uneven wear on tyres

[Klackinon 0]

hi guys i recently had to replace all four of my tyres as they were wearing very unevenly, the outside of them was fine but the inside tread completely gone

i had a look and they are on a lean coming further away from the car at the bottom, is this a suspension issue or would a wheel alignment fix it?

any help would be appreciated thanks

[Mark 178]

You've got excessive camber that's for sure. Do you have aftermarket springs installed in the car?

Best to take it in for wheel balancing/alignment.

[bravo 35]

As above - what you describe is called negative camber (when the top of the wheels are closer together than the bottom).

It is generally caused by worn suspension bushes, or more commonly when you lower your car.

If you have a lowered car the only solutions are to put the car back to factory height, or spend $$$$$ installing camber correction plates and the like.

I have the same issue due to my lowered ride height, but as mine is not severe, I simply pay to have the tyres flipped on the rims when they start to wear noticeably. (about $40).

[eurobandit 0]

hi guys i recently had to replace all four of my tyres as they were wearing very unevenly, the outside of them was fine but the inside tread completely gone

i had a look and they are on a lean coming further away from the car at the bottom, is this a suspension issue or would a wheel alignment fix it?

any help would be appreciated thanks

give the guys at autolign a call .i believe they have a adjustable arm to fix this and they can set it up ,its cheaper in the long run if you look at how many tyres you can go threw a year,and even if you flip you tyres once every two months at $40 a time it adds up real quick.and tyres are not designed to sit over on one side all the time so they will end up cracking in the side wall costing more money.i know i have customers with extreme camber and flip their tyres once every two months , not even six months they have to buy new tyres.these are bmw with 60mm drops .ive talked to them about getting kit but they cant see sence in spending X amount now for kit and then only buying one set of tyres every year or so,instead of buying up to 3 set in a year.

[lidistick 70]

Can also be alignment but would wander like a pissed dog - although most super low cars do (wander like a pissed dog) because the factory set up does not allow the amount of adjustment needed to compensate.

Other options are:

Fit M3 type top mounts to reduce front negative camber - cheaper than adjustable mounts - takes about 1.5 degrees off.

For the rear - just lift it , they handle better at about M3 height

Best fix is to put it at a sensible ride height if it is lowered

Get it measured first so you know waht you are dealing with - any thing more than 1 degree negative on the front and 1.3 on the rear is just tyre wear territory for the road.

Who made the suggestion about "flipping tyres" is any one really doing this??? or was this just a "fingers faster than the brain" moment?

You can rotate the tires.

Just make sure they are not asymmetric or directional (Can still rotate directionals AFAIK just get them on correctly!).

[Mike 1]

Who made the suggestion about "flipping tyres" is any one really doing this??? or was this just a "fingers faster than the brain" moment?

care to explain why this is such a no no?

[ED1RTY 2]

^^ also interested as to why this is no good. Been doing it for years with no troubles...

[Klackinon 0]

thanks for advice

yes it is lowered on aftermarket 18" mags, the last guy who owned the car had it done

so what would be the best solution? raise it on new springs? would rather fix it permanently than go through heaps of tyres

what height are m3's at? im not really that attached to having it super low

edit: have not measured it but i had another look and it seems to be on a similar angle at all four tyres yet it looks as though he only lowered the back ? >> http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....st&id=11435

Edited December 10, 2007 by Klackinon

[Nobimmer 694]

^^me too

[nz320i 0]

nothing wrong with rotating??

[Mike 1]

can flip directionals, just not asymmetrical.

I'll agree with you on less rubber on the road but the idea with flipping them is you don't let it get that bad. This does get quite expensive flipping every 5000km or so (unless you know the right people) so it doesn't get done as often as it should.

[kiwi535 538]

just swap from front to back now and then,not from front to back and side to side,this just puts the already worn edge in to the alternative wearing edge.

[bravo 35]

I have around 2.5 deg neg camber on rear and 1.5 on front. Rears wear outside shoulders - fronts do a little, but not as much. When the rear tyre outside shoulders are 1mm different to the inside shoulders, the fronts still show no difference, so about this time (5000kms roughly) the rears go on the front and the fronts on the rear.

Then, when the front tyres (now on the rear) wear a similar amount, they all get flipped on the rims (as they are directionals) and I start again. By the time the tyres are about close to replacement, lo and behold! more or less even tyre wear across the whole tyre. Usually only get flipped once.

Edited December 10, 2007 by bravo

[Guest 540Si]

It's all very well if your rims are the same width front and rear!

[eurobandit 0]

hi guys i recently had to replace all four of my tyres as they were wearing very unevenly, the outside of them was fine but the inside tread completely gone

i had a look and they are on a lean coming further away from the car at the bottom, is this a suspension issue or would a wheel alignment fix it?

any help would be appreciated thanks

heres a couple of pictures of what happens to tyres with neg camber,customer got fail at wof did not relise this happen to bmws when they are lowered.these are a quailty bridgestone potenza with good rubber compound not a chinese brand with hard compound

check out the cracks

[Mark 178]

Hmmm... an interesting debate is ensuing here.

So, can someone tell me if I install a shock/spring kit (say H&R sport springs and appropriate Bilstein shocks), will I still end up with negative camber?

[westy 614]

On the rear yes, on the front probably.

Depending on the car the rear can be adjusted out as long as its not too low.

Camber isnt the devil and if you run less toe perhaps even zero tyre wear should be quite good.

To the original poster, what type of tyres are you using?

Cheap will often wear out faster than decent.

Get a wheel alignment!@!

[Andrew 30]

Hmmm... an interesting debate is ensuing here.

So, can someone tell me if I install a shock/spring kit (say H&R sport springs and appropriate Bilstein shocks), will I still end up with negative camber?

Yes - but you can have E36 so you can adjust it.

[hybrid 1044]

I dont rotate as I have a staggered setup.

The thing is a tires "real" life time is only about 1 year before the rubber starts to go off and they become sh*t in wet weather.

3pedals is right on this matter, its like putting the right shoe on the left foot after having worn in shoes. The sole is worn to suit the way your foot has placed weight.

BMW have more camber than most vehicles, this trade off for handling is tire wear.

I just buy a new set when my get down to illegal treads.

[Klackinon 0]

after next pay check i am definitely getting alignment done lol. not sure what brand tryres they had on when it was wearing really badly, i know i have bought cheapies since then

thanks for measurements 3pedals !!

and all other advice cheers you guys are awesome

[Andrew 30]

I found H&R springs too soft .

Whichs ones did you use?

They do make quite a few variations.

[Andrew 30]

Andrew was about a year ago, wre purple sports for a 328 listed them on here but ended up tossing them in the bin because no one wanted them.

They were 3 months old

Maybe the race versions would be your cup of tea. Should get you a set to review.

[Foohey 0]

3pedals has a very good point,

BMW say dont rotate tyres, hes explained what they do if you do it,

but people will do as they feel to their car, i have never done it myself,

usually buy new tyres to save hassle.

another question, on a e36 (stock suspension atm) what suspension is best in ur opinion? sounds like ur the man to go to about this.