Pieces of Tire Coming Off?
 

I just got my tires rotated yesterday and I noticed that on the inside of my right front tire (used to be right rear) had pieces missing on the inside tread.

I have been lowered on Tein Flex Z for about a month and have not gotten an alignment yet. The rear wheels don't have an excessive amount of camber so I was wondering if anyone could tell me what happened?

This is most likely a sign of camber wear possibly toe wear, not under or over-inflation. Since the tire was previously on the same side of the car, you have too much negative camber (tire leaning in towards car). When you lower the car, the wheels generally will push towards negative camber, thus, you should generally get an alignment after suspension changes such as yours. Hope this helps.

Just for reference, it is sometimes hard to visually distinguish between say -1 degree camber and -3 to 4 degree camber. You can usually download free apps for your phone that you hold up flush with the wheel to gauge camber angle.

What he said.

This is why alignment is important

Looks like toe wear to me.

Thanks for the quick response! I just measured the rear camber and I have about -3 on both sides. Would that be enough to do that or is it more toe wear?

rear toe needs to be done on a alignment rack prior to aligning the front adjustments or she will crab walk.


tire wear can be minimized when running higher negative camber by setting the toe to zero on the rear.


zero toe in the front will make a car 'busy' or twitchy at speed...

Certainly not me, but I'd be rather upset. Excessive wear is one thing, but chunks of tread flying off the tire seems to me like quite another. I'd be real happy if someone would inform me that such disintegration is normal in out-of-alignment tires, but. I have never in my life seen that kind of loss of integrity, and, worn or defective, why in Hades didn't the tire techs who worked on your car point this out to you? Isn't this situation going to be dangerous a few miles down the road?

Your excellent photos show the same thing beginning to happen on the outboard edge of this tire as well. Are any other tires wearing the same way?

Maybe I'm ignorant, but I'd be jumping up and down at the mfr of this tire, wanting to know what it is about the tread compound that's causing it to behave like hard candy under a hammer.

:eyebulge:

(I think this is my first post that makes my signature quip a falsehood!)

That tire is just plain worn out. Too much toe, a couple of degrees too much camber and hard running with a tight suspension on warm pavement. How many miles on the tires?

the only time I have seen chunks of tire ripped off the tread was at a track day on a 5.0 mustang with stock tires. if that happened to you under normal driving, I have to say that it is definitely not safe lol

Alignment is definitely off. Tire is trash as it's below the wear markers, which is the reason I know the alignment is off as that the outside wear marker hasn't been worn down to.


Now, chunking like that is usually overheating a street tire. Seen it happen on track cars with street tires.

I take it you never been to an autox or track day eh?

3 problems that made it like that.

Too much camber and toe in are one. The second is daily driving. Also that tire is pretty much down to the ware bars. Third, heat.

Having all those three in the mix combine with some "sporty" driving habits equals that.

You wasted your money on a rotation. There was no point. Those tires need to be replaced instead. Whoever took your money to rotate them without pointing this out saw you as a sucker.

Get tires, get the car on an alignment rack, send those tires to Juarez to fuel a brick factory.

Whoever rotated your tires is a crook. They should have informed you of this problem.

Those look like the stock Primacy tires right?
One of our locals used his old Primacy for a couple autocross sessions, and he had whole treadblocks missing.

I assume it's because those tires aren't designed to be pushed that way.