Noob question

[GTDrifter]

short and simple...I'm going from 16-17 inch wheels...do I need an alignment? I say yes and my dad says no

[mycargoesvroom]

I think it depends on what size tire. If you stay within range of your current outside diameter then you shouldn't need one. Any variances however change the geometry of your suspension and may require one.

[GTDrifter]

Thanks...I'll check that after work

[GTDrifter]

going from 205/55/r16 to 215/45/r17 all i know about the numbers is r16 and r17 are the size of the wheel

[2000gtb]

i think you do not need to get an alignment since you are not altering your suspension, even if your tire is bigger or smaller the contact patch stays the same since the camber wont change.... .02c

[Huffer]

No alignment needed. But spend the money on a good wheel balance.

[Bookem]

Only thing really changing is the scrub radius due to the width of the tire increasing, but that's not adjustable so no alignment needed.
An article more on that.
http://www.hrsprings.com/technical/scrub_radius

You might notice you tires feeling like they are following rutts in the road more (called tramlining) nothing to worry as long as all your parts are in good shape, i.e. no tie rods or balljoints about to fall off. here's an article on that. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=47 (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=47)

[GTDrifter]

Thanks for the articles huffer...I'll follow up on them