Modern alignment machines take measurements from mirrors that are attached
to the rims and they calculate alignment based on the position of those
mirrors & in the case of the front-end, how they travel in a arc when the
tech spins the steering wheel to the left and right.

I can see how mismatched tires on the same axle may have an impact but not
badly worn tires. They are still the same size relative to each other.

And I still believe you have something else going on. I suspect that at
minimum you have a worn tie rid end. You'll know in the morning.

Tom
www.towercooler.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
Ed Duntz
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:28 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: alignment with worn tires

Well, I've had a few responses directly to me and seen a few to the list-
the responses are 50/50. Some say that the worn tires won't affect the
alignment because the alignment is taken from the wheel position. Kind of
makes sense, but the wheels are sitting on the tires. Others say it will
affect the alignment. If you are one of these, can you elaborate on why?

I'm driving a nearly 1,000 mile round trip this weekend to Buses of the Corn
in Ontario, and I don't want to make the tires worse.

Ed