The same outer portion on both front tires (the outer most tread on both tires)wear out very quickly. The car has eibach springs, koenig shocks and SFCs, but the same tire problem existed before these changes were made. The car has proper alignment and camber/casting/toe settings were also checked. I'm probably going to get new tires and would like to remedy this problem before I make that investment. Thanks.

 

I would start off by checking your air pressre. If you have too little psi in there the outer edges wear faster. If you have too much psi the inner middle wears out faster. Just the right amt. leads to even tire wear. Check your tires sidewall for the recommended maximum amount of psi to run and run just below that for maximum tire life. Should be around 30-35 psi for most tires and 40-44 for almost all Goodyears and a few other types of high perf. tires. Hope this helps.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that very hard cornering can also lead to this outer edge wear on front tires.

[This message has been edited by bigvic (edited April 28, 2001).]

 

I am not sure for you camaro guys but, the offset on the formula rims can cause this if you have the frount and back switched. check this first it is the simplest check.

the offset changes the geometry and with out changing the specs it can lead to such problems.

also let us know what you find.

 

i have the EXACT same problem on my 91 rs, dealer told me (car is in for repairs: tranyymounts, brakes...etc.) your wheel bearings are loose....im not sure how to tighten them, as i said the dealer is doing it......try it out and tell me if it helps.....


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ummm 3 words GET AN ALIGNMENT!

 

Your alignment is probably fine, if you car was stock and driven nicely. However, with suspension mods it is necessary for different alignment specs. Positive camber, stiff drop springs, and hard driving will kill tires. Try this alignment, I've done alot of third gen alignments and this one works well for a performance driven third-gen:
camber -.5
caster +4.5
toe -1/16

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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

Thanks guys. Just so you know, I had the bearings tightened before (didn't seem to help) and the air pressure has been checked and is kept btw the 40-45 range. Guess I'll have to try those new settings. I'll let you know how things go...

 

The air pressure I would not imagine applies to your problem. If you had too little air pressure, then both the outer and inner tire would be wearing too fast. Since you stated that only the outer edge is wearing faster, I agree with the other suggestions - hard driving and especially the need to adjust slightly outside of factory specs - such as -0.5° camber.

I had the same problem until I adjusted the camber to about that (-0.5°). The wear is now even. I had the camber at ~0.3° and had A LOT of tire wear only at the outer edges . (Specficiation from GM is 0.30° ±0.50°).

Please tell us what happens if you try running the camber that way.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Stuart Moss:
[b]The air pressure I would not imagine applies to your problem. If you had too little air pressure, then both the outer and inner tire would be wearing too fast.

Stuart,
Actually when you have too little air pressure in a street radial, the outer sides of the tread contact patch wear faster because the decreased air pressure leads to the middle part of the tread patch to buckle or bow up and not contact the pavement as much as the outter part(I actually used to see this a lot when I was a tire jockey). This is why you will repeatedly hear not to deflate your rear tires, if they're street radials, at the track for increased traction. It actually leads to decreased traction because of the above mentioned reason.

Slicks or drag radials on the other hand are a completly different matter, but I don't think he's running slicks on the front of his car.

In 87rediroc's case it appears that it is his alignment settings causing the problem, but I always like to try the easy (read cheapest) solution before adjusting the front-end or paying for and alignment when it may not be needed.

[This message has been edited by bigvic (edited April 29, 2001).]

 

I'm not sure we understand eachother.

The point I was trying to make was that with not enough tire pressure, both the inner and outer edges (not just one edge) of the tire will wear faster than the middle - which will wear faster with too much pressure.

Perhaps I am not understanding your response, but I do not understand how only one side (in this case, the outer side/edge) will wear faster than the rest (inner side/edge and middle) of the tire only because of a lack of air pressure.

 

Check out any mild-to-hard driven f-body guys, you'll see the outer edge of the front tires are worn faster than the rest. It's supposed to be because of the suspension's design. It's also a good way to knock a few hundred bux off a used f-body!


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Stuart,
Sorry for the confusion, I misread the original post. I thought 87rediroc's front tires were wearing out on both the inner and outer portion of each front tire. To add to the confusion, I misinterpreted your post also. I thought you were saying that the inner, outer, and middle sections of a tire would wear out equally if the tire was underinflated. After re-reading the post I now understand the problem fully. Again, sorry for the misunderstanding, I'll try not to read the boards when I'm dead tired and only halfway awake.

 

your running 40-45 PSI? ARE YOU NUTS? TRY 30-32.