i had some new tires (firestone precision sport) put on the other day and after it was all done i stopped for gas and checked out the tires. now i might be picky or naive or just stupid but it kinda looked like the rear wheels were slanted inward. like if youre standing next to it and looking down on it, the right side/front looks like it was slightly slanted towards the middle of the car. it drove home just fine but it was very windy and i wanna wear them in a bit but is this normal, am i crazy, or is something wrong?

p.s. i had the car aligned in the winter with the old tires to fix a vibration.

 

Yes, it is normal. The cars have camber (if I recall when tilted in it is negative and when out it is positive camber). They could be out of adjustment, but not sure how putting on new tires would cause that.

 

The top might tilt in a bit, but from front to back they should be straight.

 

Now that I re-read this are you talking about the toe in being off? That is where the leading edge of the tire (the fromt of the tire)is turned in toward the body of the car? If so, then it sound sike your alignment is off. Once again I don't see how tires would cause that.

 

With new tires, it might not hurt to get an alignment. These cars require a 4 wheel alignment. Also you need to take it to the dealer or a eurpean auto shop. Like BMW, the car can only be aligned correctly if it has weights attached to it. Without the weights, the alignment won't be right. Many shops don't know about this, and will align the car anyway, but the car will end up with incorrect settings, which is bad for the tires, and drivablility. I can't remember, but somewhere I read when not aligned the with weights, these cars tend to exibit some bumpsteer issues.

 

yea im talking about the toe in. it looks like the front of the rim/tire points in towards the body of the car. i tried using a tape measure as a straight edge to see if it was crooked and it kinda was but i know the fender/wheel well isnt a good benchmark so im not 100% sure. i guess just ill just call my dealer and see how much it'll cost and see if any other local shops know how to do it correctly

 

Shop around for sure. The dealer closest to me charges $125 for a four wheel alignment. The dealer where my parents live charges $225 for the same thing. That's not a typo. I was floored. The eurpean independant shops near me charged between $ 95 and $125 too.

 

thanks for the heads-up

 

update:
ok so i had a brain fart, i didnt have the tires aligned in the winter, it was just a balance and rotate.
anyway, i got the alignment done today at my local dealer and its was only $97 after tax
they gave me a print out that showed the before/after for camber and toe-in on each tire and some of them were off by 10 degrees! now i know i wasnt crazy and i think the steering feels a lil better and the tires wont wear bad