I took my car to Firestone this morning for an alignment. The reasons, 1) they are close and I didn't need an appointment, 2) just got the new tires, so I at least wanted the alignment checked, something Discount Tire cannot do.

Anyway, I've attached the before/after vs spec'd range that Firestone provided after they completed their work. They told me it was pretty much ok and they didn't really have to adjust anything, BUT, the caster setting for both wheels were either out of spec or on the edge of being within spec. They explained that the caster is a pain to adjust and the only way to do it is to replace the struts (is this true?).

Since I'm not knowledgeable on this I'd appreciate any feedback/recommendations on the attached readings. I'm concerned about unnecessary, uneven tire wear caused by out of spec alignment. We just got back from a short drive and I noticed that after the alignment there was some vibration at about 70MPH, not sure whether it was the road or the alignment.

Also, I've heard a couple of "rubs" when hitting dips and bumps in the road. I'm going from 16" to 17" wheels, are some rubs normal with 17s? The wheels are Kosei K1 TS (+42mm offset) from TireRack with Avon M550 also from TireRack (mounted locally by Discount Tire).

Suggestions, feedback?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the front caster unless you're racing
and need to dial-in the setup. If you had more + caster than factory
allowed you might experience the car to twitch to the other side when
you hit a bump on one side of the car, but since you have only slightly
less it won't affect drivability that much especially not on street.

What tire size are you using? Alex has some simple instructions on
how to dremel the rear fender arch. Im running +42mm offset and
no rubbing (205/50/16's).

 

Thanks for the response.

I'm using 205/45/17s.