Odd Tire Wear

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I post over at Legacygt.com about my 08 Subaru Legacy GT and was told to post in here about some odd tire wear...

Basically my tires are at 7/32" but increasing wear on the inside of my tires. Alignment is being worked on however the tire wear looks strange and not uniform, almost like I have a bigger issue than alignment.


You guys have any thoughts?
Thanks!


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Something bent, alignment or wheel bearings is about all it could be. My wife's explorer chunked out a bunch of her high end Michelin tires when 3 of the 4 wheel bearings went out!
 
A couple of thoughts:

First, a 2008 Subaru Legacy has an alignment spec with high camber angles. If the vehicle is set to that spec, you will likely get uneven wear - aggravated by how far off the toe is.

If I were concerned about the wear pattern, then I would set the camber as low as possible, remembering I would be giving up cornering power to get good tire wear.

Second, the flaking of the tread rubber is likely from gravel or aggressive pavement. Does this vehicle see a gravel road or parking area? Has some road been recently paved? Is there some road that is breaking up?
 
@satinsilver Around 30,000 miles

CapriRacer - thanks for chiming in. You were referred by someone at the LGT forums. I've only parked a handful of times on gravel but the roads in Chicago have been terrible. I've also driven on de-surfaced roads a few times, 10-15 times but only in brief patches of 200-300 feet.

The chunking is on all 4 tires and at all 4 inner shoulder spots. Are these tires salvageable? I didn't get a spec sheet on my alignment fix but my local guy said all 4 were out of alignment. I think he assumed I didnt need one and I basically forgot to ask - im an idiot. Would these start wearing properly again?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: amp583
@satinsilver Around 30,000 miles

CapriRacer - thanks for chiming in. You were referred by someone at the LGT forums. I've only parked a handful of times on gravel but the roads in Chicago have been terrible. I've also driven on de-surfaced roads a few times, 10-15 times but only in brief patches of 200-300 feet.

The chunking is on all 4 tires and at all 4 inner shoulder spots. Are these tires salvageable? I didn't get a spec sheet on my alignment fix but my local guy said all 4 were out of alignment. I think he assumed I didnt need one and I basically forgot to ask - im an idiot. Would these start wearing properly again?


Once a wear pattern starts, it tends to continue. Even if you get an alignment, any new pattern will be on top of what is already there.

Are the tires salvageable? Sure, but you won't get them to wear evenly, unless you over-do the alignment. You could mount the tires backwards, but what would be the point of that?

On the other hand, if the car is going to have an issue with the camber, then you might get more miles out of the tires if you do mount them backwards.
 
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