R36 Wheel Alignment issues

[Cro]

I'm having some issues with the wheel alignment on my front wheels.
At 12,000km's the inside edge of my front tyres were down to the tread markers, and the outsides were fine. The rears were wearing evenly across the top.
I got the correct settings from VW, and got a front end wheel alignment done and got the the tyres rotated (back to front, front to back) to try and salvage some more life out of the stuffed tyres.
2,500kms later my "new" front tyres are exhibiting the same inside edge wear.

I just spoke to my useless dealer who says this is normal for a car driven hard, however my wife has been driving the car for the last 2,000kms and she definitely doesn't drive it hard. I'm really worried as I've nearly destroyed $2400 worth of tyres... I have it booked into Heasemens in two weeks, so hopefully a bit more life can be salvaged yet and worse case my next set of tyres will last as long as they should.

Is anyone else experiencing any abnormal tyre wear? That's if anyones actually bothered checking? I know I didn't till I got to 12,000kms...

[Gipper]

I'm having some issues with the wheel alignment on my front wheels.
At 12,000km's the inside edge of my front tyres were down to the tread markers, and the outsides were fine. The rears were wearing evenly across the top.
I got the correct settings from VW, and got a front end wheel alignment done and got the the tyres rotated (back to front, front to back) to try and salvage some more life out of the stuffed tyres.
2,500kms later my "new" front tyres are exhibiting the same inside edge wear.

I just spoke to my useless dealer who says this is normal for a car driven hard, however my wife has been driving the car for the last 2,000kms and she definitely doesn't drive it hard. I'm really worried as I've nearly destroyed $2400 worth of tyres... I have it booked into Heasemens in two weeks, so hopefully a bit more life can be salvaged yet and worse case my next set of tyres will last as long as they should.

Is anyone else experiencing any abnormal tyre wear? That's if anyones actually bothered checking? I know I didn't till I got to 12,000kms...

As soon as you take delivery of any new car, you should get your own wheel alignment done. (Pedders or similar) Dealers dont perform a wheel alignment before delivery and so most cars are out of alignment when you take delivery.
As far as VW settings go, they are fine for most drivers but if you drive hard, you will wear the outside throught tyre wall flex and through strut movement.
I corner prety hard and so for years the following has helped give me even tyre wear on a number of cars:

- increase your camber on the front so that you get more tyre on the road while cornering and dont wear the outside shoulder.
- Get a strut brace. It reduces strut flex and keeps the alignment settings when cornering hard
- pump up your tyres a few more PSI than recommended which helps reduce tyre wall flex. (but increases NVH)

[Cro]

My issue is the inside edge...hwy driving.. and I run 44PSI

[qsilverza]

44 PSI !!! Thats way to high. You should probably be around 36 PSI. I drove with my tyres quite high and they were exhibiting outside edge wear.

[R36 Dreamer]

I'm having some issues with the wheel alignment on my front wheels.
At 12,000km's the inside edge of my front tyres were down to the tread markers, and the outsides were fine. The rears were wearing evenly across the top.
I got the correct settings from VW, and got a front end wheel alignment done and got the the tyres rotated (back to front, front to back) to try and salvage some more life out of the stuffed tyres.
2,500kms later my "new" front tyres are exhibiting the same inside edge wear.


Is anyone else experiencing any abnormal tyre wear? That's if anyones actually bothered checking? I know I didn't till I got to 12,000kms...

Funny you should mention this Cro, I just logged onto post a notice regarding wheel alignment, though for a slightly different reason.

I had the car washed today, and as I prefer my own tyre shine, I was applying same when I came across a huge "egg" on the outside tyre wall.

Took the car straight into a tyre co. who informed my a new tyre was required as I have hit a pothole and have destroyed the tyre. Inside the wheel rim was bent also!!

Anyway I had a new spare in the boot which I put on, and purchased a michelin for the spare (I plan to change all tyres to Michelin eventually).

A little annoyed that I only got 5,400kms out of the tyre, and am probably going to send a letter of demand to the council in relation to the pothole I hit.

The tyre fitter said I should have an alignment done.

