Strange tire wear?

[ImolaR]

Hey guys,

Curious about the tire wear I'm seeing on my fronts. The tires have about 20k mi on them and were rotated and aligned about 5k mi ago at VW. They're Michelin Sport 4S that I bought in 2017. Anyone seen similar wear? No track days on these and I don't drive particularly aggressive, DCC in comfort 90% of the time. My concern is specifically with how the inner shoulder is wearing much more that any other part of the tire. Is this a function of the suspension geometry? Tire composition? Typically the outer shoulder would wear more on front biased car because of understeer, right?

 

[Diggs24]

Ask for an alignment sheet next time. What psi you run?

 

[ImolaR]

Ask for an alignment sheet next time. What psi you run?

39PSI per door card

 

[Diggs24]

suspension mods?

 

[ImolaR]

suspension mods?

Nope!

 

[gti330ex]

That's pretty much what my PSS's look like around 23k miles.

Got a free alignment check and the manager didn't find anything alarming that would contribute to such wear. Said it's most likely due to sportier nature of this car's geometry.

Stock suspension. Rotations done every 5k w one autox and track day on them. Here are close up pics with an alignment sheet right below it:

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/is-this-from-tire-rolling-over.368457/#post-7358982
This reminds me of my e46 330Ci sports package (lowered a bit more w staggered sizing). Alignment check on that car was done after i found tire casing showing through the rear tires; was told it was within spec and considered normal for staggered sizing.

 

[JerseyDrew77]

39PSI per door card

39 psi? Mine says 37 psi.

 

[ImolaR]

That's pretty much what my PSS's look like around 23k miles.

Got a free alignment check and the manager didn't find anything alarming that would contribute to such wear. Said it's most likely due to sportier nature of this car's geometry.

Stock suspension. Rotations done every 5k w one autox and track day on them. Here are close up pics with an alignment sheet right below it:

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/is-this-from-tire-rolling-over.368457/#post-7358982
This reminds me of my e46 330Ci sports package (lowered a bit more w staggered sizing). Alignment check on that car was done after i found tire casing showing through the rear tires; was told it was within spec and considered normal for staggered sizing.

Good to know, thanks for the info!

39 psi? Mine says 37 psi.

2016 R with DCC 19'' wheels

 

[Finglonga]

That is classic when the tracking is out, looks like it is toeing out considerably.

 

[ImolaR]

That is classic when the tracking is out, looks like it is toeing out considerably.

My thoughts too, the inside is 'dragging' while driving straight.

Maybe I need to upgrade to the new Mercedes DAS steering system?
(For those who don't know https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...w-steering-system.4vgDQ6cc20xUfhdZGT0ejB.html )

 

[reallypeacedoff]

Mine were done at 21k so you're doing well!

 

[jmblur]

Gotta be toe, especially if you're on stock suspension. Usually the front outer shoulders get trashed on track because we're camber challenged.

 

[Al_in_Philly]

I'm also running 4S's but only have about 6,000 miles on them, so I can't reply from experience (yet). That said, since a few others who have put the miles on this have written that they've experienced similar wear, I'd guess that it might have something to do with the different rubber compounds used on the inside and on the outside of the tread. I've been using multiple compound tires on motorcycles for years and the difference in tread wear is often noticable as the tires wear--so much that you can occaisionally see (and feel) the dividing line between compounds on worn tires.

 

[Mk7sport]

That’s all camber.
vw is sacrificing tires for road handling.
toe will scrub all the way across the tire.
if The tire pressure is 2 high the center of tire will wear.
to low and both sides will get worn even with all the camber. Camber side more wear of course. The middle will look better.

 

[CharT99]

If you don't drive particularly aggressively, negative camber with toe will scrub the inner shoulders just driving in a straight line. Aggressive cornering will wear the outer shoulders and even out the wear.

As others have mentioned, post your 4-wheel alignment readings. The front camber isn't adjustable, but can sometimes be out (spec is -1.2 to 0.2 deg). The rear tires have more negative camber (spec -2.3 to -1.3 deg) and you typically will see inside shoulders wearing more on the rear tires.

For primarily commuting, find an alignment shop willing to dial in your exact specs to even out the front caster, then fuss with the front suspension to get camber even on both sides and closest to zero (-1.0 to 0 degrees) with zero toe. Rear should be set to -1.3 deg (min spec) camber and .03" (min spec) toe-in each side.