Rear tyre wear

[LewisM]

I know this has been covered before but all the threads seem to be unresolved.

During a weeks holiday in the lake district our altea began to vibrate at 60-65mph, never thought much about it other than tyres need balanced. I've been periodically looking at the tyres as i do with any car and never suspected they were near replacement.

Got home yesterday and thought i would get the wheels balanced today, on inspection of the rear tyres before i left the house i was horrified to see the passenger side rear tyre was worn down the canvas, but only on one part of the circumference, maybe a sixth of the rotation.

Bad bit

Further round same tyre

The rest of the tyre is worn more on the inside that the outside and is still illegal but not as worn as the other bit. Drivers side is still legal and more evenly worn but i would say still worn a bit more on the inner shoulder.

My questions are,
1) has anyone with similar problems had a resolve with laser alignment?

2) Should I hassle the dealer or is it a waste of time (warranty out in Jan 08)

3) can the rear alignment/geometry be adjusted, had a quick look but couldn't see any adjustment

As a note the tyres are michelin pilot sports and they have been on the car 19k miles, I suspect the previous owner swapped them back to front as the fronts still have a few thousand miles left.

 

[sosidge]

In no way am I an expert but if a tyre is only wearing at one part of the circumference I would say it is a tyre issue, either poor QC or damage at some point.

I can't see how bad geometry would do what you have seen.

 

[aceman]

I agree that's almost as if the car has been driven with the wheel locked and flat spotted, would explain the the vibration though.

Done any handbrake turns lately

Seriously though I would be inclined to contact Michelin and ask their opinion, they may want to inspect the tyre.

 

[LewisM]

I read somewhere else that someone had an issue with their rear tyres being shaped like 50p pieces but there was no outcome, the other side has worn fine in comparison.

On the upside I now have 2 new goodyear F1's on the back which are much quieter than the michelins, and from previous experience are good tyres.

Will probably get an alignment check done anyway as i think the fronts are wearing more on the inside shoulder.

 

[LewisM]

Done any handbrake turns lately

QUOTE]

No, thats what my work runaround is for

 

[aceman]

F1's are good I have a couple on the front.

 

[m0rk]

might also be worth getting the shock looked at on that side also.

proper job though

 

[LewisM]

might also be worth getting the shock looked at on that side also.

proper job though

I know, when I last checked the tyre it must have been at a good bit, just happened by chance to be sitting at the right part when I looked at it that morning, wife was horrified!

Funnily enough the vibration is now cured seeing as the tyres are round again!

 

[Viking]

might also be worth getting the shock looked at on that side also.

proper job though

Indeed. A faulty shock absorber can cause a bald spot on a tire.

 

[Tell]

When it all come up about the rear tyre wear before I did check mine and they were fine for what it's worth.

Hmm now people are saying Goodyear F1, I was thinking about the Michelin for my next set.... how do you know that you didn't get sold it with crap tyres on it in the first place or did you cover that, although reading perhaps you have had it for the best part of the 19,000. My Bridgestones are still going strong after 22,000 miles all the way round . ie. fronts and backs.

 

[LewisM]

Have covered 8k since i got the car, tyres were ok when i bought it, never studied the backs to be honest because in my experience rears last ages so i looked more at the fronts.

Sounds like your bridgestones are doing well, have you swapped front to back or have your fronts covered that amount of miles alone.

 

[Tell]

No I haven't swapped them around, I use to when I first started driving to be cost conscience but then you notice that it pulling to one side or another until they bed in after being swapped around. I work on the basis that may be two new front first, then next time round the rears will be getting perished so a whole new set etc or I just treat my self to a new set. Suspect I'll keep the rears and just replace the fronts but then when you are changing types of tyres it's a pain.

It could have been that your rears were pretty well worn when you bought the car or the dealer put them on off one of those Altea's which has the defective back end suspension or may be you have it on there yourself. The conversation was on flat spots and stuff but it wouldn't get both sides together would it. Perhaps the last guy abused the car to give it those faulty shocks that are being talked about. I crawl over speed hums having one episode of a front tyre in my old car getting a massive bulge on it caused by road works out the front, in the dark where a man hole cover must have been left off or something, drove to Luxembourg and four days latter noted a nasty bulge in the front tyre, all those 80 MPH runs didn't need thinking about with a tyre about to blow out.

 

[TDI_luver]

From past experience with a VW Golf, heavy wear in one part of the thread is either down to a blown shock absorber or buckled wheel or both ---probably caused by pothole damage or other high speed incident.

My '06 Toledo had the issue of the Factory Fitted Dunlops (Crap tyre !) wearing heavily on the inside on both rear wheels....very noticebale after about 15000 miles. Had the alignment independently laser checked, found that the camber angle was several degrees too far positive, had it reset and treadwear has been perfect ever since (10000 miles). Technician at the alignment centre said he had seen the same issue with many new SEATs. Reckons they do it on purpose to improve stability during cornering..although I have not noticed any ill-effects by reducing the camber setting.

