I have a 2000 eclipse and Just got new Rims and tires for it.

Question

The question is: Do I NEED to have an alignment done on it regardless wether it needs it or not. If I had one done not too long ago, do I have to have it done again? I'm going from 16" to 18" rims.

Answer 1

no... if that's all you did.  it's not a bad idea, but for changing tires it is not a big deal...

Answer 2

I wouldn't worry about it...best thing for you to do is to go for a test drive. the handling of the car might change a bit, but not the alignment. Unless maybe your rims have different offset or backspacing, not sure though.

keep in mind your speedometer will probably be off with the larger rims.

Don't forget to balance your wheels, make sure the tires are rotating in the proper direction if they are uni direction tires. Also rotate your wheels every 5 to 10 k miles.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Putting new wheels on does not change the wheel alignment.  However, that in no way implies that your current alignment is within factory spec.  Since your 18" tires are likely to be somewhat less tolerant of a bad alignment (and more expensive to replace than the 16's) it would certainly be a good idea to have the alignment checked.  This should be done once a year/every 10k miles anyway.

Answer 4

changing wheels to those oversized wheels will not change the alignment settings but will affect other items

Answer 5

No.  Just keep buying new tires as the rubber band breaks.