[Lowform]

Rear Tire C̶u̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ Feathering a.k.a. Alignment (toe and/or camber) Out Of Spec

Hello friends. On my 2015 Sport sedan I am experiencing some pretty significant inner tire wear on my back tires. Anyone else experiencing this problem? The dealer told me it was normal and a result of inadequete tire rotation. I had the exact same issue on the previous civic and Honda intimately issues a service bulletin to have new LCA's on the car. I'm worried it's the same deal. I rotated at 24k miles. Front tires were worn evenly but back were cupped badly. It's been 6k miles since then and my rears are showing wear already. The fronts (previously on the rear) sound like mud terrains.

Any input would be appreciated.

-Aaron

 

[Justin Pace]

How often do you check tire pressure?

**EDIT**

Camber Wear

“Camber” refers to how a tire tilts. If a tire has negative camber, it means that the top of the tire is tilted towards the vehicle. If a tire has positive camber, it means that the top of the tire is tilted away from the vehicle. Tires on a everyday car (i.e. a vehicle not used for racing) should have little to no camber at all; when you look at the tires from the front or back of the vehicle, they should be perfectly vertical. Camber wear occurs when a tire has positive or negative camber. With positive camber, the outer shoulder of the tire will be a smooth, narrow strip of wear while the rest of the tire will look fine. With negative camber, the inner shoulder of the tire will have that smooth, narrow strip of wear. Camber wear can be caused by improper tire pressure, misaligned wheels, or worn suspension components. If you spot camber wear and the tires are properly inflated, having your vehicle looked at by a professional is recommended.

 

[WhiteOrchid]

Cupping would likely be a symptom of worn out shocks.

 

[cookieman214]

On a front wheel drive car, if the tires are not rotated on a regular basis, the rear tires will in most cases, develop 'cupping'.

Solution? Regular rotation of tires.

Four wheel alignment every so often is also not a bad idea.

 

[Justin Pace]

Cupping would likely be a symptom of worn out shocks.

Agreed I do not think they actually mean cupping. I believe the poster thinks cupping refers to inner tire wear. If the tires actually had cupping I would suspect wherever they had the tires rotated the subject would of been brought up about worn shocks (shop would love to charge for that work)

To the original poster ensure proper tire inflation. Monitor pressure for a few days. If you live in an extreme climate area and are subject to winters your tire pressure will drop when cold out, wise to check your tires every now and again in the winter. Or fill with nitrogen.

"First is that nitrogen is less likely to migrate through tire rubber than is oxygen, which means that your tire pressures will remain more stable over the long term. Racers figured out pretty quickly that tires filled with nitrogen rather than air also exhibit less pressure change with temperature swings."

 

[WhiteOrchid]

Agreed I do not think they actually mean cupping. I believe the poster thinks cupping refers to inner tire wear. If the tires actually had cupping I would suspect wherever they had the tires rotated the subject would of been brought up about worn shocks (shop would love to charge for that work)

To the original poster ensure proper tire inflation. Monitor pressure for a few days. If you live in an extreme climate area and are subject to winters your tire pressure will drop when cold out, wise to check your tires every now and again in the winter. Or fill with nitrogen.

"First is that nitrogen is less likely to migrate through tire rubber than is oxygen, which means that your tire pressures will remain more stable over the long term. Racers figured out pretty quickly that tires filled with nitrogen rather than air also exhibit less pressure change with temperature swings."

Yes, but he also said the following, which sounds like classic cupping damage:

The fronts (previously on the rear) sound like mud terrains.

 

[Lowform]

Thank you everyone for your input. I called my tire wear 'feathering' but my dealer corrected me and said it was 'cupping'. Tire pressure has always been good and they assured me my alignment was good.

No one else has experienced this tire wear?

 

[WhiteOrchid]

Thank you everyone for your input. I called my tire wear 'feathering' but my dealer corrected me and said it was 'cupping'. Tire pressure has always been good and they assured me my alignment was good.

No one else has experienced this tire wear?

Photos might be helpful. Feathering is often caused by the toe settings being off. My old Prelude would feather the tires after they had 20k-30k miles on them but it never got bad enough to cause me to replace them early.

Regardless, a newer car like this should not be producing rapid or uneven wear of any kind assuming it is stock and not damaged. It sounds like an alignment check is in order. Might want to try another dealer as the one you are referring to seems to be ill informed and unwilling to really help much. I've got 11k on my car and absolutely no uneven wear has appeared at all and my summer tires are a really soft compound which would show uneven wear pretty quickly if it were going to appear. In addition, the HFP suspension settings include noticeably more rear negative camber which could promote inner tire wear if taken too far and yet the rears have worn just fine thus far.

 

[Justin Pace]

Yes, but he also said the following, which sounds like classic cupping damage:

Ahh, I missed that part.



Original Poster- This is what cupping looks like. It is surprising to me that a dealership would say your tires are cupping and not offer a solution.

I would recommend trying another shop or at least another mechanic. Try to get one of the older guys at the shop to take a peak.

Your new car should not be cupping the tires. This should be addressed quickly and under warranty. Heck you might get new tires out of the deal also.

I believe there was a TSB for something on the shocks, might be worth a look at.

 

[ltxi]

Hello friends. On my 2015 Sport sedan I am experiencing some pretty significant inner tire wear on my back tires. Anyone else experiencing this problem? The dealer told me it was normal and a result of inadequete tire rotation. I had the exact same issue on the previous civic and Honda intimately issues a service bulletin to have new LCA's on the car. I'm worried it's the same deal. I rotated at 24k miles. Front tires were worn evenly but back were cupped badly. It's been 6k miles since then and my rears are showing wear already. The fronts (previously on the rear) sound like mud terrains.

