Rear Inside Tyre Wear

[Neimad]

I have a problem where my rear tyres wear inconsistently on the inside so that they resemble a 50p coin.  This leaves you with a lovely "thump, thump, thump" noise at various speeds.  At first I thought it might just be a problem on my car but having looked back though past posts on this forum it seems to have happened to others too.  Whilst not everyone has the problem, those that do seem to concur that it's geometry rather than any specific tyre that causes it.

I've had the problem on every set of tyres I've had -- on the Dunlops that came standard, on the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's I replaced them with and now on the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric's I've got on at present.  A year or so ago I spoke to a VW dealer about the issue who sent a tech out with me to identify the problem.  He seemed to know instantly what the problem was and said that basically, that's how the chassis is setup and that it's not just the GTI, it's all Golf's and Passat's too.

So the question is then... is it possible to fix the problem or do I just have to live with it?  The reason I ask is that I'm about to get some new tyres and I'm wondering whether it's worth paying a extortionate amount for a "proper" 4-wheel alignment rather than the "cheap" type you get done at the tyre place?

[jmspear]

No insight, but i have exactly the same problem, its the 50p wear bit that is most strange, on my old M3 the inside edges of the rear tyres wore heavily but at least it was even.

Very interested in any recommendations on how to fix it...........

[robern2]

Not sure I understand the 50p thing but my tyres have worn perfectly evenly on my ed30.
I swapped the front tyres to the back and vice versa, my tyres have covered 12.5k so far.

[Top Cat]

Its a no brainer for me, if this is happening to every set of tyres you have fitted, then surely its going to be cheaper in the long run to get the alignment set up properly. 

[Saint Steve]

Its factory set im guessing for a reason, and if you chnge it, then your changing the way the car is ment to behave.

Dunlops for one suffer with Uneven tyre wear due to poor/weak Carcass strenght,that and a few other brands of tyre, which will wear the tread out unevenly or, running wrong tyre pressures will increase this.

What tyres are you running Robern2??

Ive had Bridgestones and Dunlops that have done the same thing, change to Vreddesteins without no such uneven wear issue.

[john_o]

can you tell us how old/how many miles the car has done?
tyre size and makes , are you on OE sizes

I would also be considering  damage / bush wear and suspension components that arent doing there job
(e.g. damaged or knackered shock absorbers)

many factors to consider.

[Neimad]

can you tell us how old/how many miles the car has done?
tyre size and makes , are you on OE sizes

I would also be considering  damage / bush wear and suspension components that arent doing there job
(e.g. damaged or knackered shock absorbers)

many factors to consider.

My car is just over 3 years old and has 85k miles on the clock.

Tyres have all been 225/45/R17

It was serviced just 2 months ago where they did identify a problem with the suspension but it was on the front, and has since been fixed.

[john_o]

I'd be going to somewhere with a recommendation who can set up suspension, it is adjustable to some extent and shouldnt cost you the earth.
At 85k miles your shocks probably arent working as well as they should which wont help.

so maybe consider replacing them before having an aligment done?

maybe even a chance to go lower too  should you wish too 

[alex_chung]

You can get 4 wheel alignment done and get the rear camber and toe changed so that the wheels are not as toed in as much which will solve the issue of the tyres running on the inside edge but as someone else has mentioned before it will change the way that the car handles and make it less GTI like (all MK5 based cars seem to have this issue)
Alex

[vRS Carl]

I have a Skoda vRS (Same Chassis etc) and this problem is known as Sawtoothing

I know Skoda introduced corrected rear camber values would assume it was VAG Wide.

I took my car to Wheels - in - Motion and found that the car was way out.

Definately the Best £100 i ever spent on the car.

Give them a call if the dealer can't sort it out.

Wheels In Motion Clicky


Carl

[jmspear]

I wouldn't have thought suspension camber etc would case the saw tooth issue with wear, would definitely cause inside wear (as happened on my old M3) but altering this would, I assume, be detrimental to handling as already mentioned. I can handle the inside wear it is the saw toothing that is the issue. I also assummed it was worn shocks on car, as strangely I run exactly the same size tyres as Neimad, have only run OE dunlops (which have all had the same issue) and I also have 85k on the clock but on a 55 plate (05 car).

However, the handling seems good, the shocks firm and no rebound problems (doesn't mean they are not shot) maybe it is the pesky dunlops, but have a realtively new set on so not keen on changing till they wear out (get good milage on them, in spite of saw toothing on 3rd set in 85k miles).

Maybe I should try vreds and also get a proper suspension check, (not Kwik fit who will obviously just sell me new dampers) or just buy some new rear dampers, they are not that dear £42 per shock for gas billies from Euro car Parts, prob as cheap as getting them tested, and should be v easy to fit.

[robern2]

I'm still running the original 225/40/18 Y rated Michelin Pilot Exaltos. I'll be replacing these with Pilot Sport 3 as/when they wear out.