E9x excessive rear inner wear

[325_driver 422]

Hey wondering if anyone has ideas what might contribute to this, or if they have encountered same problem on e90

Had a wheel alignment done recently and tyres had atleast 6mm on them after alignment.

Inners are absolutely chewed, same on both sides.

I think the wheel alignment guy may have mentioned there was something stopping him adjust the rears past a certain point maybe like a bushing or something. Can't remember

What rear components on the back could stop someone adjusting tow/camber that may need replacing on this stock setup.

Cheers

[M3AN 4016]

Wow, how long ago was "recently"?!? Can you post a copy of the alignment sheet?

I would think if it was a static alignment problem the shop would have told you "it's bad" so I imagine it's dynamic alignment (i.e. when your driving only) which would indicate bushes, top mounts or shocks... is it the same on both sides?

 

[325_driver 422]

@M3AN

Seems to be even on both sides.

I recall him saying he was trying to adjust the rear either camber or tow and it wouldn't allow him past a certain degree so he implied maybe a bushing

[M3AN 4016]

38 minutes ago, 325_driver said:

I recall him saying he was trying to adjust the rear either camber or tow and it wouldn't allow him past a certain degree so he implied maybe a bushing

Without knowing how much camber and toe he was able to dial in it's really just guesswork. If you can upload the results sheet that would help. 

[GorGasm 563]

Remember, too much toe and your tyres will blow.

[Matth5 471]

If you don't have the current alignment sheet I'd say go back and get it checked.

Have you been keeping an eye on tyre pressures and do you know what  pressures you've been running? That also contribute although with the wear being so extremely confined to the edge I'd say bad alignment is more likely.

 

[325_driver 422]

@Matth5 what pressures on rears say 255/35/18, I've been reading some people run them real firm to counter act similar wear issues, if thats what I'm dealing with at all.

Couldn't get a print out of the alignment, will have to get another one done. 

[M3AN 4016]

24 minutes ago, 325_driver said:

@Matth5 what pressures on rears say 255/35/18, I've been reading some people run them real firm to counter act similar wear issues, if thats what I'm dealing with at all.

Couldn't get a print out of the alignment, will have to get another one done. 

38 to 40 PSI is a good general recommendation (I run that rear tyre on both of my cars).

Never leave an alignment without the correction sheet, you've paid for it after all. You'll know for next time. If it was only recently the shop will probably have it stored, it might be worth asking them... even for a small fee it's probably worth getting.

[Eagle 1662]

The mid-outer looks like its around 3mm so unless you been driving hard etc what is recent?. As above you need an alignment sheet, no point in proceeding without it. 

[Matth5 471]

6 hours ago, 325_driver said:

@Matth5 what pressures on rears say 255/35/18, I've been reading some people run them real firm to counter act similar wear issues, if thats what I'm dealing with at all.

Couldn't get a print out of the alignment, will have to get another one done. 

Can't recall but I just stuck to BMWs recommendation (from the manual / door sticker) and that worked well on my 335i. 

[325_driver 422]

Yeah usually go to mag and turbo and they have a automatic print out. The European guy I use for my wof did wheel alignment at same time since I was having some new rears put on, I saw the numbers they were all In spec bar the rear camber but couldn't so print out because system didn't have that function.

Should have taken a photo.

Will have to re book it in there and see if he can check alignment on rears again and look for a potential part causing it at the same time 

 

[Jacko 2157]

Cant really think of any part that could be so busted couldnt fix an alignment like that, unless one of the eccentric bolts was stripped and the tech just made one match the other?

Its normally the front tie rod ends that seize, not the rear end.

[qube 3570]

4. All of the above 

😂

[325_driver 422]

@3pedals tyres were Bridgestone Potenzas 245/40/18 on the rears. 

I've been running a 245/40/18 square setup front / back. Have no wear issues on fronts and they have done same kms, still 4mm plus on them.

I was hoping it's an under inflation issue but I'm pretty sure they were 38psi 

I had the same excessive inner wear when I was running other rims with 225/40/18 on the rear also. 

[325_driver 422]

@3pedals yeah just don't understand what might have been stopping the guy doing the alignment from adjusting the camber past a certain point. He's solid too well known locally as experienced in the euro game and doing good work so I'm a tad confused what parts may be contributing to an ability to fix that wear on an alignment. 

Oh well see If I can get him to put it up on the hoist again and remedy it as it's chewing through rubber a tad too quick for my liking. 15,000km tops and those rears were down to wires ....

[Bandit 194]

And get a new set of tyres for the rear pronto😀

[325_driver 422]

@3pedals copy that !!

Next task how to get a booking before Christmas 😅

[Allanw 1071]

In addition to what 3pedals says, some bushes/components don't need much wear/age on them to create alignment or movement problems in a complex rear end.

E39's are prone to it, and on my Current Touran (same as MK5, MK6 Golfs, B6 Passats and the likes), the lower inner arm bushes have a massive impact on suspension movements that cause inner wear. They go a tiny bit soft, and deflect under load, altering the geometry at bad times.

Some tyres are far more prone to this than others too.

I had similar wear on our old E39 in the earlier stages after we purchased it.

I rebuilt the suspension, which tightened everything up, then had it aligned by a guy who knew what he was doing - I could visibly SEE the camber difference when my wife drove it home too!

Also, I recently purchased Continental MaxContact6's for my Touran. I was previously having a similar wear pattern on the rear, but to a far lesser extent on the RE003's

The Conti dealer had a cutaway of the Conti's I was fitting, and also my previous RE003 tyre (by coincidence) which was worn exactly the same as mine! It was clearly evident the RE003 wore excessively on the shoulder, between where the belt finished, and the outer corner of the tread. The belt was much narrower that the tread. This area wore a triangle off the inner edge, starting exactly where the belt finished.

On this particular 215/50R17 Conti MC6 (I haven't comfirmed they are all the same), the belt was much wider, and ran right out to the tread edge. While his cutaway sample evidenced some wear on the inner side, it was very progressive and not at all like the narrower belted tyres - he's got plenty of examples sitting there to look at.

He's been recommending the Conti's to heavy euro car owners, because he sees much better wear across them. He's actually an alignment specialist, and got into tyres more recently (maybe 10 or so years ago, after he and his father doing alignments only for probably 50 years!)

He keeps these cutaways out for everyone to see and often uses them to talk people up from cheap/chinese tyres (the construction is dramatically "lighter" - scary, in fact! Even for the same load ratings)

 

[jon dee 500]

This is kind of an interesting topic a a quick internet search failed to turn up any authoritative articles that accurately describe, analyse and identify the cause of the various forms of inside shoulder wear on road tyres. There are countless primary school level articles by every man and his canine companion, but nothing from a major tyre company or established testing authority. So in the absence of any hard data in this thread I feel feel fully qualified to put in my best guess

I have attached a pic of a rear 255/35-18 from a set of wheels that I sold recently. The tyres came with the wheels and I never used them, so I don't know the actually history. However, looking at them I would say that they came from a car that most likely was lowered but otherwise had good alignment. The tread depth varied 5mm>>4mm>>4mm>>2mm across the width and there were no cords showing. Neither was there any sign of scuffing or coarse graining of the rubber that would indicate excessive toe out or tyre abuse. The wheels came from a South Island car so likely it did more straight line running than a Wellington city car !!!

Looking at the pic up top and reading that the alignment had a problem getting the camber in spec suggests that the car may have been lowered ? The tyre looks to have a reasonable amount of wear on it, so combine that with a bit more than stock camber plus a touch of toe out from lowering and you have a recipe for accelerated wear on the inner shoulder.

Cheers...