Uneven tyre wear

RED PASSION

Uneven tyre wear on front tyres.

Tyre has 4 grooves, the driver's side front tyre has 5mm of tread depth on the outer grooves and 4mm in the inner two grooves.

Passenger side front tyre has 4.5mm (approx) on the outer grooves and 3.5mm in the inner two grooves.

According to Bridgestone's webpage, more wear in the centre of the tyre is due to over-inflation, I have 35psi (2.4 bar) in them, exactly what Opel recommends.

is it normal/acceptable for a 1mm difference in wear rate between the inner and outer grooves.

what other reason if any is there for this uneven wear. if it is a tracking issue should I wait to get new tyres before tracking or can it be done now.

Thanks

CJhaughey

More centre wear can also be from failing shocks, the tyre moves more than usual and the flexing causes uneven wear.

RED PASSION

CJhaughey wrote: »

More centre wear can also be from failing shocks, the tyre moves more than usual and the flexing causes uneven wear.

The car was serviced 3 weeks ago, so if the shocks were failing or have failed shouldn't my mechanic have spotted this.

bazz26

Handy article on tyre wear:
http://www.procarcare.com/includes/content/resourcecenter/encyclopedia/ch25/25readtirewear.html

H3llR4iser

RED PASSION wrote: »

The car was serviced 3 weeks ago, so if the shocks were failing or have failed shouldn't my mechanic have spotted this.

But, they might not have checked for that specific issue. Sometimes it's not immediately easy to spot - having a check, if possible with the dedicated machinery, would probably be worth it.

RED PASSION wrote: »

According to Bridgestone's webpage, more wear in the centre of the tyre is due to over-inflation, I have 35psi (2.4 bar) in them, exactly what Opel recommends.

This is a tricky one. While it's normally recommended to stick to the manufacturer's indications, it's also true that what they say on the manual is meant for a specific type of tire - the original equipment one.

While this works perfectly for other countries, where it is illegal to use any tire other than the manufacturer's specification, here in Ireland, however, it is technically possible to mount completely different tires, as long as they fit on the wheel and the LI and SI are above the minimum specs of the car; If that's the case, you might want to do a bit of an adjustment - not dramatic, within 0.1, maximum 0.2 bar from the manual's indication.

CiniO

RED PASSION wrote: »

Uneven tyre wear on front tyres.

Tyre has 4 grooves, the driver's side front tyre has 5mm of tread depth on the outer grooves and 4mm in the inner two grooves.

Passenger side front tyre has 4.5mm (approx) on the outer grooves and 3.5mm in the inner two grooves.

According to Bridgestone's webpage, more wear in the centre of the tyre is due to over-inflation, I have 35psi (2.4 bar) in them, exactly what Opel recommends.

is it normal/acceptable for a 1mm difference in wear rate between the inner and outer grooves.

what other reason if any is there for this uneven wear. if it is a tracking issue should I wait to get new tyres before tracking or can it be done now.

Thanks

It looks like tracking/wheel alignment issue.
Have this sorted now - no point in waiting, as wheel alignment is set on a car - not on wheels, so you can do it now, and you won't need to do it again when you get new tyres.

Higher wear on passenger side tyre compared to driver side tyre is fairly normal.

CJhaughey

RED PASSION wrote: »

The car was serviced 3 weeks ago, so if the shocks were failing or have failed shouldn't my mechanic have spotted this.

Failing shocks can look perfectly OK, service might just be an oil and filter change not a full inspection of all systems.
Did your last NCT test sheet show any imbalance? Even if they were OK then one may have failed since.

9935452

CiniO wrote: »

It looks like tracking/wheel alignment issue.
Have this sorted now - no point in waiting, as wheel alignment is set on a car - not on wheels, so you can do it now, and you won't need to do it again when you get new tyres.

Higher wear on passenger side tyre compared to driver side tyre is fairly normal.

I wouldnt say its alignment. They say the tyres are wearing more in the centre than at the edge.
I would say small bit over inflated. 30/32 psi is more or less standard for tyres. 35/40 psi recommended for a load.

Personally i wouldnt worry too much about it. 1mm of a difference is nothing in the life of a tyre

VeVeX

CiniO wrote: »

It looks like tracking/wheel alignment issue.
Have this sorted now - no point in waiting, as wheel alignment is set on a car - not on wheels, so you can do it now, and you won't need to do it again when you get new tyres.

