[Ron Serikaku]

I just rotated my tires and noticed that the fronts have worn out on the inside edge of the tires, about an inch wide strip. I remember someone else having this problem a few months ago, but I don't remember what the fix was. I have Eibach Prokits with Bilstein sport shocks on my Varient (1.25" drop) and have 16" Mille Miglia MMII wheels with 35mm offset, and Bridgestone RE-730 tires with 17,000 miles on them. I expected the insides to wear out more rapidly than the outsides due to the increase in camber with lowering the car, but this is a narrow strip on the very edge of the tread that has worn down past the tread blocks. Oh, and the rears were worn more on the outside edge, almost down past the tread blocks. Strange. I did get the alignment checked after I put the springs and shocks on last year. The same place checked the front and said that the toe was within spec. I took it to the dealer who said that it takes a special alignment rack for the A4 suspension today, but they said that it "wouldn't fit on their alignment rack". Yeah right. I'm taking it to an independant shop that works on modified cars tomorrow for them to look at. Does anyone else have this problem with their lowered suspensions?

 

[dhamilton]

Re: Unusual front tire wear on inside edge (Ron Serikaku)

Do you drive on the freeways a lot? Lowering does increase negative camber, but your case seems excessive. Camber, as you may be aware, is not adjustable on these cars. Only the toe may be set. How does the car drive? It seems like if it were that "outawack" you'd really feel it. This interests me because I too have a Variant and I just ordered the Eibach Pro-System(springs and dampers), and am concerned about premature tire wear. You didn't say how often you rotate. I do mine every 5000 miles. It was what the Tire Rack suggested. They also suggest the first rotation be done earlier, say at 2000-3000 miles.
I'll be interested in seeing what others post...

 

[l5gcw0b]

Re: Unusual front tire wear on inside edge (dhamilton)

Eibach Pro-kit, 17" Mille Miglia Spyders, 225/45 BFG runflats.
Wore out the same inch-wide strip to the belts in 19,500 miles. Rear tires O.K. Never rotated (personal preference).

 

[Ron Serikaku]

Re: Unusual front tire wear on inside edge (l5gcw0b)

Well, I got my car back today from a shop that specializes in Porches, BMWs, Audis, and VWs. They didn't find anything wrong with the alignment, nothing was out of spec, although they did adjust it closer to the specs. Not sure why it's wearing on the insides other than when I corner hard, the inside front wheel may be lifting enough to spin and wear on the inside edge. On some really fun, twisty roads that I occassionally drive, I have noticed that the ASR light flashes on hard cornering and then the car slows down. So now, I turn off the ASR before I attack the twisties. This might let the inside front wheel spin slightly. These are roads that I take much faster in my Mazda Miata, of course it's a much lighter car. Anyone else have any ideas?
It's interesting that the only other person to respond with the same type of wear is also running Mille Miglia wheels, but different syle. Could the offset contribute to wear? Mine are 16" x 7.5" with 35mm offset and Bridgestone RE 730's in 205/55-16. I'll have to check to see what the stock wheel offset is. The shop said that my 7.5" width was the maximum recommended width for 205 tires, they suggested using wider tires. I might try that next time. With the 205's, the sidewalls are pretty much straight up and down, not much room for the tire tread to roll under. That was what I was trying for since it improves transient response on turn in. However, it might contribute to the tire wear on the edge since it doesn't roll under on turns. I don't know what the answer is.

 

[l5gcw0b]

Re: Unusual front tire wear on inside edge (Ron Serikaku)

My 225's were on 7.5" rims if that helps. My alignment at 15k (also done at a specialty shop) was A-O.K. I was satisfied with 19k miles from performance tires. Honestly, it is the most I have gotten out of a set of tires in a long time. My Maxima and 325iC went through tires every 15k, the 928 every 10k. I drive aggressively, although I do not spin the tires much or often.