poohlikeshunny

Here's my issue....my rear tires are wearing completely fine. I have all of my tires at 40 PSI right now...but my two front tires are wearing quickly on the outsides edges...but the middle is still at the same amount of tread as in the rears. Now, yesterday when I went to check my tires, I noticed my rear right one dropped to 35 PSI...but I filled that back up right away. I had my tires rotated the day I got the car about 7000 miles ago and there is about 75% tread left (at least there SHOULD be 75% left on all 4 tires, but only the rear are at 75% )...how did this happen? I drive rather timidly overall, except in certain situations where i might get a little more spirited...(like, once a day or so...=) like on an open highway or on a back road...any of you tire experts know why this is happeneing to me? THANX!!!

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

You are stating that on both the inside and outside of a front tire it is worn? Or just the outer most edge?

poohlikeshunny

On the front tires, it is just the outside edges of the tires. It seems like the inner edge is slightly more work than the middle, but the outer edges are noticeably more worn...you're Neil right? I met you at the the King of Prussia meet a little while back...how you been? I really wanted to check out your car that day before everyone left...I was interested to see your VAFC controller in your sunglass holder...looks hot as hell!

Edward'TLS

Same thing happened with one of my OEM tires. When my car was new, one of the rear tires would lose air slowly, something like 1 PSI per week. I took it to the dealership, but they cannot find any leak. They took the tire off the wheel, clean the bead, rotated the position and remounted it. The service manager said sometimes the tire bead did not seal very well with the wheel. But the tire still loses air slowly. Two more trips to the dealership, and they repeated the same operation. Still loses air slowly.

Finally I bought snow tires and traded the OEM tires in, and there is no more air lost with the new tires. So I suspect you may have a bad tire as well.

goldendragon576

40psi seems kind high. If both outer edges are worn, you don't have enough air in the fronts. If it's just either outside edge, and your car is dropped, you need a camber kit.

Edward'TLS

I agree. The ride will be very rough with 40 psi, and the car will become more slippery in the wet.

But if the car is dropped, the inside edge of the tire should be wearing out more, not the outside edge.

grocerygetter

sounds like an allignment issue to me.

StanMan

you did not specify if the car is lowered, whether or not you have aftermarket wheels or have done anything else to your suspension.

if you view your tires while staring at the front of your car, do they appear as such "\ (grill) /"? if so, it's obvious that you have a camber issue (positive camber).

now if they look normal, maybe it's another aspect of your alignment like toe. you mention that it's more worn along the outside edge and gradual wears inward towards the inner edge, but are the radially-patterned tread blocks "feathered" where each block has the same respective high and low sides? i am not sure if you always see feathered tread blocks when you have an issue with the toe, but it still points to alignment.

overinflation would mean a more worn center section only.

poohlikeshunny

Sorry guys....my car is NOT dropped...everything on it is stock...removing the intake resonator is still the only thing I have done. And it doesn't look like there's any camber issues...I wouldn't see why considering it's still OEM, but is it possible? Edward: I was thinking it could be the tires, but they aren't the Michelins that come stock. The guy before me put on some Mastercraft tires...honestly I've never heard of them. Do you think if I lowered the PSI to 35PSI or 32 PSI it would even it out? I know the ride will be slightly improved...I was always just paranoid cuz I notice that my tires say 40 psi....and I was worried that if I put anything lower than that it would wear out unevenly. Obviously that's not the case anymore...hehehe...thanx for all the input guys! Keep it comin!

CdogTL

My 2001 TL owner's manual states the recommended tire pressure is 32psi all around for stock tires of size 205/60/16. Hope this helps.

goldendragon576

that number is the MAX psi you can put on those tires, not recommended tire pressure.

poohlikeshunny

goldendragon576: I thought so...but in my situation since it is overinflated, shouldn't the middle be more worn out?

cdogtl: So stock PSI is 32...do you think I should lower the pressure in my tires?


PS: Has anyone here ever heard of Mastercraft tires?

Incubus

Check your toe, sounds like it's toe in more than you want.

poohlikeshunny

hahaha....sorry for the lack of knowledge...but what is "toe"? Is this related to camber? Sorry....I've been on this forum for a little bit but I still consider myself a noob....

Edward'TLS

It's called "toe in" and "toe out". If you position your car with the front facing North, and you look at your car from the sky. Then you measure two distances between the left front and right front tires, one at the front-most of the tires and one at the rear-most. Toe in means the rear-most distance is wider than the front-most, whereas toe out means the front-most is wider than the rear-most.

Toe in = /-car-\

Toe out = \-car-/

Usually for front wheel drive cars, a small amount of toe in for the front wheels is required for better control and stability, and for rear wheel drive cars, a small amount of toe out for the front wheels for the same purpose. However, too much toe in and toe out will result in abnormal tire wears.

Edward'TLS

You don't have to touch any suspension components, camber and caster will change without you even knowing it. Whenever you drive over bumps, potholes, huge rocks etc., at speed, the suspension components are subjected to tremedous forces. If severe enough, the components will become deformed or bent out of shape. Once that happens, camber and or caster angle settings will all be messed up. If the angle change is slight, tires will wear out funny. If the change is big, the car will not go straight, pull to a side, and/or handle funny. So, wheel alignment is there to adjust and restore the camber and caster back to the original specs.

poohlikeshunny

Edward: You've been very helpful and descriptive in your explanations! Thank you very much!

And thanx to everyone else who took the time to give me their input! I'm going to try lowering the pressure in my tires first...and then look into the camber issues....

Edward'TLS

Poohlikeshunny, you're very welcome.

We're all here to help each other, share our knowledge. That's what this forum is for.

