Any advice on the cause of uneven wear on car tyres please?

Just checked the condition of my car tyres as I started to sense a minor wobble through the steering wheel.

Rears are good, new-ish tyres.
The Fronts are the issue.
They are 245/40/18s and there’s plenty of even tread (5/6mm) across the whole tyre except, quite alarmingly the inner 15-20mm is completely worn to the point that I can see wire starting to appear.
I’m going to buy a new pair but am keen resolve the underlying issue to try and avoid knacking this next set.
Thanks

Any one of a number of issues like tyre pressure, wheel alignment, driving style and type of car. My old focus ST had this issue but there will always be a price to pay for a good handling powerful fwd car.

Ok, it’s a RWD Jag S-Type. So not quite the same dynamics as the ST.
The tyre pressures are regularly checked as I do a reasonable amount of long haul drives for work.

Need to check for camber settings etc then?

On both tires or one? It’ll be either excessive toe out or worn bushings, usual suspects would be track rod ends or lower arms.

Hi sub, yes it’s on both fronts. Pretty symmetrical (asymmetrical) !

Why would toe-out scrub the inner shoulder of the tyre?

As above, different things to check. Various front wheel drive cars I have had have worn like that. Not an expert but combination of drive and suspension setup means lots of moving parts & forces at work through those wheels. One reason to switch tyres side/side and front to back befire the wear gets excessive

Do you encounter many of the middle of the road, cushion-type speed bumps? Honest John reckons these can cause this type of damage, either directly or by inducing suspension damage or misalignment that then causes wear.

It amazes me that some performance models are setup with suspension settings that, in the name of grip or feel, wear tyres unevenly and prematurely, but your issue deffo sounds like there is something wrong.

Thanks Jambalaya though it is a rear wheel drive car. So less busy at the front end than a FWD

Why would toe-out scrub the inner shoulder of the tyre?

Because the tyre is effectively being pushed sideways down the road.

It’s almost always the tracking. It drifts with time and the cumulative effects of clipping kerbs whilst parking, potholes, speed bumps, etc.

Most cars have ever so slight toe in, I’ve never found out why but always assumed it was because they’re also cambered in slightly too. So the toe in wears the outside, the camber wears the inside and presumably the recommended tyre pressure evens out the middle.

Plums, there are a few speed bumps like that locally, though tend to just take it easy over them.

Ive come across this on some high output engined standard cars where to combat the fact the engines too powerful for the chassis – they stick on a little offensive camber to keep it on the road.

Result inside edge wears….

Ive also seen the results of removing said camber….. Car was so nervous and twitchy + under steers.

Have you checked owners groups for the car. It might be a trade off for good handling…..

Start with tracking, it’s cheap and a decent person on it should be able to tell you if something else like a worn component is the issue if the tracking is straight.

Before you go to have alignment checked,download your cars settings and the available adjustments.
Compare to the results you get.

grtdkad get a proper 4 wheel alignment done, not just the tracking, the rear of the car influences the thrust angle and hence how the front wheels are pushed along. The suspension set up is very adjustable (rears more so) and needs a good technician. When I had 4 tyres fitted by National Tyre a few months back, I asked them to check the alignment they said they’d rather not as their equipment wasn’t up to the job.

It may well be that the bushes have gone on one of the lower control arms, probably the inner on the wishbone or the “banana’ arm, a common problem. Do you get a clunk on breaking? Have someone stand to the side of the car and watch the front wheel as you drive up and break, if the wheel moves backwards then the bushes have probably gone. If this is the case it will also cause the wear as the wheels will splay outwards as you drive along.

Ask for more info here http://www.jaguarforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104

Lovely cars. But they have their quirks, I got a parking brake error come up this morning driving back from two days riding in the snowy peaks! Off to the indy tomorrow.

Most cars have ever so slight toe in, I’ve never found out why but always assumed it was because they’re also cambered in slightly too.

The forces generated by moving the car forward cause the suspension rubbers to compress slightly, this toes the wheels out slightly . The wheels should end up at dead ahead when driving forward as the two cancel each other out. It’s why performance cars tend to use poly bushes as they compress less so suspension settings are more consistent under differing loads.

The forces generated by moving the car forward cause the suspension rubbers to compress slightly, this toes the wheels out slightly . The wheels should end up at dead ahead when driving forward as the two cancel each other out. It’s why performance cars tend to use poly bushes as they compress less so suspension settings are more consistent under differing loads.

Surely on a RWD car those are negligible on the front wheels (bearing and disk, drag and tyre rolling resistance), and on a FWD car the front wheels are actually pulled forwards under normal conditions?

Not saying you’re wrong, I have no particular idea beyond checking it with two planks of wood and a piece of string.

Thanks all.
So getting new tyres fitted this weekend, will also get the tracking checked as a starter-for-ten. See what they say.

It’s due a service in the spring so looks like I may need to budget for new bushes (80k miles), Jag forum* history appears to recommend Polyflex bushes by the looks of it.

*STW will always out-perform a Jag owners forum. Let’s just say they’re a ‘less dynamic lot’.

I wouldn’t put poly bushes on a normal road car, especially something plush like a Jag. You’ll get more NVH, and the car will feel more nervous.
I’ve got a fully polybushed car and while it’s magnificent to drive, it’s a lot noisier and more twitchy (although some of that is down to the geo).
I’ve also put some polys on my daily and it has the same effect to a lesser extent. People put them on as they are easier and often cheaper than OEM ones, but the trade off is not worth it IMHO.

Before paying for an alignment I’d get someone who knows what they are doing to look over the bushes. Alignment will need to be done, but if you need bushes doing it’ll have to be done afterwards anyways.

The fact it’s even on both sides suggests that the rear toe is at least pushing the car in a straight line is a good start!

That much wear on the inner edge is not normal when compared to the rest. Many cars will feather the edges but not to the extent you describe.

Oh, and FWIW, unless super extreme, camber has negligible effect on tyre wear. It’s toe that feathers tyres.

I had the same on my Quattro A6….

Yup, johndo my front tyres look pretty much like your Audi’s

I had the tracking etc all checked/adjusted under warranty. Pretty shocking though – they all wore on the inside edge so (even though I visually check them regularly) I hadn’t spotted them (as I never really thought to check for such wear on a car I have owned since new which had never been kerbed etc to give me any reason to think that may have happened.

And at 3 points per tyre, had I been caught by the police I could have got myself an instant ban!

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/tech-wheeltoeintoeout.php

Thanks all.
So getting new tyres fitted this weekend, will also get the tracking checked as a starter-for-ten. See what they say.

It’s due a service in the spring so looks like I may need to budget for new bushes (80k miles), Jag forum* history appears to recommend Polyflex bushes by the looks of it.
You need to check suspension bushing, trackrod ends, steering rack etc before fitting new tyres.
1) you will Wichita your new tyres
2)tracking cannot be accurately done with worn suspension