Tyre advice - uneven wear

[Genterz]

I had a blow out on one of my front tyres last night

Anyways, i've taken the car into my local tyre place (who i know quite well) and noticed that the inner edge of the blown tyre had worn so much it had caused the tyre to almost split. Upon checking the existing other front side tyre, this too is almost bald and is only 5 months old!!! Wots goin on!?

The guy reckons its an after effect of lowering the car but i aint convinced it should wear down this quick. Would any form of tracking/balancing of the wheels help sort this?

Wheels are 17" et36 on a MK3 Astra.

Thanks.

[Heddleston]

Tracking is the probable culprit.

The tyre balance has no effect on wear.

[Genterz]

I'll get the tracking done again altho this is usually done twice a year.

Wot are the other tests/checks that can be done by tyre places?

[LEE69]

Mine does this,and its low,unsure of how lowat least -40 im thinking of going to 16" tbh.

[jason23uk]

not sure about other tests, but if you get the tracking done twice a year then try changing the front and rear wheels at the same time, it wont solve anything but should get you a few more months wear from the tyres...

I am pretty certain that inner tyre wear is a common problem with lowered astra's especially as your running 17's with the offset a bit off from the recommended et49.

Maybe the make of tyres has something to do with it also?? I have found that a set of yoko a539 has lasted a lot longer than falken fe512(just from my own experience! could be different for others?). I am not saying this will be the same on your car but it could be something to look into?

[graham_may]

Don't know if the camber can maybe get changed aswell, or am I thinking of rears?
My mates old Sierra used to require the tyres swapping very regularly as it was stupidly low (musta been -60) on 17's so camber was really bad

[GTE_LET]

Yep I have the same hassle with my astra. It has been lowered with 17" on and wot i have done is get the tyres turned on the rims every 3 months then swap them with the rear tyres. If I dont get it done then my tyres would last the same, about 5 mths. Pain in the butt and nobody warned me when i had it lowered!!! Still love it to bits though....

[Genterz]

Wot will adjusting the camber (on the front) do? I've just spoken to a "performance car" place near me and thats what the guy recomended, but said that Vauxhall should do it as he couldn't.
Any ideas on what they do, prices etc? If its gonna save me cash on tyres every 8 months then it might be worth it.

[Seggy]

Basically the tyres aren't sitting flat on the road, they're slightly leaned in at an angle and as a result the inside of the tyre is more in contact with the road - this is just a fact of lowering the car.

I guess adjusting the camber (if it can be done) will straighten the wheel up so there's less angle and more rubber contacts the road.

The tyre wear depends on your mileage and driving style, but for a total blowout, you either do burnouts off every light, a really high mileage, or they were some cheap tyres.

Swap the front and back wheels to even out tyre wear.

[LEE69]

The tyre wear depends on your mileage and driving style, but for a total blowout, you either do burnouts off every light, a really high mileage, or they were some cheap tyres

Any tyre will blow out if its been worn down,under inflated/overinflated/bad camber.
Soon as the fabrics there.......BANG.

[Seggy]

Any tyre will blow out if its been worn down,under inflated/overinflated/bad camber.
Soon as the fabrics there.......BANG.

I'm aware of that. What I meant was your driving style will have an effect on the rate of tyre wear, tyres pressures & camber are also factors.

For example, I've had my rims/tyres for 2 months now and the tyres still look as good as new, granted that most of my mileage is motorway and I'm not an aggressive driver

[Genterz]

Gone are the days of burnouts and doughnuts - about 6 years ago maybe i did the odd one

Im really sensible nowadays but do notice that the wheels will spin very easily. Perhaps this is cos of the small amount of contact the tyres have with the road.

If I were to put the standard springs back on, would all my tyre wearing troubles go away?

[pmc_3]

They may well go away, but it would look cr@p.

Best bet would beto get some wheels closer to vauxhall offset, should handle better too as you dont get as much tramlining.

[jason23uk]

not sure if this is relevent but regal sell adjustable top mount kits for lowered vauxhalls. I have not used these myself and think they cost quite a bit, but surely it's cheaper in the long run if your tyres are wearing out so quick!

Actually saw a set on ebay for £75 not sure if they are still there though?

[TomF]

One way is to slot the holes in the bottom balljoint, so you can move it inwards to reduce the camber angle.

[Davey boy]

when i had my gsi on -40 mm springs on the front,the tyre wear on the inside was accelerated,compared to a standard ride height.

I got the tracking adjusted on a lazer tracking machine,asked them to give it a bit more toe,that helped ,also not "hooning" round bends helps too,the more gentle you drive,the kinder it is on tyres.

[astragsi]

i also have this problem, i had falken on before and lasted a whole 3 months before they were bald, i got some stunner scudo's or some thing and lasted me 9 months with the same driving style.

i got the tracking done and now the wear seems to be very even. with about 40mm drop on 17".