When it was done the alignment on the front (where I hit the pothole) was almost perfect, but the rears were out massively. The tyre fitter advised that almost all manufacturers dont bother doing a rear wheel alignment when cars are delivered, and almost all new cars he sees are out by a large margin.

I am a bit pissed that VW cant even bother doing a cheap double check prior to delivering their cars. How hard could it be.

My advice to anyone who has purchased a new car is to pay the $80 to have the alignment done, as it means peace of mind and longer tyre life, which will more than repay the small outlay.

In relation to your specific issue, I think that these cars have a negative camber (from the rear it looks to be the case) and this will always mean the insides wear faster than the outsides. My last car (MkV GTI) did 15,000 on the first set of front tyres. Once I moved away from OEM spec tyres (Conti) I managed to get 30,000 out of the next set (michelin).
You should get better mileage out of your next set.

I am off to have a few beers to calm down about parting with $600 I didn't expect to this afternoon.... though could have been worse. I am going from Sydney to Newcastle tomorrow, and from their to Canberra later in the week. Would have been interesting if the tyre had failed at 120km/h

[black1]

I have just replaced my tyres at 35k and have the v6 4 motion with the lowered and 18 inch tyres.

The original P zero rossos fitted were scrubbing out on the front outside and the back were doing the inside.

had wheel balance done also so hoping to get more ife out of the new ones.

Went with Goodyear Excellence (made in germany) much quieter snd smoother then P zeros.

I had to lower the pressure to around 40 all the way around and set tyre monitor to partly loaded. Use to run around 45 on full loaded or pressure system would go off

[R36 Dreamer]

I have just replaced my tyres at 35k and have the v6 4 motion with the lowered and 18 inch tyres.

The original P zero rossos fitted were scrubbing out on the front outside and the back were doing the inside.

had wheel balance done also so hoping to get more ife out of the new ones.

Went with Goodyear Excellence (made in germany) much quieter snd smoother then P zeros.

I had to lower the pressure to around 40 all the way around and set tyre monitor to partly loaded. Use to run around 45 on full loaded or pressure system would go off

My experience with Goodyear Excellence were that they were hard wearing but destroyed the ride of my MkV GTI.

Just my opinion, but the contis were so much better. I actually replaced the Excellence with Marangonis, after reading a Motor Tyre test, and was supremely impressed with them.... even if my mates gave me hell about fitting cheap tyres to the car.

I firmly believe that one area you dont scimp on is tyres, they are afterall the only thing connecting the car to the road. I also believe that price does not always buy the best tyre. Excellence are OEM for Falcon's, and any tyre which is standard fitment I believe has a premium price attached to it, so that people who always replace their tyres with the same brand (and there aree a few out there!) pay for it.

Anyway Black1 I will be interested to hear your follow up review on their performance in due course

[black1]

Intereseting comments re the excellences.

Did alot of research on the tyres and the particular ones that I purchased came as standard fit on my fathers new Audi and the people across the road for us purchased a new mercedes recently and they were the same tyre.

Some of the excellences are made in australia, but the particular size, and speed rating that I purchased are made in Germany.

The Goodyear f1 was actually the same price in this size and I believe they won the tyre of the year from wheels a couple of times.
All the tyres including the excellence were around the 400 dollar mark, so not sure if they are considered cheap tyres.

The excellences fitted to some falcons are actually a different tyre and made in a different factory.

Time will tell.

[Gipper]

My issue is the inside edge...hwy driving.. and I run 44PSI

Sorry CRO, you did say that, better improve my reading skills

If you do mainly hwy driving then maybe reduce your tyre pressure and reduce your camber settings.
The comment from VW is a croc. Take it to pedders and tell them kind of driving you do. They will look at the wear of the tyre and correct the settings to make sure it doesnt happen again.
Most mechanics at dealers arent suspension and alignment specialists so I would go to a specialist.

[R36 Dreamer]

Intereseting comments re the excellences.

Did alot of research on the tyres and the particular ones that I purchased came as standard fit on my fathers new Audi and the people across the road for us purchased a new mercedes recently and they were the same tyre.

Some of the excellences are made in australia, but the particular size, and speed rating that I purchased are made in Germany.

