minutes away, gave her $20, then went in and introduced myself to the service writer. I told him the problem, he said "lets go look but I already know what it is". He looked at the tires and said "Yep. We will send it to Bubba's Alignment and Ice Cream Parlor down the street. We happen to have two tires that match those, because this is not our first rodeo on this. The first rodeo we were on our head with our boots pointing straight up and the bull heading back our direction. Bubba was beside us. We found the solution pretty quickly. It was in the owner's manual, of all places." In other words, they had done this before. I have air springs on that car, not coils. It is 4WD and they adjust up and down depending on what drive mode that I may be in, which is adjustable. The owners manual says to drive it on the rack, turn it to X drive mode, then align the damn thing. I had them document all they did, give me copies of the owner's manual page just for icing, brought it into my dealership, they looked at it, took it back into the shop, came back out, and wrote a check. No questions asked. Of course I wrote a check for sticker and waited 6 months during the pandemic for the privelage, but I was out of options on that.

I did not charge them for the education, since it was free to me. I now look up specs on alignments before I take them in and give them to the service writer, whether dealer or independent. One can trust no one, but I now trust my independent and Lanett GMC, which is 1,200 miles away, if I give them the specs up front.

Thanks for the heads up. I have not paid much attention to my handling. I will reform. I should know better than to think anyone knows how to do anything without being told how to put the finger in the nose. Once accomplished, the cleaning can begin.

This is how I feel about all shops that do alignment. We had one of our F550s at work go to a suspension and alignment "specialty" shop after getting new steer tires. Got onto the highway less than half a mile down the road and the shaking in the front end was so bad I took it right back to the shop. This is the now the norm, not the exception. I'm glad OP was taken care of but does anyone have integrity anymore?

 

[Adronm]

after a couple trips back to my shop after leveling they ended up over torquing the alignment bolt to 210 ft/lb (vs 150) to keep it from slipping. Haven’t had any issues since

 

[nitrobass24]

@HDT05 What shop did you go to? I live right off the tollroad and the firestone by my house said they cant do it because of the lane centering sensors or some BS.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

Did your shop offer the multiple visit for one price option? I have a Big-O in town that I can get lifetime alignment (transferable to one additional vehicle) visits for $199, or 1 visit for $99. My particular Big-O has a manager who is an awesome kid who takes great care of my vehicles when it comes to the alignment rack.......I always take my vehicles there when I don't align them with my toe plates myself.

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