After a lapping day, the front Falken Azenis RT660’s on my 2013 BRZ have circumferential strips of tread missing. The rear tires are fine.
The LF tire has a nasty groove right down the middle. At the worst spots the groove is 2/32" deep. The LF also has a very faint groove near the inside edge of the tread.
The RF only has a groove (3 of them, actually) near the inside edge of the tread, but it is a bit nastier than the inside edge groove on the LF. See pictures.
I reached out to
technical@falkentire.com and received this email response from Christopher Guth, QA Supervisor with Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc.:
“…there is some lateral scrub happening on the tire shoulder, also evidenced by the greater wear on the shoulder compared to the middle of the tread. I agree that this does not look like a cut, but it is from lateral side forces “pushing” the shoulder tread inward. I can’t say that it is a defect since the tread construction is the same across the whole tread face (i.e. there are no construction joints that run circumferentially in that area with the 3 lines). Typically, we have seen in racing environments that this is due to camber and/or inflation pressure settings.”
I responded and asked if lateral scrub at the shoulder of the tire could account for a missing strip of rubber in the center of the tread and if the wear indicated pressures too low and too much negative camber. Guth’s email response:
“Any type of shoulder wear could indicate inadequate air pressure and/or incorrect camber. If both shoulders are wearing faster than the center then that would indicate too low of pressure. With too low of pressure (especially in a race setting) you would also have a “fold over” effect leading to the lines on the tread, including the line at the center of the tread. While I can look at the tire and read what is happening to it, unfortunately, we do not have data to provide on the optimum vehicle settings to avoid this type of wear. That would have to be more of a trial and error experiment for your particular vehicle. For that type of information I would direct you to forums and such other resources.
As for the wear itself, I would add that as long as you are maintaining proper inflation pressures this is not a safety concern, but more of a cosmetic issue.”
I’m not a tire expert and I may not fully understand Guth’s explanation. Has anyone else seen this kind of wear (I call them missing strips of rubber, Guth called them “lines on the tread”)? If so, what was the cause and what was the fix? Any suggestions for me?