Well

After the alternator problems, the sump problems and the water pump problems on my 2006 SRT-6; we now have the front tyre problems. 15,000 Miles on the original front set an they are 99.9% OK for the distance covered. The remaining 0.1% is, however, down to the canvas!!!

Right on the final few millimetres of the inside edge the tread is worn away. It almost looks like it's been put on a lathe and a rebate cut in the sidewall! Everything else has an even 5 mm of tread depth. This almost looks like fouling and can only be seen on close inspection. I can't see any evidence of fouling but I've never seen tyre wear like this. It's the same on both sides.

I once had a Lexus that exhibited inner edge wear but that was across about one eighth of the tread. It was an acknowledged problem (at least on the Lexus forum) and the only solution was to inflate the front tyres to their max permitted pressure, thereby altering the profile and changing the wear pattern. This, however, is right where the tread meets the sidewall and extends no more than 5 mm into the width of the tread.

I will try and post pics later but it

looks dangerous

so examine yours carefully. It is not a problem that is immediately obvious.

Even more disgruntled as the replacement rears cost me £275GBP each at 10k miles.

Andy G

 

I had my tire rebalanced a couple weeks ago, and we noticed that the inside 3 inches or so were wearing much heavier than the rest. Not dangerous, but evident. Mostly due to the front-end setup on these cars, which provide maximum handling performance, at the cost of increased tire wear.

Your problem sounds a bit different, and I am not sure what is up. Almost sounds like the tire is rubbing on something, but I don't think that is the problem either.

 

Yep, I agree and that's roughly how it was on the Lexus but this is different, and weird

Cheers

Andy G

 

I hate to even ask:

Are they a stock setup? Is there any chance at all of the tire rubbing the upper ball joint nut?

 

Totally stock Max. Still the original front tyres from new. It's dark here so I can't get a good look. It was actually the dealer who rang to advise me after they had replaced the alternator.

From a first inspection it doesn't look like conventional wear so it could be fouling the upper assembly or the inner guard, which I've seen evidence of from others on the forum. I've a pretty tight - full lock - turn into my driveway but it's always a left turn so I would expect both wheels to be different if this is a contributory factor.

Cheers

Andy G

 

Well, if it is indeed touching there, it would look like it was machine turned. You should be able to reach in at the top of the tire and feel the top of the ball joint. I think stock would leave about a 1 cm gap. Maybe 1 finger thickness?

 

It sure sounds like it is rubbing on something. I would do the check that Max suggests and check out the suspension too. If your rubbing there should be some evidence at the rub point too. Good Luck.

MikeR