New wheels/tires=alignment
 

Getting new 18x8.5 w/245-45's, is an alignment required? If so do you align friends nt and rear?

if your just getting new wheels then you probably don't need an alignment unless you have a lot of miles on your car and have never gotten one anyways, then it wouldn't be a bad idea

I'm at 28k, never aligned.

You might wanna get an alignment then.
Any aftermarket parts like LCA, toe arm, end links, etc?

You'd love how a bit of tuning the alignment can affect the handling :D

No aftermarket parts, yet.

That's a pretty big jump in tire diameter! 245/40/17 is about stock, 245/45/18 is quite a bit bigger. 245/35/18 is the right size though...

Alignment not required, but recommended due to your mileage.

If you plan on doing some suspension parts soon, hold off on the alignment until you get it all installed.