i just asked this question on someone else's thread but i thought i should just make a thread for it to see if it will get more responses.

does anybody know with absolute certainty whether or not an alignment is needed after installing a lower arm bar?

it only involves unbolting control arms and then re-attaching them with the lower arm bar in place. if you didn't know that then you probably wouldn't know the answer to the question either haha. it's already in the past for me but i was wondering if that could be what had caused my tires to wear prematurely a long long time ago. i was told by what i thought a credible vendor that an alignment was not necessary and i took his word for it, but it seems like i can't find a definitive answer anywhere, so if you'd like to share your knowledge i'd appreciate it! thanks.

 

Hmm...I installed a lower arm bar on my EP when I had it and never had an alignment...nor did I have any problems, or premature tire wear. Is the wear from camber or is it even throughout the tread?

 

the wear was on the inner edge of the tires but it wasn't due to overly aggressive camber; my car was at -0.6 degrees camber on both sides. it had slight feathering, most likely due to slight toe out according to the reading when i had an alignment done again.

this was over a year ago actually; an alignment has already been done now, tires replaced, and everything is fine, but i was wondering if my messed up tires were because of the lower arm bar installation or if i just had a sh*tty tech perform my first alignment.

 

Hmm...to me it doesn't seem that the lower arm bar should have caused the problem. Seems like if it was just the edge, there was something else awry, perhap in your original alignment. I would keep an eye on the tread wear now, but I don't think it was the bar install that caused the issue.

 

Pics of said lower arm bar? If its just a piece of metal that holds the subframe or unibody in place there is absolutely no way you need an alignment after that.

I just read your description better. Doesnt seeeem like you would need one, but anytime you mess with a suspension arm it MAY be possible. However there is no adjustment in the lower arm to my knowledge so it shouldnt matter. If your getting funky tire wear you need an alignment regardless

 

I haven't gotten an alignment and it's been a month. Don't think I need one but I'm no expert:

 

thanks for the replies. the lower arm bar is just the single bar that bolts into the lower arms (one bolt on each side). the alignment has already been done and the tire wear has been normal for over a year (20k+ miles) now so there's no problems on that for sure.

i am looking for a definitive answer because i am curious about whether or not this was the cause of my problems last year, and because i will need to remove the bar to change the transmission fluid eventually, and i don't want to bring the car in for another alignment unless it is affected by removing and re-installing the lower arm bar. i just don't like people working on my car because they always manage to scrape the lip, scratch something, or mess something else up in another way i hadn't thought of.

what you said makes sense shg_mike. i was thinking too that there's nothing to adjust and i don't see why it'd affect the alignment, but at the same time i know you should get an alignment anytime you remove a link in the suspension.

thanks for your replies and help people.

 

maybe i should just look into using strings and sh*t and doing alignments myself haha