Most wheel alignment machines use gauges that are attached to the wheels. Tyre and wheel condition will have an input into the measurement obtained by the machine. There are programs on most machines to take into account and disregard irregularities in the tyre or wheel but its normally not implemented unless there is an obvious issue. Ordinarily it is not advised to complete a wheel alignment until you have replaced worn tyres.

CiniO wrote: »

Higher wear on passenger side tyre compared to driver side tyre is fairly normal.

Its absolutely not normal for tyres to wear differently across an axle. By far the most common reasons why tyres wear excessively and unevenly is wheel alignment and incorrect tyre pressures.

CiniO

9935452 wrote: »

I wouldnt say its alignment. They say the tyres are wearing more in the centre than at the edge.
I would say small bit over inflated. 30/32 psi is more or less standard for tyres. 35/40 psi recommended for a load.

Maybe I'm understanding OP incorrectly, but from what I read he says that his tyres are worn more on the inside than outside. (not more in the middle than on the sides).
And if that's the case, it's most likely problem with alignment.

Personally i wouldnt worry too much about it. 1mm of a difference is nothing in the life of a tyre

But OP's tyres have 4/5 mm so they are only in half of their life.
I would worry.

CiniO

VeVeX wrote: »

Most wheel alignment machines use gauges that are attached to the wheels. Tyre and wheel condition will have an input into the measurement obtained by the machine. There are programs on most machines to take into account and disregard irregularities in the tyre or wheel but its normally not implemented unless there is an obvious issue. Ordinarily it is not advised to complete a wheel alignment until you have replaced worn tyres.

I never heard of this.
New tyre can be the same not straight as old tyre.

Its absolutely not normal for tyres to wear differently across an axle. By far the most common reasons why tyres wear excessively and unevenly is wheel alignment and incorrect tyre pressures.

In my experience, always tyres on the nearside wear quicker than tyres on the offside. It was always the case with all my cars.

RED PASSION

CiniO wrote: »

Maybe I'm understanding OP incorrectly, but from what I read he says that his tyres are worn more on the inside than outside. (not more in the middle than on the sides).
And if that's the case, it's most likely problem with alignment.

I mean the higher wear is in the middle of each tyre, centre wear in the diagram attached.

https://www.bridgestonetyres.com.au/Content/cms/Tyres/Tyre-Wear.jpg

CiniO

RED PASSION wrote: »

I mean the higher wear is in the middle of each tyre, centre wear in the diagram attached.

https://www.bridgestonetyres.com.au/Content/cms/Tyres/Tyre-Wear.jpg

Sorry.
My bad understanding though.
Too high tyre pressure then most likely.

RED PASSION

CiniO wrote: »

Sorry.
My bad understanding though.
Too high tyre pressure then most likely.

No worries, I will drop them by 2-3 psi and see if this corrects the problem.

Dozer Dave

CJhaughey wrote: »

More centre wear can also be from failing shocks, the tyre moves more than usual and the flexing causes uneven wear.

Your theory is plausible but over inflation is more likely the cause here.

CiniO

RED PASSION wrote: »

No worries, I will drop them by 2-3 psi and see if this corrects the problem.

If your tyres were overinflated, and from even 8mm when new, wore down to 4mm in the centre and 5mm on the sides, then even if you lower the pressure to correct one now, uneven wear will still be there (i.e. after a while 4mm in the middle will go down to 2mm, and 5mm on the side will go down to 3mm (both by 2mm).

A way to do now would be to drive on underinflated tyres, to make them wear quicker on the sides, which way you could achieve even wear down to f.e. 2mm on whole surface of the tyre, but unfortunately IMO driving on underinflated tyres is not good from safety point of view, so I wouldn't advice it.

RED PASSION

CiniO wrote: »

If your tyres were overinflated, and from even 8mm when new, wore down to 4mm in the centre and 5mm on the sides, then even if you lower the pressure to correct one now, uneven wear will still be there (i.e. after a while 4mm in the middle will go down to 2mm, and 5mm on the side will go down to 3mm (both by 2mm).

A way to do now would be to drive on underinflated tyres, to make them wear quicker on the sides, which way you could achieve even wear down to f.e. 2mm on whole surface of the tyre, but unfortunately IMO driving on underinflated tyres is not good from safety point of view, so I wouldn't advice it.

Your right, forgot about that, even with ideal pressure uneven wear will not disappear. I will know better for when I get new tyres in the future.

creedp

9935452 wrote: »

I wouldnt say its alignment. They say the tyres are wearing more in the centre than at the edge.
I would say small bit over inflated. 30/32 psi is more or less standard for tyres. 35/40 psi recommended for a load.

