Strange wear pattern

John H

John H

Member
I replaced the wheels & tyres on the A2 two days ago, and was surprised by the wear pattern on the front tyres. The tread was part worn, but the shoulders were deeply worn, almost into a triangular groove, most noticable on the inside shoulder on each tyre. The tracking seems fine however.

Today I put new tyres on my wife's Golf Mk 5, and was shocked to find the same thing, tread worn flat, but with such severe shoulder wear on the inside shoulder that the carcass wires were showing :eek: the garage did an alignment check, but it was spot on. :confused:

Is there something about VW/Audi steering geometry that causes this? I notice that if you put either car on full lock, it tips the wheel in such a fashion that it is resting on the tyre shoulder.

Anyone else noticed this?
 
Me too. Bought two new tyres last week. Tread flat but the inside shoulders badly worn. In my case it was in fact the tracking that was badly out. Advised to get the tracking checked regularly as speed bumps in particular can effect the set up.
 
The factory issue Pirelli P6000s had a bias to wearing the inside shoulder on the front wheels at the first MOT. Tracking was found to be correct. As it was a marginal pass for the MOT I changed the two front tyres, and put Continentals on, due to the non availablity of the Pirellis. So far, not detected any uneven tyre wear on the Contis', but I am watching them! (Standard SE 16 inch wheels and tyres.)
 
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Fascinating, so I am not the only one to have observed this.

I did not have the tracking checked on the A2, but I'm sure it is OK.

The garage was very surprised to find the tracking on my Golf was spot on, they were sure there must be something wrong.

Any more instances of this?

JH
 
Had 4 wheel alignment via Kwick-Fit, but having read the thread I will definately watch the tyre wear pattern closely. Spike and Skiptons comments about getting the axle alignment checked by will be the route I take if the wear problem persists, with Audi but I will negotiate very hard.
 
The problem with inside wear can't be solved, the camber and toe are set correctly and this gives the very "turn in" and "pointy" feeling to the car. I have owned my car from new Audi have checked it for hours and also independants and they all say its correct. You need to ensure you don't have asymetric tyres, but buy only directional tyres. This is the solution i have used since the first set of Pirelli P Zero-Nero tyres (factory fit) wore on the inside edge.

Directional tyres can be change on the same axle allowing the worn inside edge on the N/S to go on the outside edge on the O/S. Asymetic have an inside and outside edge to each tyre, so if the inside wears out you are stuffed and can only put the tyre on the back, on the same side it came off. I fitted toyo Proxes last time because once i had some wear ont he inside i could get the tyres removed from the rim and swapped. costing £40 but allow about another 5,000 miles.
 
Emm said:
The problem with inside wear can't be solved ...
Click to expand...


This is more like what I expected. I know what the wear pattern of negative camber would look like, with the tread worn assymetrically, but this was not it. The tread was worn quite flat, but with the shoulder buffed away. (I really must take a photo).

I guess it's something I'll have to live with.

Thanks

JH
 
Must admit that I have gone through a few more tyres than expected. Re the negative camber set up being normal and explains the super sharp steering and handling I can believe. But at £126 per tyre every 10K or so is still a high price. Will check now if the new tyres are unidirectional....
 
Tread wear rating number is also important. Anything close to 100 is gonna wear out fast, the higher the number the greater the longevity. but at a bit of compromise to the handling, nothing to worry about considering the car weight and tyre size. Toyo Proxes are on ebay for £200 new for 4 i think its with free postage.

A local garage will have to dispose of you old tyres so may want to charge a little bit more. so lets say £20 a wheel to fit and balance

£200 tyres
£80 fitting
£280
lets say £300 thats still only £75 a tyre inc vat fit and balance!! that can be changed from side to side.


Or select the tyre of your choice here and select fully fitted
http://www.blackcircles.com/

Then enter your postcode and a local tyre supply with a contract with Blackcircles will fit for the price displayed. I think i just did it and got the Toyo Proxes T1R fully fitted for £76 a tyre.
 
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