'21 Tahoe Z71 alignment - anyone else?

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ahhshoot

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Hi all,

New member/first time post here. I did a forum search and didn't find much so I'm assuming this is not a prevalent issue however I wanted to post this anyway if nothing other than for documentation.

My wife recently purchased a 2021 Z71 Tahoe with all the bells and whistles-panoramic sunroof, I mean it's loaded. And even though I am more of a Ford guy myself, this thing is way nicer than the new expeditions she was looking at and is overall a really sweet ride.

However, I noticed recently that she is getting excessive wear on the outer two front tires. For the record, she bought the truck with 4,000 miles on it and previous owner or dealer presumably had Nitto Ridge Grappler 275/65/r20 tires installed (I am guessing these tires do not come on the truck stock but I'm not 100% certain on that).

Anyway, it drives great, it does feel like the wheel is 'touchy' as in, a small input yields quite a significant reaction. However, it tracks straight as an arrow and rides excellent. Though the tire wear is indicating an alignment issue. We are taking it back to dealer to have alignment checked and adjusted if need be next week, but I wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience?

I'm no mechanic but if I had to guess I would assume the Nitto Ridge grapplers overall profile differs from whatever came on the truck initially, and an alignment should have been done to compensate for this, and that may be why we are getting the symptoms we are now-that is just a WAG though-has anyone else had alignment issues with the 21 and up trucks or is this simply more likely a product of the tires being changed sans alignment compensation?
 
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Blueinterceptor

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Is this a factory sized tire?
20” or 22” rim?

I went back and reread the thread. That’s not a factory sized tire. Either they don’t know how to align it or it’s off.
more likely they didn’t realign with the new tire. There is something about not realigning until after 4K on the clock in a tsb?
 
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wsteele

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The way you describe the steering, I probably would take it down to a shop I trusted and ask them to check the caster adjustment.
 

VAguy68

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I coincidently bought my Z71 with 4k miles on it and had the exact same thing happen to my front (stock size) tires. I'm thinking the factory alignment was off. Got it aligned and haven't had an issue since.
 
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ahhshoot

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I coincidently bought my Z71 with 4k miles on it and had the exact same thing happen to my front (stock size) tires. I'm thinking the factory alignment was off. Got it aligned and haven't had an issue since.
Your truck looks identical to ours! Same color and all. We really like it so far. Aside from the alignment thing (which may or may not have just been a result of the tire change) and the auto start/stop (which we turn off every time we drive it LOL), it is a massive improvement over our 2015 Tahoe LT. The 10 speed helps the 5.3 tremendously, my biggest complaint about our 2015 was the anemic power especially regarding acceleration. This new one isn't a dragster by any means, but it's no longer annoying to drive.

Being a Ford guy at heart I really wanted to like the Expedition Limited with Stealth package we checked out, and while the Expy had tons of power and felt nimble to drive, the fit and finish was nowhere near the Tahoe, and the interior even on the upper trims felt much less 'premium' than the Tahoe's. Plus, the Tahoe looks way cooler.
 

Quark

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Take it to the shop. I always have my new GMs aligned, my guy puts them in the center of spec he says they are all out the same. Once aligned steering is better along with less tire wear.
 

R32driver

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Does it have a lift or leveling kit? 275/65r20 ridge grappler is listed as a 34.1" tire so I'd imagine you'd have some rubbing if at stock height. I almost bought that same tire but went with stock size 275/60r20 to avoid any chances of rubbing
 

AJMBLAZER

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The factory doesn’t align them. They build them to spec and everything “should” be correct when the truck leaves the factory.

“Should” not “always is”.
 

tahoerst22

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I coincidently bought my Z71 with 4k miles on it and had the exact same thing happen to my front (stock size) tires. I'm thinking the factory alignment was off. Got it aligned and haven't had an issue since.
i have a 22 rst , 500 miles on it . steering wheel not straight. checked alignment and it was way out
 

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