[Smoky9G]

If you don’t like or have no experience with lowered cars, stretched tires, etc. please move by this post. Not looking for sarcastic and useless comments, thanks!

at the very end of March this year I received and installed my coils and wheels. My setup is TEIN Flex Z with 19x9.5 +22 wheels wrapped in 235/40/19 Hankook Kinergy GT. There’s a decent stretch to the tires but nothing totally insane/stance. I had them about 3/4 of the way lowered, no rear camber arms and front camber plates set to one notch from fully negative.

Given all this, I figured I’d have some premature camber wear. I can live with that because I don’t drive often and I love my car’s setup. It’s not for everyone but it’s what I wanted, for now at least.

Now, here’s where I can totally take some criticism. I made two bad calls - I didn’t have an alignment and I didn’t rotate them. I live very Rurally so finding somewhere that aligns a car on coils is a chore, and I hadn’t even driven 10k miles, so I didn’t think they’d need to be rotated awful bad. They came balanced so I was just going about my life until I found a place for an alignment/felt safe enough with the ‘Rona to go have it done.

I noticed my front wheels were losing tread so I made it a point to do a rotation after returning from a small road trip Sunday. This is what I found.

here’s the rear wheels. great tread, nearly looks new.

aaaand...here’s the front. Destroyed. No tread, down to wire.

Of course, I put my stocks back on until I get new tires. But I’m wondering what caused such wildly bad wear on my front wheels. They’re both this bad, with all the wear on the inside (within the wheel well). They aren’t scraping on anything within the wheel well.

does anyone who has been lowered with wide wheels have insight, is this common with this setup? I’m arranging for installation of new tires and alignment which my dumb ass should have done earlier, but this still seems extreme for the amount of time and small bit of miles that have been put on the car.

 

[namegoeshere]

Given all this, I figured I’d have some premature camber wear....

Now, here’s where I can totally take some criticism. I made two bad calls - I didn’t have an alignment and I didn’t rotate them.

That right there was your mistake. Bad camber and toe settings... mainly toe though as an out of spec toe setting with chew through tires much faster than an out of spec camber setting.

 

[grumpypolecat]

^This. You absolutely must do an alignment when lowering a car. Even if you do not drive a lot, if your camber/toe settings are way out of wack you are going to destroy tires like you did here.

 

[Smoky9G]

Thanks guys. I knew it contributed to it 100%, I just wasn’t sure if that degree of wear could be attributed to the alignment alone. Really appreciate the feedback! Definitely kicking myself in the arse for that decision.

 

[emeron]

Fortunately you noticed the situation before a catastrophic tire failure at highway speeds. Learning experience at cost of a pair of tires. Could be much worse, count your stars.

 

[Smoky9G]

@emeron I’m extremely grateful I caught it for sure, those puppies were time bombs. And it served as a good wake up call because I normally don’t lax in maintenance like this. I’m definitely lucky...don’t want to deal with a steering tire blowout ever.

 

[TGHI]

It's been said already, but more than likely bad toe. The further wheels are toed in (or out) the more you drag the wheels against the road which causes extreme wear on the inner tire. When in doubt, an alignment is always cheaper than tires

 

[ethan2014]

Remember, not all wheel alignment shops can do a quality 4-wheel alignment on lowered cars. Use google and yelp reviews to find shops with experience. Typical cost in Socal is $50 for unmodified suspension. For cars lowered more than 2-2 1/2 inches, it usually cost $80 to $120 and that shop will have plenty of experience on aggressive set-ups like yours.

If you can't find any places, you can ask anyone with a lowered car while they're filling up gas or catch them getting in/out of their car while they're out shopping. Just ask them if they can recommend a good alignment shop in the area. Rural TN sounds like a place with not many lowered imports but those modified V8 guys should know good tire and alignments shops around your area.

 

[Smoky9G]

@ethan2014 We're next to Bristol Raceway so there’s actually a fairly large modified scene so I’m doing some digging and think I found a reputable place about an hour out (takes 30 min just to get into town from home lol). Definitely not going to hand my car off to just anyone. Really nervous about having the tires on my hyperblack wheels too...

 

[MDhonda43]

Damn i wanted to get in on this but it seems to all have been covered. Also if you dont look check your tires specifics when you get new tires as well. The softer the tire compound the faster it will wear as well. I definitely take that into consideration. I try and get at least two seasons out of my rims and tires before getting another set of tires. So i tend to get tires with at least a 400 tread life rating. People say that it could be a sacrifice for have road noise with the harder tires but I got a system in my car so i dont hear that LOL... Good luck with your next go round...

 

[icspots]

Not sure if it would be an option with your lowered setup, but if you can find a place which does lifetime alignments who will cater to your car it could save you a lot of money in the long run. Have through firestone on 2/3 of my cars (haven’t needed an alignment on the honda since we bought it), and it pays for itself after the second alignment. But that may not be available for your setup.

 

[Scooby]

a camber kit would be a hassle-free investment in the long run.

 

[namegoeshere]

I noticed my front wheels were losing tread

a camber kit would be a hassle-free investment in the long run.

Buy a camber kit for the front that has adjustable camber and for excessive tire wear caused by an out-of-spec toe setting? Makes sense.

 

[Scooby]

Buy a camber kit for the front that has adjustable camber and for excessive tire wear caused by an out-of-spec toe setting? Makes sense.

Of course, fixing the out-of-spec toe should go without saying, but for the rear it will eventually end up wearing unevenly. That's why I called it a hassle- free investment in the long run.