Any input would be appreciated.

-Aaron

Cupping's not normal nor the result of lack of rotation. On a properly set up car, especially one not driven hard, the only result of a lack of rotation should be the front's tread wearing faster than the rear. Cross rotation, which I don't do, will compensate for mild misalignment issues. There's been a goodly amount of discussion here on whether your issue is cupping or something else....from what you describe I lean toward cupping and would urge you to visit a good tire/suspension shop for an honest expert opinion....and to not go back to that dealer for anything again if at all possible.

 

[boxermachine]

Same problem here. The reputable tire shop said I need a rear toe kit, as the suspension is sagged and Honda gives zero adjustment. Now I'll be visiting the dealer, and then calling Honda. Expecting, as in my past dealings with Honda, a polite 'go pound sand' answer.
The part I found-
SPC Rear Adjustable Toe Arm Kit 67555 1 Side | eBay

 

[OldManRiver]

To say there's no rear toe adjustment is just wrong,there's adjustment but it's only a few degrees.
There was enough adjustment for when I installed lowering springs and installed aftermarket camber arms.I was able to bring the toe back into factory specs using the eccentric fasteners on the stock toe arms.

 

[acutee]

Dealers always try to pass the buck, of course when the car is under warranty. Abnormal wears are problem with suspensions and/or aligments, period. It completely has nothing to do with tire rotations. Lousy honda dealers. Good thing you didn't lower the car, otherwise it is an immediate blame to the cause of problem. Don't tell them you wash the car every week, or they will tell you the water was the cause to the uneven tire wear.

 

[ltsr]

Hello friends. On my 2015 Sport sedan I am experiencing some pretty significant inner tire wear on my back tires. Anyone else experiencing this problem? The dealer told me it was normal and a result of inadequete tire rotation. I had the exact same issue on the previous civic and Honda intimately issues a service bulletin to have new LCA's on the car. I'm worried it's the same deal. I rotated at 24k miles. Front tires were worn evenly but back were cupped badly. It's been 6k miles since then and my rears are showing wear already. The fronts (previously on the rear) sound like mud terrains.

Any input would be appreciated.

-Aaron

First rotation at 24k miles? Is that correct?

 

[boxermachine]

The adjustment is all the way out, so mine has 'no more adjustment'. Apparently, the inside of my worn, cupped tires would disagree with you.

 

[WhiteOrchid]

The adjustment is all the way out, so mine has 'no more adjustment'. Apparently, the inside of my worn, cupped tires would disagree with you.

But again, cupping would have nothing to do with toe settings.

 

[boxermachine]

sorry 'camber'.

 

[keep_hope_alive]

Hello friends. On my 2015 Sport sedan I am experiencing some pretty significant inner tire wear on my back tires. Anyone else experiencing this problem? The dealer told me it was normal and a result of inadequete tire rotation. I had the exact same issue on the previous civic and Honda intimately issues a service bulletin to have new LCA's on the car. I'm worried it's the same deal. I rotated at 24k miles. Front tires were worn evenly but back were cupped badly. It's been 6k miles since then and my rears are showing wear already. The fronts (previously on the rear) sound like mud terrains.

Any input would be appreciated.

-Aaron

Same issue here. 36k miles on Bridgestone Drive Guard tires for a 2014 Sport (67k mi total) with 8/32 of tread left. The factory tires were noisy from 20k - 30k. Excessive rear negative camber is the cause. It's not adjustable. Toe is fine. i recall the camber being 4-5 degrees negative.

Inflation is constant, no wear due to under- or over-inflation. TPMS tends to trigger when the tires are just 2 psi different.

Both sets of tires developed the same noise/feathering/cupping issue when mounted on the rear. I've had three four-wheel alignment checks and they all identify excessive rear camber - it's visible while the car is parked. and looking at other Hondas on the road it's obvious why - on bumps our rear suspension rotates to negative camber.

If the rear camber was correct, it wouldn't do this. Rotation insures all of the tires end up with the same problem.

Zero solution offered by either the dealer or tire shop. I don't want to replace the tires (due to noise, not tread depth) until I have a solution for rear camber adjustment without lowering.

i found these as a 3 deg adjustment kit ($670 total to make all aspects of rear tires adjustable):
http://www.meganracing.com/product_detail.asp?prodid=894&catid=94

http://www.meganracing.com/product_detail.asp?prodid=893&catid=94

http://www.meganracing.com/product_detail.asp?prodid=2266&catid=94

 

[jimijam]

Solution? Regular rotation of tires.

You mean once every 24K miles isn't good enough?

 

[Ankush Chander]

Thank you everyone for your input. I called my tire wear 'feathering' but my dealer corrected me and said it was 'cupping'. Tire pressure has always been good and they assured me my alignment was good.

No one else has experienced this tire wear?

Hello. I went to my dealer today with the complaint of loud road noise, I have a 2015 Accord Sport 4dr. I was told the exact same things as you were told, my front tires are cupping and the rear tires feathering. I had my tires rotated at 20,000 miles and since then I have been experiencing loud road noise. I understand I should have rotated my tires earlier and more frequently, however I am suspicious of a manufacturing issue. That there should be some reasoning for the uneven tire wear initially.