USMC Evo

So the weather in Colorado has been less than pleasant for the past several weeks and during one of our lovely well below zero days I slid into a curb.

• Going 5-10mph
• Tried to turn, kept sliding forward
• Turned pretty much all the way to the left to try and steer out
• No luck
• The front passenger side wheel the hit the curb almost flat on

This was about 3 weeks ago. I knew the alignment was off and the car was pulling a little and just drove weird. Due to work schedule I had;t had time to take it in for alignment, I've driven probably a couple hundred miles on it. Also the steering wheel is turned slightly to the right in order to drive straight now.

I noticed today that the tire on the side I hit (front passenger) is way way worn. On the outside edge of the tire it's dangerously worn down. The front driver side is very worn as well, back tires are totally fine.

The big question is is (and I know there's no 100% way to diagnose) does this sound like I need an alignment and 2 new tires or did I do some serious damage that's going to cost me a ton of money. Any input (or even pure speculation) is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thomar

Unless you put it on a lift or jack it up and look for bent parts etc it's all speculation.

USMC Evo

Fair enough.. I guess I'm more curious if bad alignment could cause that dramatic of wear to the front tires in less than a month

Thomar

I suppose it could, but seeing the symptoms you have after having hit the curb chances are you damaged something.

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

Yes. Toe-out eats tires like nothing else.

Stevo-X

Had a similar story to yours about a year ago. I was brave enough to go into the mountains with summer tires on, and on snow packed roads. needless to say I was driving about 5 MPH turned and slid into a snowbank. after that I noticed my car pull slightly to the left. the summer tires had very uneven wear after a year of driving it that way. didn't get an alignment till this year, the tech said it was the caster that got knocked to the left a little bit. it could be that. if anything I would go check the alignment out and see what happened. I've heard great reviews on Stan's alignment on Colfax

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

There's really only one way for caster to be noticeably altered: actual damage to the car. If you're lucky, only the strut is damaged. If you're not lucky, the lower LCA is shifted. I've never heard of our lower front LCA being bent. They can take a huge beating and then they finally snap.

ps. from what my daughter tells me, the way to increase the chances of getting lucky, you need to wear a futuristic motor-cycle helmet 24/7 and rarely speak (and when you do so, speak with a French accent); kids these days....

USMC Evo

I got incredibly lucky, no real damage, just out of whack. Alignment and 4 new tires for $907, I'm going to need to replace the wheel that hit though, it's center bent.