MADCAT

Please follow the owners manual for PSI for tires on the TL. Stock or aftermarket tire...the pressure has to be around 32 PSI. I got 18 inch wheels/tires on my car, and the tire dealer said that I have to keep the pressure the same as my stock 16 inch wheel/tires.

indoMFP

I had the same problem and had the problem taken into the dealership countless times. I finally figured out what the problem was. The tire guage indicator (the cap that is green when you are at 32psi and if you drop below it, it changes to yellow or red) well that was not sealing properly and was causing the tire to slowly lose air. I changed the indicators and the problem is fixed.

Poohlikeshoney, it sounds like your front tires are underinflated, put some air in them and see if the problem reoccurs.

@cUr@-TL

maybe you should get something else than Mastercraft tires.. these tires are like 50$ each...no wonder why they are fucked up now.. :o



@cUr@-TL

yield2s

ya it's normal to get alittle uneven wear on the fronts compaired to the rears this is why we must rotate tires. usually 5000 miles is best for keeping all 4 evenly worn.
But I have to agree w/ above said in that you should maybe rotate then consider a better tire.(espesially if you do some highway driving)
If your alignment is not off(you have to pay to find out) then its normal for the tires outer edge to wear if you do alot of sharp turning(like city driving)

poohlikeshunny

hahaha...yeah...so what tires should I get for the stock rims? The only plan on it is the H&R OE drop...i like the stock 16's...just wish they were at least 17's

@cUr@-TL

i had bridgestone potenza RE950 on my stock 16s and they were really good so i bought a set for my 18s

great high performance tire.. and not too expensive.. it handles great in the rain too!

take a look at www.tirerack.com


@cUr@-TL

2002TL31k

Also remember to check your tire pressure when your tires are hot so you can see what the 'true' PSI reading. If you put 40 PSI in your tires when cold, then run them on the road (especially a hot day) your tire pressure can go up 4-6 PSI...which can lead to tire failure.

I keep mine at 35 PSI cold, which works out to no more than 40 PSI hot.

As far as your outside wear on the tires, you have a toe problem as others indicated.

yield2s

This is complete and total BULL$HIT!!!
Normally I woundn't even give a $hit but what your are recommending can hurt or even kill someone following this statement.
Fact is that underinflated tire are tire that get too hot due to increased friction, so please always check/fill tire when cold, or follow the recomendation of a good tire shop..Peace.

NSX4dr

Check tire pressure when they are cool for a true reading. If you must check them when they are hot they will be about 3-4 psi higher. For more information check out Air pressure information for information on tires.....

Charles

2002TL31k

:'(
Don't cry over what you don't know about.

poohlikeshunny

so who's right about the psi thing? 2002TL31k? or yield2s? I lowered my psi to 32 PSI after I ran it for a little...I had it at about 40....then I dropped it to 35...nicer ride....and after I warmed the tires up, I lowered it to 32...is this bad? should I give it a little more leeway? so it's prolly like 29 or so cold...but it warms up in like the first mile, right? so it should go back up to about 32...yay? nay?

yield2s

Listen this is what I'm talkin about!!!!!!!!!! Pooh please put aleast 32 "COLD" PSI in your tire or you could be injeopordy of a blow out due to underinflated tire!
Has anyone heard about the Ford "Exploder" ordeal? That was partially due to Ford's recommended tire pressure being too low!
what you are running now is probably about 28psi (cold thats the only what to messure it!) in a few months if you dont touch them you'll be at about 24-25psi THAT'S DANGEROUS!!! The internets a great resorce but surf w/ caution.

poohlikeshunny

werd...good lookin out yield2s...I heard about the explorer ordeal, but never knew the reason...I guess I'm going to have to fill up tonight! THANX!

2002TL31k

Dude...I'm in the auto business and know a lot about the Ford Explorer recall because my company issued the recall notices. The defect was in the build of the tire (bad build) and the design of the Explorer (combo). Having low tire pressure and doing a sharp maneuver (the Explorer had a high center of gravity) caused stress on the tire and it failed...causing a tire blowout and/or rollover. It wasn't soley because of low tire pressure.
If every tire blew out because of low tire pressure, you'd see tons of people pulled over on the side of the road every day because most people don't inflate their tires properly.
The ratings on the TL's stock Michelin's allow a 44 psi max rating, though Acura recommends a lower psi rating for maximum comfort based on the suspension of the car. Increasing your psi from a cold 32 psi to a cold 35 or 36 psi isn't going to hurt you or the tire, nor will you blow your tires out if your tire pressure drops to 28 psi. A 10% allowance is acceptable, but it could lower your gas mileage.
Nothing wrong with going up to 36 psi (cold) or keeping it at 32 psi as Acura recommends - either way will give you close the maximum tire to the road. The choice on how you want the ride is up to you - for me, the 35/36 psi cold is a better ride.
And with 143,000 miles on my Acura Legend and 32,000 miles on my TL, I've never blown a tire yet!

yield2s

I thought most of the deaths from the explorer where rear blowouts.? caused mainly from an underinflated/overloaded tire (with PSI starting at 28 recommended pounds and then falling a few more between checks(how many soccor moms you know check their tires?)and then push to their max load w/ simply adding a couple adults and luggage comboed w/ a long dessert drive spelled dissaster)
Look I knew you where completly aware of the saftey of your own pratice but what ii was reacting on(and supported by what pooh had done) was the fact that mixing in a hot tire psi only confused the situation/advise.
With your knowledge I'm sure youd agree that he reduced his psi too low which increase his risk(albeit low) of failure. Keep in mind the weight of our cars pushes to the max of most tires in our size,this is why many members have been refused certain tires from TireRack.
But alls well that ends well. Peace and