The Goodyear f1 was actually the same price in this size and I believe they won the tyre of the year from wheels a couple of times.
All the tyres including the excellence were around the 400 dollar mark, so not sure if they are considered cheap tyres.

The excellences fitted to some falcons are actually a different tyre and made in a different factory.

Time will tell.

Ahh, perhaps mine were an Australian Tyre. They were the same size as Commodore/Falcon 225/45R17, and I seem to recall them being made in Australia - yours might yield better performance. I think mine were $340 per corner.... so yours sound as if they were more expensive.

[black1]

That maybe the case.

Off the top of my head (have the Golf at work today) we fitted the 235/40 zr18s 95Y.

Am happy with them so far.

Going down to Batesman Bay on Thursday so be interesting to see how they go down the mountain.

Regards

[passatpout]

44 PSI !!! Thats way to high. You should probably be around 36 PSI. I drove with my tyres quite high and they were exhibiting outside edge wear.

I've kept tyres on all my cars for the last 10 years at the highest pressure allowed by the tyre maker - usually 44PSI, occasionally (as on my Passat now) up to 51PSI.

Advantages:
Better grip (especially in the wet).
Less tyre wall flex and heating.
Longer tyre life.
Better fuel economy.
Better ride (I reckon, it forces the suspension to work more).

Disadvantages:
Lighter steering and loss of feel (mainly at low speed anyway)
Can give harsher ride, especially on small bumps and cats-eyes.
Increased wear in the centre portion of the tyre.

The thing with tyre pressures, as I see it, is that most manufacturers recommend a value that's set for ride comfort above all other factors - but again, the emphasis is that it's a recommendation.

In the past, my tyres regularly lasted 40,000-45,000km.

[Gipper]

I've kept tyres on all my cars for the last 10 years at the highest pressure allowed by the tyre maker - usually 44PSI, occasionally (as on my Passat now) up to 51PSI.

Advantages:
Better grip (especially in the wet).
Less tyre wall flex and heating.
Longer tyre life.
Better fuel economy.
Better ride (I reckon, it forces the suspension to work more).

Disadvantages:
Lighter steering and loss of feel (mainly at low speed anyway)
Can give harsher ride, especially on small bumps and cats-eyes.
Increased wear in the centre portion of the tyre.

The thing with tyre pressures, as I see it, is that most manufacturers recommend a value that's set for ride comfort above all other factors - but again, the emphasis is that it's a recommendation.

In the past, my tyres regularly lasted 40,000-45,000km.

Tyres work like a balloon pressed against a a hard surface. High pressure means that only the centre will contact the surface. Medium Pressure will mean the maximum contact patch and low pressure means that the outside will contact and the centre will bow upwards for less contact and close the water channels.

Having the pressure that high (50psi) will also decrease your grip as the contact patch is limited to the centre of the tyre and the rubber is being pushed outwards.

When I used to race, we would always pump up the tyres to maximum in the wet as they increased the width of the channels, so dissapated more water.
However you also get less rubber contacting the road. When cornering, the shoulders do most of the work and at high pressure the shoulders also have less contact with the road. (hence the lack of feel)
IMHO 35-40psi is more than enough in the dry and best for overall performance

[R36 Dreamer]

Tyres work like a balloon pressed against a a hard surface. High pressure means that only the centre will contact the surface. Medium Pressure will mean the maximum contact patch and low pressure means that the outside will contact and the centre will bow upwards for less contact and close the water channels.

Having the pressure that high (50psi) will also decrease your grip as the contact patch is limited to the centre of the tyre and the rubber is being pushed outwards.

When I used to race, we would always pump up the tyres to maximum in the wet as they increased the width of the channels, so dissapated more water.
However you also get less rubber contacting the road. When cornering, the shoulders do most of the work and at high pressure the shoulders also have less contact with the road. (hence the lack of feel)
IMHO 35-40psi is more than enough in the dry and best for overall performance

Seconded - Agree with Gipper. Too High Pressure is not good, and I reckon the ride would be unbearable - like driving round on solid rubber!

[passatpout]

Ah well, I had it on the dealer-supplied pressures for a month (about 36PSI), pumped them up on the weekend, and much prefer the higher pressures. Give it a go for a week.