Tire wear

[erikvonb]

Could you guys take a look at these photos and tell me what you think?

My two front tires are worn on the inside. I never even noticed it because the outside looked fine. They HAVE been rotated and the rear tires are fine.
One thing to point out is: I noticed at about 125 km/h (or about 75 mph) i felt vibration coming from the front. Would this suggest that the front is out of alignment or the wheels out of balance?

There is absolutely no vibration with the new steel rims and winters that I just put on. I'd like to know what you guys think, because I don't want to have this happen to the new tires.

The first two photos are of the worn tires. The third is a comparison of the worn and the good tires. And the last is on of the good one.


FRONT WEAR - (notice the wear along the inside)
/members/erikvonb/wear.jpg

FRONT - DIFFERNT ANGLE - notice how the left side looks fine, but right side is really worn
/members/erikvonb/wear2.jpg

COMPARISON
/members/erikvonb/compare.jpg

REAR TIRE - normal wear
/members/erikvonb/normal.jpg

I can take more photos from different angles if needed.

Thanks,

-Erik

 

[KYMP5]

you need an alignment and it probably wouldnt hurt to get the wheels rebalanced

 

[MadBiker]

Yeah get an alignment. Ideally do it 2x a year. Esp. if you have crappy roads like we do here in Jersey (potholes can destroy a perfect alignment when you hit them). I try to get an alignment every tire rotation / oil change (Firestone Lifetime Alignment).

** Edit **
P.S. You're getting new tires, aren't you? It's a safety issue.

** Edit 2 **
you sure you're not drag racing or anything??? And I think even with normal wear, the insides of the tires do get worn first so maybe what you're seeing maybe "normal" but you sure are wearing out your tires unevenly. Make sure to rotate your tires every oil change.

 

[erikvonb]

you need an alignment and it probably wouldnt hurt to get the wheels rebalanced

\

Thanks. I was planning on going in to get the alignment checked.

Any idea why I'm not experiencing any vibration or shake with the new rims and tires?

-Erik

 

[erikvonb]

Yeah get an alignment. Ideally do it 2x a year. Esp. if you have crappy roads like we do here in Jersey (potholes can destroy a perfect alignment when you hit them). I try to get an alignment every tire rotation / oil change (Firestone Lifetime Alignment).

** Edit **
P.S. You're getting new tires, aren't you? It's a safety issue.

Yes. I'm definitely gettin new tires come spring. Any suggestions? I don't really want to keep the Dunlops on because they were terrible in the rain, but the two rears are fine and it would be a shame to just get rid of them.

-Erik

 

[RAAZ227]

Sh*t in the past year I have already replace my front tires. No they are getting warn again. I have Ground Controll coil overs, but since I have raised the car up. These Mazdas have bad Negative Chamber. Just eats the tires up. My Honda never did that.

 

[traitorhound]

\

Thanks. I was planning on going in to get the alignment checked.

Any idea why I'm not experiencing any vibration or shake with the new rims and tires?

-Erik

that's probably because these tires are balanced right so they don't shake and whatnot. . .your suspension will thank you too

 

[erikvonb]

that's probably because these tires are balanced right so they don't shake and whatnot. . .your suspension will thank you too

so...do you think that the wear that I got on the two front tires is more likely from unbalanced tires, bad alignment, or both?

I haven't hit any potholes or anything to make me worry about the alignment. I figure it wouldn't hurt to get it done regardless.

-Erik

 

[traitorhound]

you might as well get an alignment too just to make sure. . the shaking could have also been cause by the unever wear on the tires. . i know that happened to me and when i got new tires on my old car the car felt like it was brand new again. . .cause all the crap was gone

 

[Glauconite]

it's your front 2 wheels, i had it b4 going 130km/h, my steering wheel would shake, and i'd back off the gas.. rotated them and now no prob...

 

[mazdadan]

Looks like you need an alignment. There appears to be way too much negative camber. Also, make sure you have the proper air pressure in your tires. Too little air pressure will also wear down the edges of a tire in a hurry.

 

[MadBiker]

How many miles do you have on your fresher rear tires? Depending on that it might be better to just get a new set of 4 at a Firestone, CanTire or wherever and find out what kind of service (free of charge) they offer on rotation, balance and alignment for the life of the tires.

for exampel Firestone will rotate tires you buy at their svc center every oil change for free. You can purchase lifetime alignment and balancing (lifetime balance isn't worth it) too.

I've burnt out many tires very quickly because I skimped on the rotation and alignement and in the end you lose money if you skimp.

 

[erikvonb]

How many miles do you have on your fresher rear tires? Depending on that it might be better to just get a new set of 4 at a Firestone, CanTire or wherever and find out what kind of service (free of charge) they offer on rotation, balance and alignment for the life of the tires.

for exampel Firestone will rotate tires you buy at their svc center every oil change for free. You can purchase lifetime alignment and balancing (lifetime balance isn't worth it) too.

I've burnt out many tires very quickly because I skimped on the rotation and alignement and in the end you lose money if you skimp.

I called the Firestone location where I live, and mentioned the lifetime alignment and balancing, and they said they have nothing like that. I guess maybe it's only in the US.(dunno)

It's too bad, because an alignment here costs about $80-90 CAN for all 4 wheels. Seems a little expen$ive to do everytime I change my oil or rotate the tires.

-Erik

 

[MadBiker]

erikvonb,
Check out some of the other service centers like canadian tire or something for lifetime alignment. They might have something. Even if they don't offer that up there in the great white north (oh, btw, sorry about the devils last year and the last game - but the Sens are a great team), an alignment at least 1x a year would be good.

Tire rotation though they should do for free if you get the tires from the store.