How often do you need an alignment?

[FTBronco9]

I’m new to off-roading and I’m curious to know how often you have to align vehicles like the Bronco? Would it be more of a concern if you’re doing high speed desert running compared to rock crawling? Thanks in advance.

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[Theherofails]

I’m new to off-roading and I’m curious to know how often you have to align vehicles like the Bronco? Would it be more of a concern if you’re doing high speed desert running compared to rock crawling? Thanks in advance.

I've done 3 decent off-road trips in the Bronco so far that have comprised of miles and miles of sand, rock crawling, and driving miles down rocky, rutted roads. Some of that has been at high speed. Alignment is still absolutely perfect. I could hit a big bump on the next run and throw it all out of whack.. that's just the nature of the beast when off-roading.

Overall, you will likely need to get your tires aligned on a more frequent basis, but how frequent that is entirely depends on each and every little bump or rut you hit. Sometimes it may be after every trip, other times you'll go the full 6+ months.

Properly airing down your tires will help here (and in so many other ways), as the wear and tear on your suspension/steering will be reduced drastically since your tires will absorb most of the energy instead of transferring it to your vehicle.

 

[Broncotrax]

I check tire wear religiously and rotate all five every oil change in my shop. I get alignments when I change tires or see abnormal wear.

 

[FTBronco9]

Sometimes it may be after every trip, other times you'll go the full 6+ months.

What did you mean by this? Is there a standard timeframe you should get your bronco/off-road vehicle aligned? Thanks.

 

[Theherofails]

What did you mean by this? Is there a standard timeframe you should get your bronco/off-road vehicle aligned? Thanks.

You'll find a thousand different answers on the proper frequency for alignment checks. I follow the somewhat older advice of getting alignment checked/corrected every wheel rotation, or about every 6K miles/6 months.

If I notice a wobble or the steering wheel pulling a bit, I'll go sooner.

 

[porjos]

In Pennsylvania, every-time you hit a pothole - because there's no such thing as a little one.

 

[RagnarKon]

There is no set amount of time... kinda just have to keep on eye on it.

Sometimes you can feel it while driving, sometimes you can visibly see the misalignment via the tire wear pattern. As @Theherofails and @porjos mentioned... sometimes you hit a pothole/big rock/curb/whatever and the entire thing will be knocked out of alignment. Just depends.

The only two times I personally get an alignment is when I mount brand-new tires (usually every 50,000 - 75,000 miles), or when I notice something is off.

 

[Rick Astley]

Any time you change ride height or wheel size, you should get an alignment.

And there are folks to say after hard off-roading sessions where you were hitting max articulation, full-lock steering and plenty of constant impacts that an alignment is cheap maintenance for preventing ruining your off-road tires from the on-road parts your rig will do.

Example*: If I was driving my Bronco down to Moab and back (~2,000 miles round trip), i'd probably organize at least an alignment check in Moab before leaving Seattle to be the day before I start my return trip. I've also found this to be a solid way of ensuring you have some shop time booked in case of damaged parts you don't have the equipment to replace on your own curb-side. The $100-150 alignment is cheap insurance to get that long drive home safely and not blow through a set of tires unexpectedly.

* NOTE: My experience with this is specifically related to track driving where I tracked my daily driver, then applying it to other forms of extreme driving.

 

[Tricky Dick]

Firestone offers a lifetime alignment deal for just a little more than a standard alignment. Bring it in as much as you want and only pay for shop supplies. The caveat is no lifted vehicles. I wonder how they will classify the Bronco since it's "lifted" from the factory.

 

[Theherofails]

Firestone offers a lifetime alignment deal for just a little more than a standard alignment. Bring it in as much as you want and only pay for shop supplies. The caveat is no lifted vehicles. I wonder how they will classify the Bronco since since it's "lifted" from the factory.

I almost mentioned that myself, but I was just in my local Firestone shop and they shat all over the concept of working on my Bronco at all. Not sure what the deal was but I did notice a few lifted jeeps in the parking lot.

 

[Tricky Dick]

I almost mentioned that myself, but I was just in my local Firestone shop and they shat all over the concept of working on my Bronco at all. Not sure what the deal was but I did notice a few lifted jeeps in the parking lot.

Before lifted vehicles were excluded it was super popular with Jeepers. They'll still do lifted Jeeps now, just not on the deal.

 

[TX_Bronco77]

In Pennsylvania, every-time you hit a pothole - because there's no such thing as a little one.

Same shit here in Texas, the roads here might as well be cobblestone at this point.

 

[rcman989]

https://zoneoffroad.com/products/fo...nco-cam-lockout-plates?variant=39700232929368

These from Zone may be a good solution to prevent some alignment issues.

 

[FTBronco9]

https://zoneoffroad.com/products/fo...nco-cam-lockout-plates?variant=39700232929368

These from Zone may be a good solution to prevent some alignment issues.

I’ve never heard of anything like this before. Anyone ever used these?

 

[rcman989]

I’ve never heard of anything like this before. Anyone ever used these?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIzMXdyteI9AIVSFtyCh1NGwyGEAQYAiABEgIt3_D_BwE

https://www.polyperformance.com/pol...5-tacoma-03-09-4runner-gx470-07-09-fj-cruiser

These types of products have been in the GM and Toyota world for years.

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