Recently lowered my car, should I get alignment before switching to winters?

[Adamo23]

I just recently lowered my car on sportlines. I have my summer tires on the car now and I was gonna switch to my winters in about a week. I was wondering if I should do my alignment with the tires that were on the car when I lowered it or does it matter at all if i switch to winters? will it affect anything if i do it with winters then put my summers back on next year? I'm going from 18 inch summers to 16 inch winters. Thanks

[joedemarco]

I'm not sure how much of a difference the height will make on the alignment, but if you're planning on switching within the week, wait and get it done with the winters, bc chances are you'll end up needed an alignment switching from 18 to 16...that's my logic.

[aris]

I would do it with your summer tires on...

[aris]

, bc chances are you'll end up needed an alignment switching from 18 to 16...that's my logic.

You do not need an aligment cause your swtiching from 18's to 16's

[Olestra]

I would do it with your summer tires on...

Agreed with aris. A good alignment tech will match the alignment with your summers, which I'm assuming you care more about.
If you happen to do the alignment with the winters on, I don't think that's a huge deal either.

[trulankan]

i would do it with the winters, thats my plan anyway

[Cab0oze]

bc chances are you'll end up needed an alignment switching from 18 to 16...that's my logic.lol the OD of the tire should be the same so why would that make a diff lol

[Olestra]

lol the OD of the tire should be the same so why would that make a diff lol

Very true, which is why you don't need an alignment when switching back and forth.
However since he's getting alignment after making a suspension change, it's worth pointing out that it's still be better to do the alignment with his setup of preference (eg. summer tires) since every tire model/manufacturer does have slight differences.
I've been told a good alignment tech will make adjustments to get maximum contact patch on that specific tire as opposed to for example following factory alignment specs.

If the OP doesn't care, then the easy answer is it doesn't matter which tire set you use.

[wmzda5]

You should so the alignment a week after lowering your car. It does`nt matter whether you have 16`s or 18`s. A week will give the suspension to settle down. You do no need to have an alignment when changing from your summer to winters, there is no change in your suspension unless you are experiencing any problems.