Do you need an alignment after rotation?

[grex]

So I just had my 24k service at achilles which included a rotation about 2 weeks ago and I have since put around a grand worth of kms on the car.

I do alot of highway driving to and from work and so forth and iam now noticing at 125, 130km/h the front end is vibrating and it pulls pretty hard to the left when your doing highway speeds (100 - 120)km/h

Is an alignment supposed to be done after the rotation? or could this be another issue?

thanks folks

[bluemazda3]

might be the tires... mine had some serious vibration until I rotated it and no more!

[Donutz]

Vibration is likely an unbalanced wheel. Are you 100% certain you are on a flat surface when you observe the car pulling to one side? Generally the highway is designed with a crown to help water run off.

[grex]

might be the tires... mine had some serious vibration until I rotated it and no more!

I havent had any of these issues until the tires were rotated lol..

I have really noticed the car pulling to the left on the 401 coming to and from work but last night I did notice it on hurontario..It wasnt pulling nearly as hard but I figure thats due to the difference in speed. When I have noticed it id say that iam driving on fairly level ground..

You're saying that possibly and un-balanced tire from the rear was put on the front end during the rotation which is causing the vibration?

[kckev99]

I havent had any of these issues until the tires were rotated lol..

I have really noticed the car pulling to the left on the 401 coming to and from work but last night I did notice it on hurontario..It wasnt pulling nearly as hard but I figure thats due to the difference in speed. When I have noticed it id say that iam driving on fairly level ground..

You're saying that possibly and un-balanced tire from the rear was put on the front end during the rotation which is causing the vibration?

Generally if the vibration occurs in the steering wheel it is likely an unbalanced tire in the front. If you feel the vibration through your seat it is likely coming from an unbalanced wheel from the rear.

[Donutz]

^ what he said. I find, generally speaking, people are more sensitive to unbalanced wheels when they are the front wheels as opposed to the rears for exactly the reason stated; you will feel it through the steering wheel.

Personally, I get my wheels balanced whenever I swap my seasonal wheels on, and, whenever I rotate them. If its in your budget getting the wheels balanced is a cheap test to see if that's the root cause.

All said, however, this might not be the cause of your car pulling to the side. Have you also checked your tire pressure?