Left front tire wear more than the other 3?

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 03:28 PM

My left front tire is rounding out on the outer edge. I just swapped RS rims with my WRX stock and notice it. Drove a 100 miles on Kumho 712(used, about 9k on them) and the front left tire is starting to round out like the RE92. Can it be something else that's causing the problem? I have whiteline 24mm front sway and 22-26mm rear sway. That's the only change to my suspension. Any ideas as to the cause of this?

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 03:34 PM

I left out that I've just done an alignment and the numbers didn't change much. Here's what I've got:

Front
Initial After
Caster
Left 3.3 3.6
Right 3.5 3.8
Camber
Left -0.6 -0.8
Right -0.2 -0.8
Toe
Left 0 0
Right -0.1 0

Rear

Camber
Left -1.6 -1.6
Right -1.3 -1.1
Toe
Left 0 0
Right -0.15 0.5

Any thoughts?

Cosworth · 03-13-2003, 03:35 PM

Assuming you have not damage to your suspension, your alignment is out of spec. You probably have some toe issues on that corner that need to be changed. Get yourself an alignment asap!

driggity · 03-13-2003, 03:55 PM

Alignment doesn't look like it would have caused it in the front. Have you checked tire pressures?

Does look like your alignment got worse in the rear though. Bigger difference in both camber and toe than there was before. I would have bitched about that.

STX_REX · 03-13-2003, 04:36 PM

Do you take alot of on and off ramps at speeds the the local authorities would frown on?

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 04:41 PM

well.....yeah....but why only the left front is wearing down faster than the other 3 and rounding on the outer edge? That bugs me.....not to mention it's messing up my tires.

tdxflex · 03-13-2003, 09:17 PM

how are your tire pressures, maybe you have a slow leak in the left front.

Albert · 03-13-2003, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tdxflex
how are your tire pressures, maybe you have a slow leak in the left front.

...but he had the same problem with the WRX tires that he is currently having with the RS tires. I say it's an alignment problem.

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 09:24 PM

Tire pressure is good. 38psi front, 36psi rear. Then again, I just put on the Kumho 712 with the RS rims the day before. But looking at the RE92 from my WRX rims the front left wears more than the front right. This morning I notice the left front is rounding so I took it in for a alignment as the results posting above.

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 09:27 PM

Forgot to mentioned the left front wears more than the right front. The right front wears more than the rear. The rear has 70% tread while the front has 45% and 55% respectively.

tdxflex · 03-13-2003, 09:41 PM

all the wear is on the outer edge? your alignment specs in the front were fine. and also he was running more negative camber on the left side than the right so if anything the right should have been wearing faster. no accidents or curbing either?

yuletak · 03-13-2003, 09:48 PM

doing a lot of those cornering to the right or high speed curves to the right? i think that's what happened to my front left as well. most turns (hwy on/offramps) cause me to turn to the right, so that explains it in my situation.

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 09:49 PM

No accidents. Actually the rounding only occurs more to the left. The rest of the tire has normal "aggressive" driving type of wear. Normal wear on the right front tire( it actually HAS a shoulder, unlike the left, which is now round).

Smash! · 03-13-2003, 09:50 PM

hehe, maybe I should learn how to swing the rear out to "even" the wear. But that's a high possibility.

STX_REX · 03-14-2003, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Smash!
well.....yeah....but why only the left front is wearing down faster than the other 3 and rounding on the outer edge? That bugs me.....not to mention it's messing up my tires.

The left front takes the most weight and or abuse when making a right turn. the added weight will cause the tire to roll and this will cause the shoulder to be rounded off.

PS. from what I've read, it is not a good idea to run uneven tire pressures in an all wheel drive car for extended periods of time.

later,
Andy

Albert · 03-14-2003, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Smash!
Drove a 100 miles on Kumho 712(used, about 9k on them) and the front left tire is starting to round out like the RE92.

I still think you have an alignment problem if you can notice excessive tire wear after only 100 miles of driving. However if you are an admitted insane deranged unbalanced madman behind the wheel then that's a different story

Smash! · 03-14-2003, 05:03 PM

Dude, I live in LA. Traffic sucks around here....so yeah what you said...

Luke@tirerack · 03-14-2003, 05:21 PM

fix the loose nut ......

the one behind the steering wheel ;-)

it doesn't look like an alignment problem if the specs you posted are correct ... it has to be either air pressure issues or the driver

Smash! · 03-14-2003, 05:46 PM

It could be me, but I failed to mentioned that the car doesn't track straight and pulls to the right. Again, the only thing that change are the sway bars, rims and tires. Obviously the difference in tire wear is an contributing factor. I am suspecting the rims or possibly the front sway(shifting left or right maybe). If the wheels are not balance, it would shake when I brake, right? It doesn't shake when I brake but does pull to the right when I let the steering go. What do you think I should do next to troubleshoot?

