odd wear on one front tyre

[Rubce]

Hi All

I noticed today that the nearside front tyre has excessive wear on the outside 1 inch of the profile and is borderline illegal. The rest of the tyre and the other front tyre (same age) have about 6mm of tread. Tyre pressures are fine and the I have not noticed any excessive vibration coming up through the steering wheel so I reckon they are reasonably balanced which is awkward to retain around here due to all the speed bumps.

Is that type of tyre wear caused by incorrect tracking or something else?

We are off the Lake District soon so need to a replacement tyre fitted before then. It has Firestone 175x80x14's fitted at the moment. Has anyone got any other tyre manufacturer recommendations? Can you fit 185x80x14 to standard Stag alloys?

Regards

Bruce

[ChasR]

185R14 is the stock tyre size for a Stag with alloy wheels . Other owners do also use 195/70R14s with success

It could be as simple as tracking in this case I reckon rather than bushes or balljoints etc. although checking them for play never does hurt .

[StagnJag]

Hi Bruce,

I think most people go for 195 70's. I swapped to them from 175x80's. Still on standard Alloy's.

Wear certainly sounds like tracking, or other alignment issue. Get the garage to check it when you get the tyres done. Probably best to go armed with the factory settings though as they probably won't have them to hand.

Rgds

Dave

[Rubce]

Hi Guys

Am I correct in thinking that going from 80 to 70 height tyres will reduce their outside diameter and thereby increase engine revs and reduce mpg? I am wondering if the wear was caused by the drag strut rubber bushes collapsing which I replaced a few weeks ago.

Cheers

Bruce

[Rubce]

Okay so I have just read this thread on tyre ratios etc and am now really confused!

http://www.stag.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?15185-Tyres-205-70-14&highlight=conversion

Bruce

[StagnJag]

175/80 to 195/70 is a really close match in circumference. The Stag speedo is still more accurate than my modern car (using a sat nav as a guide). 175/80's were original fitment on mine.

Rgds

Dave

[Ian Durrant]

If the tyres on both sides are the same age and only one has incorrect wear, then it is definitely not tracking! Tracking causes incorrect wear on both sides.

It could be that you have a worn bottom ball joint on that side or the camber angle could be wrong because of accident damage or incorrect shimming after a restoration for example. You need to investigate and if necessary find a tyre place or garage with a four wheel alignment system and can check (and understand!) camber and castor angles. However its most likely its a worn joint somewhere in the front suspension that is the cause.

[flying farmer]

Do you drive round a lot of roundabouts? One of my employees has a mate who runs a tyre fitting firm in Telford, renowned for its number of roundabouts, and what you are describing would be normal tyre wear by him
Neil

[Rubce]

Hi Neil

There are some roundabouts in Crewe but no more than a typical medium sized town. The place is riddled with speed bumps though

Cheers

Bruce