Front tire wearing funny, Whats wrong? pics inside

Fords4ME · Mar 27, 2008

I just had the car aligned back in October and I've driven it about 1000 miles since. I dont think its out of alignment from potholes because it still drives the same, which is pretty good.

I've still got a tire wear issue on the front driver's side. I cannot figure this out! This is the 2nd tire to do this. The passenger side tire wears perfect. I do rotate the tires and they only have about 10,000 miles on them.

You can see in the photo the tread is normal except for the outside edge. The cord is showing through.

Any ideas? Here are the alignment numbers from the machine:

CASTER:
Left: 5.4 deg
Right: 5.2 deg

CAMBER:
Left: -0.4 deg
Right: -0.5 deg

TOE:
Left: .10 deg
Right: .10 deg

94GTCoupe · Mar 27, 2008

did your alignment come with a warranty?i'd take the car back and have the shop check it again.

Chythar · Mar 27, 2008

I can't easily tell if the tread wear is even from the photo, it's a bit small. I'll take your word on it then. I would guess your tire is rubbing on something, likely the outer edge of the fender. How much room do you have between your tire and the top of the fender? Can you feel around the lip of the fender and see if there's any rubber there, or if there's some paint worn off?

Our cars don't always have the front wheels perfectly centered. On my 94, the left side sticks out a bit more than the right. I haven't had any problems, but my springs only lower me about an inch or so.

WHITE94COBRA · Mar 27, 2008

How low is your car? Have you or anybody else hit a curb straight on, hard? You may have bent suspension pieces, or bad bushings.
I need more info on your car. I would personally look at the A arms, and K member being bent or broken.

Fords4ME · Mar 28, 2008

I replaced a sway bar end link but everything else appears OK. It was only broken for 20-30 miles. It was a few weeks after the alignment and it wasn't broken when it was aligned. It was easy to hear when it broke.

The tire isn't rubbing any sheet metal. I can put my hand between it and the fender. It is a 245/45R17 and the car is only lowered about 1 3/4". I've had caster/camber plates since lowering.

The odd part to me is that it wears on the outside edge and the passenger side tire wears only a slight amount on the inside edge. Wearing the inside would be normal according to the alignment numbers.

If an A-arm or K-member is bent how could i tell?

gcomfx.com · Mar 28, 2008

Fords4ME said:
I replaced a sway bar end link but everything else appears OK. It was only broken for 20-30 miles. It was a few weeks after the alignment and it wasn't broken when it was aligned. It was easy to hear when it broke.

The tire isn't rubbing any sheet metal. I can put my hand between it and the fender. It is a 245/45R17 and the car is only lowered about 1 3/4". I've had caster/camber plates since lowering.

The odd part to me is that it wears on the outside edge and the passenger side tire wears only a slight amount on the inside edge. Wearing the inside would be normal according to the alignment numbers.

If an A-arm or K-member is bent how could i tell?

Wait, so you had an alignment done, then a few weeks later broke a sway bar end link? If you hit something hard enough to break that, you might have screwed up your alignment. I would definitely take it back and have them check.

TrueBlue95GT · Mar 28, 2008

How does the inside of your driver's side tire look? If it's still got a lot of tread, then you have a positive camber issue or you do alot of hard cornering. If the inside of the tire is also warn, you have low tire pressure.

94-302-vert · Mar 28, 2008

Fords4ME said:
The odd part to me is that it wears on the outside edge and the passenger side tire wears only a slight amount on the inside edge. Wearing the inside would be normal according to the alignment numbers.

My car also wears the left sides of the front tires... When I really paid attention I realized I always had to turn right slightly ... I started playing with my alignment to get the car to want to track stright or turn right slightly and my tires have been wearing a LOT better... It doesn't take much to get the tires to wear quickly...

Fords4ME · Mar 29, 2008

I don't recall actually breaking it but it could have been a pothole. It still drives true.

The car wore the driver's side tire for a long time before breaking the link. I lowered it within a few months of buying it in 2002 so I'm not sure about stock form.

Besides the outside edge of the driver's side tire the front tires wear good. It's the last one inch of tread that rolls off like I used a router on it.

Anybody know how to check geometry on the K-member? Wouldn't a bent arm or K-member show up in the alignment?

Thanks for the ideas. Going to order one tire again.

toyman · Mar 29, 2008

Fords4ME said:
I don't recall actually breaking it but it could have been a pothole. It still drives true.

The car wore the driver's side tire for a long time before breaking the link. I lowered it within a few months of buying it in 2002 so I'm not sure about stock form.

Besides the outside edge of the driver's side tire the front tires wear good. It's the last one inch of tread that rolls off like I used a router on it.

Anybody know how to check geometry on the K-member? Wouldn't a bent arm or K-member show up in the alignment?

Thanks for the ideas. Going to order one tire again.

You didn't say but are the front and rear the same size? If they are were the tires recently rotated front to back? Your description that it looks like you used a router on it would almost indicate that something is cutting the tire (make sure nothing is protruding into the wheel well that would make contact somewhere in its travel either right or left turn). The other thought is the tire itself. Your description doesn't sound like a tread failure but!! How old are the tires and how many miles are on them?

Fords4ME · Apr 1, 2008

The rear tires are 315/35R17 so no rotation except side to side switch.

The tire is def. not rubbing anything. I examined it on the alignment lift lock to lock.

I would guess a bad tire but this is the 2nd one and the passenger side wears perfect.

toyman · Apr 1, 2008

Fords4ME said:
The rear tires are 315/35R17 so no rotation except side to side switch.

Okay, now these aren't unidirectional tires are they. I ask because most performance tires are and side to side is definitely a no no unless they are being remounted.

The tire is def. not rubbing anything. I examined it on the alignment lift lock to lock.

And yet it looks like it's been routered. I assume that there is a defineable groove where its worn to the belts.

I

would guess a bad tire but this is the 2nd one and the passenger side wears perfect

By the second one you mean before the last alignment last October you had the same problem? Did you replace one or both tires? Is the tire that now has the exposed belts one of the original tires or a totally new one? Just trying to fully understand the sequence of events.

cbarr300 · Apr 1, 2008

To elaborate on what toyman may be getting to:

If you had your current tire on before your new alignment then that tire has the same wear on it. Once a tire starts to wear a certain way, a good alignment will not make that tire fix itself.

also, when you lower your car you throw off your suspension geometry. You can get it close to within specs but it may not be perfect...a lot of shops I know won't touch a car lowered more than an inch because there's no guarantee that it will wear like it should.

Front tire wearing funny, Whats wrong? pics inside

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