# Alignment already???



## bsmcall (Sep 11, 2004)

I have 6400 miles on my baby and it's clear to me that even though the steering feels right, that my baby( GTO) needs aligned. The front tires are worn excessively on the inner shoulders. 
Am I the only one??? :confused 

Do any of you think that warranty will cover the alignment and the necessary rotation???


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## Goat666 (Oct 3, 2004)

Could that be from excessive tire pressure? May want to check that out.


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## TulsaGTO (Oct 3, 2004)

Warranty covers the alignment for the first year or 12,000 miles if I remember correctly.


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## Tiger (Sep 26, 2004)

It's not that uncommon for new cars to need an aligment, espcially cars being shipped all the way from across the world. I'm not sure if dealers check alignments, or even if all of them can, but typically the alignment is set at the factory. BUT, jossels and bumps from shipment, espically if teh car is tied down too tight/loose, or imporperly, can throw the alignment out. And a car that was just barley 'in spec' at the factory is not out of spec. I'm not sure what the acceptable range is for this car, but usually the 'in-spec' range is quite large, and even a car 'within spec' can have poor tracking, pulling, or tire wear.


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## lisatw151 (Sep 8, 2004)

along those lines...would need of reallignment cause a shimmy in the steering wheel? i don't notice it pulling either way, but there's a pretty noticeable shimmy in the wheel at highway speeds...especially around 60mph. at my last oil change, they said they balanced the tires but the shimmy is still there...if not worse. any ideas?


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## bsmcall (Sep 11, 2004)

My GTO does the exact same thing @ 62mph give or take. That's why I checked the tires. What I found was found excessive wear on the inside treadbar which clearly indicates an alignment problem. Alignment is scheduled for next week. I'll let you know if the shimmy @ 60 is gone or not.


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## lisatw151 (Sep 8, 2004)

i think i'll call my dealership tomorrow and see if i can get it in soon. i'm due for another oil change anyway. plus, mine does something funky..poss w/the electrical system. when slowing down to a stop, clutch pushed in, when i get down to about 15mph, the headlights dim very briefly. obviously, more noticeable in the dark. very strange though. it only does it when the clutch is engaged and the rpm's are dropping. guess i'll have to ask them to hook it up to the obd


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## Tiger (Sep 26, 2004)

Dimming lights could be a number of things...what other accessories do you ahve on? A/C, radio, etc? If you've got all of the above running, it may jsut be a strain on the alternator and a temporary voltage dip due to the alternator slowing down. Not sure waht the clutch would have to do with that, but stranger thigns have happened. Either that, or mabye a voltage regulator. Or of course, maybe nothing, and it's just another quirk, like the lack of central locking....gotta love those backwards Aussie's.


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## bsmcall (Sep 11, 2004)

lisatw151 said:


> i think i'll call my dealership tomorrow and see if i can get it in soon. i'm due for another oil change anyway. plus, mine does something funky..poss w/the electrical system. when slowing down to a stop, clutch pushed in, when i get down to about 15mph, the headlights dim very briefly. obviously, more noticeable in the dark. very strange though. it only does it when the clutch is engaged and the rpm's are dropping. guess i'll have to ask them to hook it up to the obd


The dimming you see is normal to all the ls1 v-8's. I ranted and raved at my dealer over the same thing on my '98 Z-28. Then when I got this GTO, same thing. It's the electric air pump??? I think. All the GMC sierras in my fleet do the same thing. Enjoy the ride even if it has a quirk or two :cool


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## Davjefdunn (Oct 15, 2004)

Headlight issue-my 00 z28 did the same thing. Had it for 3 years replaced the battery once and never replaced the altenator. Dont worry about the lights. As for the shimmy at 60, could be a alignment issue or you could have a bad tire. I have seen a number of tires that have a slight defect from the factory that would cause such a problem. Check out the post on over-inflated tires from factory, that would cause a shimmy and excessive tire wear.


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## jerhofer (Oct 16, 2004)

Just got my car Friday and noticed that the car had quite a bit of negative camber on both the front and rear tires. You can get away with negative camber somewhat on the rear wheels, but will see increased wear on the inside of the tread on the front tires. Mentioned it to my son who is a tire engineer for Michelin and designs race tires. He told me to make sure that I rotate the rears to the front as soon as I notice some inside tread wear.

