proper tire wear?

[actionstan]

Hello all,

Recently I made some post about picking tires for my '13 Kia forte(thank you for your input). Today I picked up a tread depth gauge to see how much tread is actually on the tires currently.

I did notice the outside of the tires seem to be wearing slightly faster than the inside, and when I say slightly I am talking at or within a 32nd of inch, for example the inside may be 5/32nd and the outside is at 4/32nds.

Is this normal? Or does this need to be addressed with an alignment?

Thanks for your continued help!

 

[71Chevyguy]

It is always a good idea to be properly aligned but that slight difference you are talking about is fairly normal on some cars. I have had several cars that wore tires that way. What I did is make sure the tires I got were not directional and were not "this side out" as some tend to be. Then when they were about half way worn I had them turned around on the rim so the better tread was facing out and they wore pretty evenly towards the end as they wore out. Not everyone will see this as economical but for me it was a good enough time to have them re-balanced anyway so it made sense. Regular rotations of course will help wear as well.

 

[mattwithcats]

Add 2-5 pounds pressure.
Do not exceed the max pressure in the sidewall...

This will push the center out, and keep the tire from rolling over on the sidewall when turning.

Also rotate from front to back,
and if necessary, get a shop to remove from the rim,
turn the tire 180 degrees
(the inside edge becomes the outside edge),
then mount on the opposite side...

Tire will roll the same direction....

 

[HTSS_TR]

If the center has more tread than outsides(inside and outside), the pressure is to low. If only outside is wear out faster than center and inside then possibly alignment problem.

But some car have more toe-in than usual, it will wear outside faster than the rest, you need to flip the tire inside out at half way to even the wear. If full tread is 10/32" then usable tread is 8/32"(after subtract minimum tread depth of 2/32"), flip the tire when it downs to 6/32"

 

[yvon_la]

Might not have enough air.it doesnt take much .is it only outside front ?if so ?i wouldnt worry .slow down more in curve

 

[friendly_jacek]

This the typical wear pattern for front tires in city driving with constant turning. One needs to raise tire pressure to prevent that. 36-40 PSI works for me.

 

[actionstan]

hmm sounds kinda normal from most reports, I do keep up on the tire pressure, typically 34ish psi all around, car calls for 32, tires can handle up to 44. I think 36 is a bit too high, the ride is REALLY firm with that much pressure so I backed down to 34, which is firm, but still comfortable, and gives me some wiggle room when its colder. The tire shop I get my tires from always gives you a free alignment when you buy 4 tires, so.. I will have them check it out, I just hope nothing in the rear is off.. supposedly non-adjustable.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: actionstan
Hello all,

Recently I made some post about picking tires for my '13 Kia forte(thank you for your input). Today I picked up a tread depth gauge to see how much tread is actually on the tires currently.

I did notice the outside of the tires seem to be wearing slightly faster than the inside, and when I say slightly I am talking at or within a 32nd of inch, for example the inside may be 5/32nd and the outside is at 4/32nds.

Is this normal? Or does this need to be addressed with an alignment?

Thanks for your continued help!


You got close enough to wear out that it doesn't really matter.

Yes, the alignment is off, but not by a great amount. But if want to improve this, then be aware that I think alignment tolerances are too wide - by half. Put another way, the vehicle should be within the inner half of the allowance range for good tire wear.

Also, any camber over a degree is problematic.

So if you do decide to get an alignment, ask before you start if they will align the vehicle to the inner half AND correct any camber over 1 degree. If they do not agree with this, then find another place.

Don't do this AFTER, do it before. Most alignment techs don't understand alignment and its effects, and will align the vehicle to the specs and anything within tolerance is close enough - and worse, anything not adjustable from the factory isn't adjusted even if it is out of spec. Sorry, but that just shouldn't be acceptable.

 

[Papa Bear]

Building a car that can't be fully (easily, readily) aligned isn't acceptable.