Big Lee

I`ve noticed today that my front tyres are wearing very quickly on the inside edge.1 side is bald & the other nearly, the rest of the tyre has loads of tread on.When I went down to ATS they said that the tracking was within tolerences but adjusted a little toe-in anyway.Has anybody else had this problem & how did you solve it or do "They all do that sir"

Dave T-S

Which model car, what suspension (i.e. is it standard), which tyres, what tyre pressures are you running, how many miles have you got out of the set of tyres and how much tread is left.

That'll do for starters....

Big Lee

you don`t want much do you?
MY 98 Terzo,25000 miles
Standard Suspension
Standard tyre pressures 33 front,28 rear
I`ve only had the car 1 month
Bridgestone Protenza SO-2,Standard size 16 inch.
Tread depth- 4mm, 4.5mm centres, 1.6 outer edges, bald as 10,000 bald men inner edges.
And away you go........


[This message has been edited by Big Lee (edited 25 February 2001).]

CharlesW

Your car probably has the Prodrive settings. The negative camber will lead to this sort of tyre wear. In future move the front tyres to the rear wheels before the uneven wear is too bad. If the tyres are directional this involves taking the tyres off the wheels.

Big Lee

Any other ideas?

PeteT

You only need to take the tyres off the rims if you want to swap tyres diagonally. Otherwise it's a straight swap front left to rear left etc..
If you've only had the car a month, perhaps the previous owner had the tracking reset when he noticed the uneven wear but couldn't be bothered getting new tyres?
I would suggest you get a tread depth gauge and monitor the tread depth regularly when you replace the tyres.

Josh L

I hate that phrase 'within tolerance'.

I have become aware of just how large these tolerances are over the years. I had exactly the same problem with my '98 until I made the dealer set the geometry to the middle of the tolerance range. All of a sudden, I went from 8K per set of fronts to 18k+. Bearing mind the extra dept in the middle, I would also suggest a little extra pressure.

Judging by the comments from others' I would suggest that you seek the assistance of PowerStation, as Subaru's settings seem to a bit of a lottery.

Josh

MrWood

Check your lower suspension arm bushes, they may be worn!
This can be quite a common problem on alot of cars.

[This message has been edited by MrWood (edited 25 February 2001).]

scoobyboy

get the camber adlusted that will cure it we do loads of turbos it seems that the suspension settles in after a while and the car sinks a bit on the suspension.
rotating the tyres before the wear comes will not cure the problem.

Dave T-S

It may be geometry, but...if the inside edges are bald, and the outside nearly so, and the centres have 4/4.5mm tread, it sounds like the previous owner ran the tyres under inflated.

But it is probably worth getting a full geometry check anyway - Powerstation or similar.

Legacy GTB

Interesting. I've had exactly the same problem with my Legacy GTB, except it's the outside of each front tyre, particularly the kerbside one. I've had toe-in and camber adjusted already and now Subaru say they've changed the alignment specifications for the B4 & GTB models!

My last set of tyres, Bridgestone Potenza e010 215/45/17 lasted a paltry 10,600 miles and I'm now on Firestone Firehawk SZ50 in the same size, a tryre that should get a better mileage, performs as well and is half the price. I'm not a hard-driving-freak-on-wheels, so this sort of wear is not acceptable for the extreme cost of rubber.

Is All Wheel Drive really this hard on tyres always?

Richard

RichS

Big Lee

I had exactly the same problem with my first set of tyres.
Fronts <I>badly</I> worn on inside edges.

When I switched to the tyres I'm on now (SO2 16") I also had my tracking checked.

"Miles out" was, I think, the term used.

It was subsequently corrected (with toe-in) and so far so good...

Rich

Big Lee

Thanks for the info guys.Whats the crack with Powerstation? do I have to go there for my wheel alignment or will they give me the settings, as I live up here in the sticks everywhere is many many miles away and I don`t fancy driving to someplace like Birmingham to get my tracking checked. How do I check the lower suspension arm bushes for wear, I wouldn`t think they would be U/S at this mileage though?

Big Lee

TopCat

Big lee,

I had this problem with my 17" so2's as well,
only becouse of tyre pressure, than I got the PD setting done and the wall got worse. So I thought hang on a min either the guys who did the setting did it wrong. So I rang Power Station who informed me that the reason is tyre pressure and if my wall was worn anyway before that will continue and they run PD setting all the time with no such problems.

SO I have changed to a new set of tyres 17" Toyo run them on 35psi all round and now I have know problems at all, try it!

and read FAQ's on SIDC for tyre pressure for more info

TC

Big Lee

Ok, I`ll try the higher trye pressure & keep an eye on it.Thanks for the info lads.

Big Lee

Update-
I`ve just been for a 2 mile drive & when I returned home I checked my tyres.Both of the tyres inside edges are warm to the touch, a bit like a motorbike tyre after a run. I ran a plumbline down the edge of the tyre/wheel to see how far from vertical they are & both of them are about 5mm if not more out from top to bottom (bottom splayed out, oh er!) putting more pressure on the inside edges & so wearing them out. Is this camber normal? I`ve had a look on SIDC FAQ & they suggest that the camber should be set at max equal negative.How far from vertical will that put my wheels? & can any of the Cumbrian lads suggest anywhere I can go to get it sorted? Oh by the way I got waved at by 2 seperate Scoobies while going through town today I thugh that only bikers did that

PeteT

Big Lee,
I had mine done at David Greenbank tyres in Kendal, it's not the latest super dooper bells and whistles printout type technology they use but mine seemed a lot better after they had done it, and they were cheap!
If you can't get down to kendal, try a few body repair places as they often have to re-align tracking on accident damaged cars. Just make sure you take the settings you want with you on a bit of paper.