On my 2004 Mazda 3 my rear tires a seem to be tilted ever so slightly in... / \ They wear on the inner edge of the tire not too bad but noticeable after 20k on the tires I drive to Atlanta every day 100 mi+...(highway) The outside edge looks new. I have had the tires rotated every 6000 mi and aligned every 10000 mi. So is there anything I can do about it, I would like to have my tires wear evenly. HELP(shocked)
Tire alignment & uneven tire ware
- Thread starter Par724j
- Start date
Par724j said:
There is not a way to adjust the camber on the 3s in the rear without getting aftermarket adjustable camber plates. SPC and Eibach (same part, Eibach just puts thier name on the SPC ones) both make adjustable ones. There are also non-adjustable ones available as a Mazdaspeed accessory through your dealer.
Yes, one. If the tires do not have a specific "out" side (I know that some do,) you can have them remounted. THEN install them on the opposite side of the vehicle. Same direction, different side. 'Course, that'll (probably) cost ya' too.Par724j said:I have Yokohama ES100 on the car. ??Directional??
I rotate front to back I don't cross...
I would like the tires to wear more evenly to get more life out of them because of their cost. Any thoughts
I'm guessing you bought this car used. Has it been been lowered using new springs?
If so spend the money and get the adjustable camber plates. I've seen them for as little as $110/pr (eBay. Pic below) and as much as $285. How much is it worth to you?
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Yes I bought the Car used but to my knowledge the car was never lowered. It looks normal... I don't think that i can do that with the tires but i will check into it. (treads go in one direction) Do you or did you have the same problem? If i were to get adjustable camber plates would that solve the problem when installed and adjusted correctly? Oh Sweet ride!!
Yes, I am wearing about 1/32" difference between inside and outside tread in the rear. And mine isn't lowered either... yet, but I am running directional tires too.Par724j said:
What I was saying is if what is now the inside of the tire could be remounted to the outside, turned around on the rim, then, and only then could they be installed on the other side of the car. They would then run in the same, directional direction they were intended to, but on the other side of the car. See?
And yes, the camber arms/plates should allow, and are designed to allow adjustablilty to compinsate for the wear.
I do not have personal experience with what may happen to the handling though. Many w/lowered cars have done this and no one has complained about a problem.
I have a friend in our local club that has the Eibach Pro kit in 3 HB. They drops the car about 1.5-1.6", not too radical. But he had a camber problem when he bought it new. Now, OMG!!! I told him he really needs to do something about it, but so far.... He's young. He'll learn.
Good Day. This is Rich writing from Panama (Central America).
I'm another Mazda3 (2005) owner over here in my case a made in Japan version which is almost identical to US version (just some minor changes).
Since the beginning of the last year (2008) I have the rear inner tires wear. Originally it began with a rear end noise like worn bearings noticeable at exactly 60 km/h. At the same time progressive rear inner tire wear was happening month to month. Mazda dealership here checked the car and confirmed that bearings were ok and real cause was poor rear alignment which they "apparently fixed". Noise and tire wear continued after that causing rear tires failure in july last year. I decided to consult an experienced alignment shop and we checked front and rear alignment deeply finding rear right tire toe out of range. The toe issue was fixed to not only the "green" but to the very central position.
Front tires showed a more even wear pattern with inner wear a little bit more than outer (I suppose do to slightly negative camber in traction tires). I understand that camber settings affect more a traction tire and a no traction tire is almost unaffected if toe is in a proper range and toe out of range affects either of the tires causing uneven tire wear.
I read (don't remember where) that some people have solved this rear inner wear and noise at 60 km/h without any camber kit and just by adjusting the rear total toe between 0.04 and 0.10 grades even running -2.0 of rear camber. If this is correct then the min and max toe settings set by Mazda for this car aren't proper if you want to have a proper tire mileage. Also I see that rear suspension is very sensitive to toe out of range settings.
As the alignment man told me: If I have to fix camber and toe I'll definetly fix first toe to central position and try to set camber as near of min/max as possible.
Please let me know your inputs.
I'm another Mazda3 (2005) owner over here in my case a made in Japan version which is almost identical to US version (just some minor changes).
Since the beginning of the last year (2008) I have the rear inner tires wear. Originally it began with a rear end noise like worn bearings noticeable at exactly 60 km/h. At the same time progressive rear inner tire wear was happening month to month. Mazda dealership here checked the car and confirmed that bearings were ok and real cause was poor rear alignment which they "apparently fixed". Noise and tire wear continued after that causing rear tires failure in july last year. I decided to consult an experienced alignment shop and we checked front and rear alignment deeply finding rear right tire toe out of range. The toe issue was fixed to not only the "green" but to the very central position.
Front tires showed a more even wear pattern with inner wear a little bit more than outer (I suppose do to slightly negative camber in traction tires). I understand that camber settings affect more a traction tire and a no traction tire is almost unaffected if toe is in a proper range and toe out of range affects either of the tires causing uneven tire wear.
I read (don't remember where) that some people have solved this rear inner wear and noise at 60 km/h without any camber kit and just by adjusting the rear total toe between 0.04 and 0.10 grades even running -2.0 of rear camber. If this is correct then the min and max toe settings set by Mazda for this car aren't proper if you want to have a proper tire mileage. Also I see that rear suspension is very sensitive to toe out of range settings.
As the alignment man told me: If I have to fix camber and toe I'll definetly fix first toe to central position and try to set camber as near of min/max as possible.
Please let me know your inputs.
