Tracking

ABN

Joined
12 Sep 2005
Messages
202
Reaction score
0
Location
Surrey
Country
United Kingdom
Hi

Brought a repaired cat D Hyundai Getz turbo desiel with only 700 miles on the clock some 12.000 miles ago.

Just had to replace the front tyres because the outside edge of the tyre had worn. Centre and inside edge were still well within the legal limit.

As far as i'm aware the usual cause for excessive wear on the outside edge is tracking error. So had the tracking checked at the same time but was found to be spot on. Method of test was not lazer or 4 wheel checking just the old simple 2 wheel type. Asked why if the tracking was OK why the tyres had excessive wear on the outside and was told that it normal with some cars.

As a side note I do run the tyres overinflated to try to help with fuel economy

Any suggestions as to why the outside edge has worn at a much higher rate than the rest of the tyre.
 
Sponsored Links
As a side note I do run the tyres overinflated to try to help with fuel economy

You have answered your own question.

Manufacturers spend millions of pounds on development/testing, run your tyres at the correct pressure.
 
Thought over inflation USED to cause the middle of the tyre to wear faster. Not so much these days cause of how the tyre construction has changed.

Under inflation would cause both out side edges to wear faster.
 
Thought over inflation USED to cause the middle of the tyre to wear faster. Not so much these days cause of how the tyre construction has changed.

Under inflation would cause both out side edges to wear faster.

That is only true if you have no camber on your wheels.
 
Sponsored Links
Over inflating a tyre, does not allow the carcase to flex the same amount, as it would if the pressure were correct.
Reduce the pressure to the recommended limit, over inflating to reduce fuel consumption, will cause cost in other ways.

Wotan
 
The rears are over inflated as well but they are wearing evenly. But then I suppose they don't have to do any steering of have any camber

Since now have fitted energy savers to the front will try at correct pressure and see how they go.
 
This doesn't sound like a tracking or pressure issue at all. It's all pointing to excessive positive camber. You need a full geometry check. Other issues known to cause the problem are worn strut top mounts, unlikely in this case given the mileage and sporty driving habits as the front wheels move inwards under heavy acceleration. The latter I would think is remote.

Get a full geometry check done at an insurance approved place.
 
Sorry for the late reply.

Have just got a depth gauge that can measure 0.1mm’s so that I can carefully measure the wear over a short period of time. Just trying to find a reliable repeatable method of taking the measurements. Hopefully will give a better indication of the wear characteristics and will be able to quickly check any adjustment.

Get a full geometry check done at an insurance approved place.
Have been looking for / thinking about do that but not sure how to find such a place. What the cost would be and most importantly, since apart from front wheel tracking nothing is adjustable what can be done if say the camber is out.
Have looked for a adjustable camber kit but not found one that’s suitable for my car.

or your suffering from a lot of roundabout syndrome.
Will tell the wife to drive round the roundabouts the other way round and see if that helps :D
 
Try taking it to several places that advertise "free tracking checks". In my experience, the lads they typically use aren't especially familiar (or careful) with the equipment and it's easily knocked out of calibration! Instead of asking them to set it, just ask them to tell you what it's set at and compare the results - I bet they'll tell you different things!

I very much doubt that it's a camber problem as you'd need positive camber (wheels leaning OUT at the top). Not only is this quite unusual in a modern car, but as everything wears, you'd expect it to go more negative.

Too much toe-in can cause outside edges to wear or, as has been said, energetic cornering on roundabouts - but you can usually tell because it's the nearside one that wears more than the offside one (assuming you drive on the left)!
 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top