Keep in mind that negative camber is a good thing as far as handling is concerned. It makes the car turn in better and keeps more of the tread on the road during hard cornering. From looking at my car, I would guess there may be 1 degree or so of negative camber. Formula one cars run up to 6 degrees negative camber. I used to run a Porsche at driver's ed events and set it at the most negative camber I could get, around 2.5 degrees. On a race car, the inner wear evens out somewhat as you are putting more stress on the outside of the tire in the corners.



bsmcall said:


> I have 6400 miles on my baby and it's clear to me that even though the steering feels right, that my baby( GTO) needs aligned. The front tires are worn excessively on the inner shoulders.
> Am I the only one??? :confused
> 
> Do any of you think that warranty will cover the alignment and the necessary rotation???


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## lisatw151 (Sep 8, 2004)

Okay. Had it to the dealership this past week. They found nothing on either problem. They checked the tire balance and psi, as well as checking the rims to make sure one wasn't bent, and all was okay. As far as the lights dimming, they weren't able to reproduce it, even though they kept it overnight and the service writer drove it home in the dark. (easier to see) He said he saw nothing. I don't think he was paying attention when I explained how to reproduce it cuz hubby was riding with me the next night and saw it very clearly everytime. Maybe I'm being a little overly sensitive, but the service writer was very patronizing. He suggested that the problem with the steering was coming from either road vibration or engine torque. (???) come on... Then he suggested that the headlights on the GTO have a very defined 'space', and when slowing down, the front end of the car dips down, thus causing that 'space' to dip also. Riiiiiight. So I still have both problems, although they are very minor. And I AM enjoying the car immensely! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun out riding around.


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## TulsaGTO (Oct 3, 2004)

lisatw151 said:


> along those lines...would need of reallignment cause a shimmy in the steering wheel? i don't notice it pulling either way, but there's a pretty noticeable shimmy in the wheel at highway speeds...especially around 60mph. at my last oil change, they said they balanced the tires but the shimmy is still there...if not worse. any ideas?


I have not had this problem with my GTO, but had it with a company Crown Vic. The driveshaft was out of balance and once they replaced it, no shimmy. Don't know if that is what is wrong with yours, but if the wheels are balanced and the alignment is correct, it could be the driveshaft.


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## NEW2GTO (Nov 3, 2004)

I'm not sure what to tell you about the alignment but the electrical bug is present in nearly all GM vehicles. My grand Prix is no exception. It bugs me like no other. I think stepping up the alternator to one that puts out an extra 20-40 amps might help solve that problem, and it will help if you add any electrical mods.


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## boyczk2 (Feb 22, 2009)

my inner tires were really worn out on my 04 and ive read other people have had the same problem. i found out that my tires were rubbing against the struts. i guess the tires were too wide so i replaced the the tires and i went from the 245 width to the 235 width and have had no problems since.


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## LOWET (Oct 21, 2007)

lisatw151 said:


> along those lines...would need of reallignment cause a shimmy in the steering wheel? i don't notice it pulling either way, but there's a pretty noticeable shimmy in the wheel at highway speeds...especially around 60mph. at my last oil change, they said they balanced the tires but the shimmy is still there...if not worse. any ideas?


You might need Hub Centric Rings. Hub Centric Rings will help the wheels to have a more correct/centered fit. This shake at 60 MPH is very common on our cars especially with none OEM wheels..

You could also have tire's with uneven wear or worn suspension parts.


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## LOWET (Oct 21, 2007)

lisatw151 said:


> QUOTE]
> 
> Car dealers are just like Emergency Rooms. If they know what is broken, they can fix it. They SUCK at trying to find the cause of the problem.


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## LOWET (Oct 21, 2007)

bsmcall said:


> I have 6400 miles on my baby and it's clear to me that even though the steering feels right, that my baby( GTO) needs aligned. The front tires are worn excessively on the inner shoulders.
> Am I the only one??? :confused
> 
> Do any of you think that warranty will cover the alignment and the necessary rotation???


 It's very odd to have worn tires with only 6400 miles on them unless you have not been keeping up with the tire pressure. Bad alignment can cause worn tire shoulders but the 6400 miles still seems low.

Just thought of something, has your car ever been on a lift before.

You would not be the first person to take delivery of a GTO without getting the shipping blocks removed.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

That poster hasn't been on in 5 months. I learned sagging rear springs will cause excessive inner tire wear. When I replaced my OEM tires at 26K they would have gone longer however the inner tread was all the sudden really wearing and wouldn't pass inspection. They were rotated religiously every 5K and the excessive wear occurred in the last 5k miles. 

I learned my rear springs were sagging. I had em replaced.


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