I do alignments all day every day, and I own a 3. This is normal wear on all of the 3's. As stated earlier if you "flip" the tires every other rotation you can get good mileage from your tires. I got over 40k on each set of my Toyo P 4's I have had my car since new in 04, and have 108 K miles on my car and just last weak installed my rear camber kit. Evan with the kit I can only just get the camber set to spec with the lowered car. A stock car could improve wear with them if you dont mind losing a little handling.
Just pulled "Jazzy" (might have to rethink that name; sounds more laid-back than she performs) in for 15K service and the dealership's service department now has an "instant alignment checker" pad (actually, two pads; one on each side) that they drive cars across. It said the front was fine but that the rear "failed" because it claimed the rears were toed out too much, at which point the service rep said an alignment would be ~$90 (and it's no longer within the adjustment period of 12K so this would be out-of-pocket).
Since this device consists of ramps with a sensor pad in between rather than being built flush into the floor, it seems to me that unless one rolls over them slowly while being very careful not to engage the suspension it could give erroneous results. But that could just be me not knowing how well the thing's programmed to account for such motion.
Anyone else have any experience with this kind of apparatus? My BS Detector went off right away, just like it did the last time I was shown a "splotch panel" of various fluids and told I needed a tranny flush, even though one had been done by the same shop on schedule at the last visit (a previous car; not this one). I was told that improper toe-in on the rear will result in the inside tread on the rears wearing faster than the outside. But wouldn't that be caused more by the rear's negative camber?
(dunno)
Since this device consists of ramps with a sensor pad in between rather than being built flush into the floor, it seems to me that unless one rolls over them slowly while being very careful not to engage the suspension it could give erroneous results. But that could just be me not knowing how well the thing's programmed to account for such motion.
Anyone else have any experience with this kind of apparatus? My BS Detector went off right away, just like it did the last time I was shown a "splotch panel" of various fluids and told I needed a tranny flush, even though one had been done by the same shop on schedule at the last visit (a previous car; not this one). I was told that improper toe-in on the rear will result in the inside tread on the rears wearing faster than the outside. But wouldn't that be caused more by the rear's negative camber?
(dunno)
i agree with a lot of the above. i have an 08 mazda3, and ive noticed it has really aggressive rear camber. this is generally a good thing that only sportier cars have. it keeps a larger contact patch in a turn. i just deal with it lol. but remount would help a lot for tire wear. also, the front differential is slightly biased on our cars so i would suggest crossing when u rotate to keep tire wear more even.
i have an 06 3 hatchback and i bought it used and i just rotated my tires about a week ago and i noticed that the ones from the back are cupped
Found this: http://www.goodyeartires.com/kyt/maintainingATire/
Considering the age, I think it's highly unlikely that there are worn-out suspension components (unless the previous owner "rode her hard and put her away wet" (Hey, hey.. it's an horse reference, so get your mind(s) out of the gutter
)). More logical to me would be that the tire|wheel is out of balance. There are TSBs that strongly recommend having tires that are mounted on alloy wheels balanced on a Hunter GSP9700 which will also account for off-balance points in the wheel rim, not just the tire.
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Rear alignment problems
I have a M3 sport 2008....I seems to me that th is is an ongoing problem for a number of production years for Mazda.How many more years will this go on???Maybe if Mazda had their alignment more like the Honda and then had a kit available(for purchase)to customers who want their cars handle more like a sports car this thorn in their side would go away.I am disgusted with the rear tire wear on my vehicle and the answers i am getting from my dealer and Mazda Canada.Hey Mazda heres an idea,,,,Fix the problem.....
I have a M3 sport 2008....I seems to me that th is is an ongoing problem for a number of production years for Mazda.How many more years will this go on???Maybe if Mazda had their alignment more like the Honda and then had a kit available(for purchase)to customers who want their cars handle more like a sports car this thorn in their side would go away.I am disgusted with the rear tire wear on my vehicle and the answers i am getting from my dealer and Mazda Canada.Hey Mazda heres an idea,,,,Fix the problem.....
samabhi126
Member
I think you should change it immediately or you may come in big trouble.
3rd set of tires!!
I'm experiencing similar problems, bought my 3 new in April of 07, had G009 Potenzas put on in April of 08 (had horrible vibration and tires were visibly worn unevenly). Fast forward just over a year and I was told today that the tires were doing the same thing! All suspension was deemed tight, alignment was checked as well. Tires are rotated every other oil change and pressures checked regularly. They seem to be wearing unevenly in the back and the last rotation brought the worst of the four to the front and the vibration is ridiculous. Of course being a woman they think they can tell me its normal and I'll just keep buying new tires but thats not going to happen. Tires are still under warranty but they wont give full value of course, everyone keeps pointing me to Mazda to have them do something about it. Has anyone had any luck getting this problem resolved?? I dont want to keep buying a new set of tires every year or I'll buy a new car that doesnt have such a ridiculous problem.
I'm experiencing similar problems, bought my 3 new in April of 07, had G009 Potenzas put on in April of 08 (had horrible vibration and tires were visibly worn unevenly). Fast forward just over a year and I was told today that the tires were doing the same thing! All suspension was deemed tight, alignment was checked as well. Tires are rotated every other oil change and pressures checked regularly. They seem to be wearing unevenly in the back and the last rotation brought the worst of the four to the front and the vibration is ridiculous. Of course being a woman they think they can tell me its normal and I'll just keep buying new tires but thats not going to happen. Tires are still under warranty but they wont give full value of course, everyone keeps pointing me to Mazda to have them do something about it. Has anyone had any luck getting this problem resolved?? I dont want to keep buying a new set of tires every year or I'll buy a new car that doesnt have such a ridiculous problem.