03-13-2003, 03:28 PM	#1
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	Left front tire wear more than the other 3? My left front tire is rounding out on the outer edge. I just swapped RS rims with my WRX stock and notice it. Drove a 100 miles on Kumho 712(used, about 9k on them) and the front left tire is starting to round out like the RE92. Can it be something else that's causing the problem? I have whiteline 24mm front sway and 22-26mm rear sway. That's the only change to my suspension. Any ideas as to the cause of this?

03-13-2003, 09:48 PM	#12
yuletak Scooby Newbie Member#: 3602 Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Menlo Park, CA Vehicle: 2002 wrx silver 1992 kawasaki ex500	high speed turns? doing a lot of those cornering to the right or high speed curves to the right? i think that's what happened to my front left as well. most turns (hwy on/offramps) cause me to turn to the right, so that explains it in my situation.

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03-13-2003, 03:34 PM	#2
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	I left out that I've just done an alignment and the numbers didn't change much. Here's what I've got: Front Initial After Caster Left 3.3 3.6 Right 3.5 3.8 Camber Left -0.6 -0.8 Right -0.2 -0.8 Toe Left 0 0 Right -0.1 0 Rear Camber Left -1.6 -1.6 Right -1.3 -1.1 Toe Left 0 0 Right -0.15 0.5 Any thoughts?

03-13-2003, 03:35 PM	#3
Cosworth Scooby Specialist Member#: 3887 Join Date: Jan 2001 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Middletown, NJ Vehicle: 02 08 Taco, 98 M3 '00 RVT1000R, '00 DRZ400	Assuming you have not damage to your suspension, your alignment is out of spec. You probably have some toe issues on that corner that need to be changed. Get yourself an alignment asap!

03-13-2003, 03:55 PM	#4
driggity Scooby Specialist Member#: 7453 Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Vehicle: 2005 Legacy GT Wagon 5MT/Cloth Limited Edition	Alignment doesn't look like it would have caused it in the front. Have you checked tire pressures? Does look like your alignment got worse in the rear though. Bigger difference in both camber and toe than there was before. I would have bitched about that.

03-13-2003, 04:36 PM	#5
STX_REX Scooby Newbie Member#: 25255 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: On the podium Vehicle: 2002 WRX MBP (I washed It)	Do you take alot of on and off ramps at speeds the the local authorities would frown on?

03-13-2003, 04:41 PM	#6
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	well.....yeah....but why only the left front is wearing down faster than the other 3 and rounding on the outer edge? That bugs me.....not to mention it's messing up my tires.

03-13-2003, 09:17 PM	#7
tdxflex Scooby Specialist Member#: 13634 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Philly Vehicle: 2002 WRX WRB	how are your tire pressures, maybe you have a slow leak in the left front.

03-13-2003, 09:24 PM	#9
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	Tire pressure is good. 38psi front, 36psi rear. Then again, I just put on the Kumho 712 with the RS rims the day before. But looking at the RE92 from my WRX rims the front left wears more than the front right. This morning I notice the left front is rounding so I took it in for a alignment as the results posting above.

03-13-2003, 09:27 PM	#10
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	Forgot to mentioned the left front wears more than the right front. The right front wears more than the rear. The rear has 70% tread while the front has 45% and 55% respectively.

03-13-2003, 09:41 PM	#11
tdxflex Scooby Specialist Member#: 13634 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Philly Vehicle: 2002 WRX WRB	all the wear is on the outer edge? your alignment specs in the front were fine. and also he was running more negative camber on the left side than the right so if anything the right should have been wearing faster. no accidents or curbing either?

03-13-2003, 09:49 PM	#13
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	No accidents. Actually the rounding only occurs more to the left. The rest of the tire has normal "aggressive" driving type of wear. Normal wear on the right front tire( it actually HAS a shoulder, unlike the left, which is now round).

03-13-2003, 09:50 PM	#14
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	hehe, maybe I should learn how to swing the rear out to "even" the wear. But that's a high possibility.

03-14-2003, 05:03 PM	#17
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	Dude, I live in LA. Traffic sucks around here....so yeah what you said...

03-14-2003, 05:21 PM	#18
Luke@tirerack Tire Rack Moderator Member#: 1215 Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: The Tire Rack Vehicle: 800 -428-8355 ext. 362	fix the loose nut ...... the one behind the steering wheel ;-) it doesn't look like an alignment problem if the specs you posted are correct ... it has to be either air pressure issues or the driver

03-14-2003, 05:46 PM	#19
Smash! Scooby Newbie Member#: 31124 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: LA, CA Vehicle: 2002 WRX Sedan Silver	It could be me, but I failed to mentioned that the car doesn't track straight and pulls to the right. Again, the only thing that change are the sway bars, rims and tires. Obviously the difference in tire wear is an contributing factor. I am suspecting the rims or possibly the front sway(shifting left or right maybe). If the wheels are not balance, it would shake when I brake, right? It doesn't shake when I brake but does pull to the right when I let the steering go. What do you think I should do next to troubleshoot?