BTW, replaced the stock Dunlops with Bridgestone Potenza's...hard tyre, can be noisy on rough surfaces, but as their F1 pedigree suggests, awsome handling and braking, esp in the wet. (and wearing very well after 15000 miles on the front too), only 50% worn as yet .... And thats what I want, I put safety and handling before ride comfort always.

 

[LewisM]

I kind of ruled out a buckled wheel as im sure the tyre folk would have mentioned it after balancing it and fitting a new tyre, plus there is no harshness or vibration.

How would I know if the shock is busted, have done a 'bounce' test and seems ok, isn't leaking either. Want to prove there is something wrong to the dealer before it's out of warranty.

 

[markirel]

I read somewhere else that someone had an issue with their rear tyres being shaped like 50p pieces but there was no outcome, the other side has worn fine in comparison.

That was me. Still have what sounds like quite bad wheel bearing noise from the rear but the car has been to two different Seat dealers and both say that nothing is wrong with the bearings. One dealer reported that both rear tyres were shaped like 50p pieces but I lifted each wheel and had a good look and couldn't really see anything other than a slight depression on each side where the tyre had previously been in contact with the ground.

I had to replace both my front tyres much earlier than I had expected. The outside (visible) edges looked healthy but by chance I noticed that both the inside edge and the centre of the tyre were very thin, in-places the threads in the tyre were showing just like in your photo's.

I'm not too happy with my Altea's appetite for tyres, nor for the rumbling noise that I can't get to the bottom of. Its been a while since I checked the rear but having seen yours I'm going to give mine the once over tomorrow.

 

[TDI_luver]

I changed the factory fitted Dunlops on the front end of my '06 Toledo tdi @ 18,000 miles....there was still about 3mm tread on them, but I dont like to wear them to the absolute limit.

Stcok Dunlops still on the back axle after 24000 miles....still about 3.5 mm on them, will change them in the next 2 months or so before they get knackered.

That kind of tyre wear (on lousy Dunlop sport 2000's) is fairly typical to my old Golf 1.9, MKII Toledo 1.9 etc. I dont think the Toledo is any worse...and its a heavier car.

 

[PDaddy]

I resolved this by getting the wheels laser aligned. Wear is the same now, was very bad on drivers side rear, almost half of the wheel was bald the other half didnt even look worn..

 

[LewisM]

To update this,

Had the laser alignment done, rears were out, front out but not so much, the guy said the rear camber was 3.3 degrees which he thought was on the high side but could be the way the car is set up as the camber cannot be adjusted.

Spoke to a tyre guy about it and he said 9 times out of 10 if there is a flat spot it is a dodgy tyre issue, the tyre goes out of shape towards the end of its life due to a weak part in the sidewall.

 

[markirel]

Just had mine laser aligned as well. Rear tracking was out 2.5mm toe-in on one side and 1.5 toe-out on the other but easily sorted. Fronts OK. The garage thought that the rear camber was causing wear to inside edges of both rears but could not adjust this without more expensive kit

I saw for the first time the 50p effect of my tyres. Basically each individual tread lug on the inside edge of the tyre is a different height almost as though their compounds are different and they have worn at a different rate (Bridgestone Potenza's which the garage said are known to wear poorly). This is certainly the cause of the noise which is now even more prominent since the tracking has been corrected.

When I stand behind the car both rear wheels lean noticably into the car (bottom to top), more-so on the left (near side). Is the lean of the rear wheels an Altea characteristic i.e. normal, or should they appear to be substantially vertical?

Does anyone know if the camber can be adjusted? If it can I want to be sure of getting this done before purchasing new tyres.

 

[PhilOfCas]

Just had mine laser aligned as well. Rear tracking was out 2.5mm toe-in on one side and 1.5 toe-out on the other but easily sorted. Fronts OK. The garage thought that the rear camber was causing wear to inside edges of both rears but could not adjust this without more expensive kit

I saw for the first time the 50p effect of my tyres. Basically each individual tread lug on the inside edge of the tyre is a different height almost as though their compounds are different and they have worn at a different rate (Bridgestone Potenza's which the garage said are known to wear poorly). This is certainly the cause of the noise which is now even more prominent since the tracking has been corrected.

When I stand behind the car both rear wheels lean noticably into the car (bottom to top), more-so on the left (near side). Is the lean of the rear wheels an Altea characteristic i.e. normal, or should they appear to be substantially vertical?
Does anyone know if the camber can be adjusted? If it can I want to be sure of getting this done before purchasing new tyres.

Mine does, i think it's normal, my tyres on the rear seem to be wearing evenly (same as your tyres), i suspect mine can't be suffering tracking problems, have you compared yours to anyone elses ?