Hey guys, I hope everyone's day is going well.

I bought 4 Hankook Ventus V12s in late November, stock size for a 2005 6MT coupe:
Front - P225/40WR19
Rear - P245/45WR19

The tire place gave me a really good deal and I want to use the $80 hankook rebate to save some more cash. My previous tires were the same size (Yokohama S Drives) but the front's were 235s and have a lot of tread left. They are a little unevenly worn out because I needed an alignment and by the time I got one the tires were already worn that way so the car pulled to the left.

The tire place said only the toe on the front's can be adjusted and if I want to do a full alignment, I'll need to purchase a kit to allow them to adjust the camber and caster on the front. This kit w/ labor will cost about $600, definitely out of my price range. Is this true..?

I already paid about $860 for the 4 tires, tax and installation BUT I've only had 2 tires installed. They had to order the fronts so now I can go back and get those installed... Should I keep the front S Drives? I've already driven 300 miles with the mismatched set and the car feels fine. It actually feels better than before because the car was aligned (including the toe on the fronts). The car used to shake a bit with the old tires when going 80+ mph, especially going downhill. The shake is virtually gone now but the car still pulls to the left (about half as hard as before).

I've done a lot of research and know that it's best to have a set of 4 matching tires but I feel that if I put new Hankooks on and the tire shop is right, I'll end up with a set of Hankooks that look like the S Drives. That will be costly $$ What do you guys think? Save $ for the kit and then get a full alignment and keep the S Drives on while I save up? Or put the Hankooks on now? I'll save $425 by getting a refund on the front Hankooks. ALSO--I do not drive fast. The VDC has not acted up at all. I baby my baby lol

 

if you want the camber adjusted in the front , yes you'd need the camber arms. but if you just want an alignment, you don't need to install those. and also if you wanted hankooks installed for cheaper, i know a place. just pm me if you're not too far from la. and about the 235 instead of 225, i forgot what the sweet spot was for our vdc, but i believe that if you keep it under 2 or 3% difference its fine? and yours is 2.8% difference, so i'm not sure.. but you can go to http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html to check the ratio! gl!

 

I thought the rears are 245-40-19?

You're 3.5% off on 45 tires.

 

Jonathan, what's up man? You got your G back? You finish school at Santa Cruz? Glad to hear from you again.

I say you're getting hosed dude. Just get an alignment done and it should be all right. BTW, I bought several years ago from Firestone a lifetime alignment. Grant Plummer who is on these boards used to work there and notified us that they were having a special on it. It was like $120 or something like that. That thing comes in handy now, especially since our 2005 coupes have aged. I get it aligned twice a year now. It's worth considering.

Also, you should go bigger on your tires. It covers more road surface and looks better, especially if you put springs on her, even if it's just OEM 350z springs.

My setup: 245/35/19 front; 265/35/19 rear with the same Hankook tires like you. Take care man!

 

oh yeah i didn't' see he posted 45, yeah its way off..

 

The kit he's referring to are rear toe arms. You can get some for $250ish new and probably get installed for $100 at a shop (not dealership)

 

I think the camber does need adjustment because the inside part of both front wheels is more worn than the outside. So until that adjustment is made I will have the same wear pattern with new tires. I'm going to keep the S Drives on for now.

Thanks for the potential referral but LA is actually kinda far for me, I live more towards Ventura County. Also.. if there's a sweet spot for the VDC, why are the stock size tires out of that range so much?? lol

 

Yeah this shop is trying to hustle me on the price because for labor alone they are charging $300-$350 or more. Thanks man!

 

Hey Gamma! I graduate man, out of UCSB actually. Miss it A LOT. I even started up a company (no longer there lol). I'm doing a lot now actually. We should get in touch, have a drink if you are in LA.

I actually got a 3 year alignment deal from this place. I don't know if I'll keep the G for another year or two, gas is killing me. My car is completely stock, almost. Don't have cash to do much with it. That business put me a in a small debt hole that I'm almost out of but it was a great experience!

 

Good for you man, wow, time flies. It seems like yesterday when you started college. Keep the G if you can, I still have mine, but I completely understand if you have to let her go. If you're on FB, let me know via PM. Peace.