Tire Eater MP3?

[trobbins]

Last night I decided to put on my snow tires. From the outside, my OEM Dunlops on the alloys looked pretty good still.... Until I took them off. The 2 front tires are completely bald on the inside part of the tread. The tires probably have about 15,000 to 17,000 miles on them. I could move them to the back and put the rears back on the front. The ones off the back still look good.

My question is, Is my car out of alignment or is the uneven tire wear something that I cannot avoid. This could be dangerous because the outside tread looks perfect so I figured the tires were still OK when they really aren't.

Does anyone else have this problem. Should I take it to the dealer?

On a side note, It took me an hour to get the driver's side rear wheel off. It was corroded on. I has to WD-40 it and bang on the tire with a 4x4 peice of wood.

Tim

 

[fkmp5]

what springs are on your car? how does the camber look? did you have your car aligned after your last suspension upgrade?

 

[mazdadan]

Yeah I would have a tire shop check your camber adjustment. Also, it is essential to keep the proper air pressure in these high performance tires. Otherwise they will wear like crap.

 

[trobbins]

I guess I could have added that...

The car is stock except for a CAI but that doesn't have anything to do with it.

100% Stock suspension, wheels, tires, etc....

Its got 30,000 miles, I shouldn't need an alignment, right?

Tim

 

[RyanJayG]

when did you last rotate your tires? tires just get eaten on the front.... its the whole point to rotating them

 

[scott42]

I think that has been the case with most MP3 owners. Paul and I were discussing this @ a meet recently, and from what it sounds like, they all do it the same way...not sure what from though...I asked the mechanic that worked on my tires when I had them changed, and he said it was most likely driving style, but who knows for sure.
I think a few people had the dealerships redo their camber, but I'm not sure if it helped...

I think its a mystery. I actually noticed it on mine with only 5k miles (not that they were bald, but that they were wearing unevenly) I bumped up the psi to around 36f, 34r and it slowed the wearing dramatically, but it still continued.

Also, I rotated every 3-5k miles and they lasted me about 20-25k miles (not sure how many miles I've had my snows on)

 

[trobbins]

The have been rotated (Front to back since the tires are unidirectional) every 5000-10,000 miles. I rotate them everytime I put the summer tires on. I have had the car 2.5 years and I have 30,000 (I would say more than half on the snow tires).

 

[RyanJayG]

well, the stock dunlops were never known to be long lasting.... 30,000 miles isn't too bad for them... just get yourself some better tires, and increase the tire pressure a bit

 

[gjmoreo]

Yes, the "premature" tire wear is a common situation to Mp3 owners. I had to replace my SP9000's after like 23k and I kept them on until there was no more rubber. I rotated my tires every other oil change and still had that problem.

I think its because of the tire being so soft and our driving style. Those Dunlops are rated as a good tire and have a good reputation so I dont think its entirely a defect or compound problem. For your next set try to get a harder rubber (hehe) get a tire that had a longer tread life.

 

[trobbins]

Well, the Dunlops only have about 15,000 since I put the Snow tires on in the fall and winter.

I guess it was just a little depressing realizing I will need to get new tires next spring.

Anyone have any suggestions on a good set of new tires? I don't need super performance. I would rather have something longer lasting and quiter.

Tim

 

[derrick1623]

i just lost my second dunlop to this uneven tread wear...both of them looked like what you described, inside of tire only. i have rotated my tires regularly, but i did like 5 autox'es with them.

i have begun replacing mine with kuhmo escta 712's

edit: btw, my car has 20,000 miles on it right now.

 

[gjmoreo]

How much are you looking to spend?
There are tons of options ... When I replaced mine I went the expensive route ... mostly for show purposes ... but there are good options on www.tirerack.com

Here are mine:

I also went with 40% profile.

 

[PaulMP3]

this happened to my first set of sp9000. There are a few threads on this issue. Since i am now lowered and have LSD i noticed much more even tire wear.. Also my old mazda dealer alligned my car to es specs one time.. This has happened to many mp3 owners.. When i rotated my tires 2000 miles ago, i notice this slightly, but not even cloase to as bad as before.

I have been told that this could be from cornering very hard.

My first set i called mazda and dunlop and bitched, and dunlop ended up spliting the cost of 4 new sp9000 with me, just to keep me as a satified customer. My sp9000 i have on now have 18k on them and still look good, and i beat on them pretty bad....

 

[waynebike]

man i only got 8000 miles outta my dunlops, and i had em rotated too!! but when i took them back to be checked out again cuz i could see that they were worn they said that they wouldnt rotate them again because they were too unevenly worn. but i bought a set of Kumho Supra 712's and they seem to be fine still after ~10000 miles. i probly shoulda done what you did paul, but oh well but im happy as hell that i bought the warrenty thingy on these new tires, ive already gotten 2 nails in my tires somehow and had them replaced for free =D

 

[erikvonb]

check this thread out: http://protege5.com/vbb230/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38454&highlight=tire+wear

I had the same thing happen to mine. I'm taking it in for an alignment soon.

-Erik

 

[mazdamp3_18]

no it isnt premature wear....

this is the price you pay when you drive a car with good handling...

they put sticky tires on...

i have had many sets of tires on my car...

they all will wear at the same rate...

most ultra high performance and high performance tires will not last you over 20k miles with safe tread

 

[mazdamp3_18]

do you also realize that if any part of your tread has less than 4/32nds of tread on them and you get into an accident you insurance reserves the right to not cover your car....

it is very illiegal to drive with your tires bald on any part of the car...

just to warn you ahead of time

 

[nocar]

be carefull if your tires are bald or worn by putting them on the back

i lost my car for that exact reason

 

[alexlitov]

gjmoreo,


What is that yellow stuff on your tires?

 

[gjmoreo]

gjmoreo,


What is that yellow stuff on your tires?

iTS TREAD ...