Dangerous Tyre Wear

toman

Member
Hi,

I had the suspension arms changed on the A2 about a month ago and ever since there has been a strange noise when driving but I was not able to figure out what was causing it but the steering seemed fine with no vibration just this noise, I did not get the tracking done after the arms were replaced (should I have ?)

The car has covered about 1000 miles in the last month so while checking fluids etc today I decided to see how the tyres were...OMG I am shocked for one but thankful that I have found this now....both front tyres are in a terrible state with on (pic attached) down to the cord.

Is this just a tracking issue ?
 

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When I had my suspension arms changed I did get the tracking done afterwards and found it was only marginally out. This wouldnt have caused that much excessive tyre wear though.
 
With the wear being on the inside of the tyre tread is it possible that you could have missed it and the tracking has been out for quite a while. ?
 
If any of the front suspension parts have been disturbed /changed etc then it is vital to get the tracking checked. It is not an expensive check and can be free if no adjustment is required.

After owning a large number of A2s in the last 20 years it has transpired that the tracking is often out of adjustment on an A2, even when nothing has been disturbed.

If the tracking is not correct it can cause you to have to spend lots of money on tyres and fuel and it can be a real safety issue.

If your tracking is out, effectively you have your front tyres pointing in different directions as you drive. This causes scrubbing and excessive tyre wear. It also has a noticeable negative effect on fuel consumption. So it costs way more that having it checked and adjusted.
Also in the wet the tyre scrub is eased due to the fact that the water helps reduce this but only because your tyres are gripping less and so it is dangerous.
Have you ever been driving up or down any spiralling car park lanes and heard tyre squeal?
Some cars will do this even if the tracking is correct but most cars that squeal like that probably need their tracking checked.

So have your tracking checked every time you have anything done to the front suspension. But I recommend having it done if you haven’t had it checked in the last 12 months and definitely if you are having new tyres fitted. Don’t run the risk of ruining new tyres for the sake of the cost (if any) of having the tracking checked.

Steve B
 
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Many years ago my wife took ownership of my previous A2, some months later she told me the front felt funny. On inspection the tyres looked similar to yours, only worse, being worn to the canvass on the inner edges. Upon inspection, the FSD cups had rotted away leaving the springs with little to no support. I’m not saying this is the issue here, but for safety I urge you to check the car thoroughly, jacking it up to do a complete inspection of the components.

I couldn’t believe what I found, wife and two children driving in it for a few weeks before I was told. See post 6 for pictures. https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/koni-fsd-possible-failure-corrosion.21326/

Good luck and keep safe.
 
Ref this old thread on tyre wear - https://www.a2oc.net/community/index.php?threads/uneven-tyre-wear.9759/post-74905

The basics are that the standard negative camber settings will naturally wear the inside edge of the tyre
The effect will be more pronounced on wide / low profile tyres
Seem to recall the German A2oc measured some of the aftermarket suspension arms and not all met the original spec so definitely worth having the alignment checked
Not sure what your set-up is but in general -
Lowered suspension increases the negative camber effect and makes things worse as will worn / damaged components (as Darren indicated)

Cheers Spike
 
Surely if this was caused by camber, the wear would be progressive across the tyre which it clearly isn't. We had this problem on both our Lupo 3L's and it was caused by excessive toe out:


RAB
 
Surely if this was caused by camber, the wear would be progressive across the tyre which it clearly isn't. We had this problem on both our Lupo 3L's and it was caused by excessive toe out:


RAB

I had an issue with negative camber on the rear of my people carrier this was caused by worn bushes and bad alignment and it wore exactly like in this picture. In fact I completely missed the inside edge was on the cords due to only on 2cm on the inside edge and the rest of the tyre was fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all your help, just for information the tyres are 185/50/16 on standard suspension (as far as I know) on standard SE alloys.

I'm getting it booked in for new fronts and tracking.....and it's definitely not moving till then !
 
Thanks for all your help, just for information the tyres are 185/50/16 on standard suspension (as far as I know) on standard SE alloys.

I'm getting it booked in for new fronts and tracking.....and it's definitely not moving till then !
Worth noting (as I often do), new tyres should be fitted to the rear axle assuming only two being fitted. No need to take my word on this as Google will confirm all tyre manufacturers and motoring organisations recommend the same.
Main reason for this is to reduce the chance of oversteer. Yes, oversteer can be fun when you want/expect it though not necessarily ideal in an emergency situation.
 
Worth noting (as I often do), new tyres should be fitted to the rear axle assuming only two being fitted. No need to take my word on this as Google will confirm all tyre manufacturers and motoring organisations recommend the same.
Main reason for this is to reduce the chance of oversteer. Yes, oversteer can be fun when you want/expect it though not necessarily ideal in an emergency situation.
I totally agree with this.
I used to think that new tyres (when just two are being replaced) should go on the front. But after a LOT of digging the recommendation is that if you are fitting just two new tyres the really should go on the rear.
In an accident it is safer for the front end to break away than the rear. If the rears break away it could spin the car into all sorts of trouble.
So definitely x2

Steve B
 
For me that cant always be the best idea, if i hit a large body of water and aqua plained i would feel a lot happier having 8mm of tread on my fronts and for example 3mm on the rear rather than the other way around and likewise in snow!
Looking at that photo your tyres have had a fair bit of wear accross the whole tread so imagine its a simple toe adjustment, good results can be acheived with string and a bucket of patience!
 
Update....so the tyres were replaced and the wheel alignment was done, so nearly 1000 miles later all seems well with no excessive tyre wear.

Thanks for your help guys.
 
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