Personally i wouldnt worry too much about it. 1mm of a difference is nothing in the life of a tyre

Must say I never considered 35psi to be overinflated. I have 36/38 front/back (225/50/17) and never had a problem with excessive centre wear -inside yes!

CiniO

creedp wrote: »

Must say I never considered 35psi to be overinflated. I have 36/38 front/back (225/50/17) and never had a problem with excessive centre wear -inside yes!

Problem with pressures is what measuing equipment you are using.
Most manometers on petrol stations are extremely unprecise.
Simple test - pump up your tyres to 32psi on one station, and go around 10 different ones just to check pressure.
I'm sure results will vary as far as between 20 and 55psi.

I have few manometers at home, and each one shows different result.

It's very hard to find a trustworthy one.

RED PASSION

CiniO wrote: »

Problem with pressures is what measuing equipment you are using.
Most manometers on petrol stations are extremely unprecise.
Simple test - pump up your tyres to 32psi on one station, and go around 10 different ones just to check pressure.
I'm sure results will vary as far as between 20 and 55psi.

I have few manometers at home, and each one shows different result.

It's very hard to find a trustworthy one.

Good point, I pump mine with an air compressor at home plugs into the cigarette lighter. it never occurred to me about how accurately calibrated it is now after a few years of use.

Dozer Dave

One needs to consider altitude when inflating tyres as a tyre can vary up to 5 psi between it being pumped at sea level compared to being pumped at 10,000ft. Temperature is another factor that can have a few psi difference.

CJhaughey

Dozer Dave wrote: »

Your theory is plausible but over inflation is more likely the cause here.

Its not theory, I have practical experience with this issue.

CJhaughey

Dozer Dave wrote: »

One needs to consider altitude when inflating tyres as a tyre can vary up to 5 psi between it being pumped at sea level compared to being pumped at 10,000ft. Temperature is another factor that can have a few psi difference.

Even if there was a filling station on Carrauntohil with a tyre inflator it wouldn't vary much more than 4 psi to sea level.
That's the highest point in the country so the OP can probably discount altitude variation, In Colorado it might be an issue here not so much.

Dozer Dave

CJhaughey wrote: »

Its not theory, I have practical experience with this issue.

I believe you are on your own with this experience.

Dozer Dave

CJhaughey wrote: »

Even if there was a filling station on Carrauntohil with a tyre inflator it wouldn't vary much more than 4 psi to sea level.
That's the highest point in the country so the OP can probably discount altitude variation, In Colorado it might be an issue here not so much.

Just because its an Irish site one should not be selective with their points of view.

9935452

RED PASSION wrote: »

Good point, I pump mine with an air compressor at home plugs into the cigarette lighter. it never occurred to me about how accurately calibrated it is now after a few years of use.

It would be interesting to know what they read at a garage or with a better gauge.
I wouldnt trust the fag lighter compressers for accuracy. I have one in the car for emergencys, if the tyre is soft or flat it would get you to a place to fix the tyre

RED PASSION

9935452 wrote: »

It would be interesting to know what they read at a garage or with a better gauge.
I wouldnt trust the fag lighter compressers for accuracy. I have one in the car for emergencys, if the tyre is soft or flat it would get you to a place to fix the tyre

If I drive to a local petrol station four miles away at average speed of 40mph, how long do I have to wait for the warm tyre to cool down before I add/release air. Would five minutes waiting be enough.

9935452

RED PASSION wrote: »

If I drive to a local petrol station four miles away at average speed of 40mph, how long do I have to wait for the warm tyre to cool down before I add/release air. Would five minutes waiting be enough.

id just check it straight away. If you want to start bringing temperatures into it you will have to start looking at the compressor that they are using, Asi it compresses the air it will heat it too.
Just check it and see. it will be interesting to see the result.

RED PASSION

9935452 wrote: »

id just check it straight away. If you want to start bringing temperatures into it you will have to start looking at the compressor that they are using, Asi it compresses the air it will heat it too.
Just check it and see. it will be interesting to see the result.

The reason I was bringing temperature into it is, Michelin recommends adding 4-5psi more than the manufacturers recommendation into hot tyres so that when it is cold it is the correct pressure.

I haven't a clue how far I must travel before the air in the tyre is considered hot. Surely 4 miles into town at a steady pace will cause negligible heat, so I will not be adding any extra psi into the tyres. I will check them in the station with their pump and my own. Cheers