Strange tyre wear

O

OdysseyHal9000

Member
 Warton, Lancashire
2008 3.0si sport.
Bridgestone run flats.
Offside front and rear - bags of tread left at least 7mm
Nearside front and rear - almost down to wear limit!

What on earth could cause this? Is this why it seems to have a suicidal tendency to want to turn left on perfectly straight roads?
Bearing in mind it's just been serviced and MOT'd by a BMW main dealer and I only got an advisory on the wear. When I questioned the handling they said it was fine. I've never had a car behave like this or tyres wear in such an unusual way!
 
Not had it done on mine yet, so not an authority, but sounds like you need some 4 wheel alignment done. Could have been a curb or a pothole knocked the alignment out. Mine pulls to the left a little and the steering wheel is not straight when I am going straight, if you know what I mean, but the wear on my tires is not visibly uneven - yours sounds a bit concerning...
 
Check your toe settings, basically sounds like your suspension settings are all over the place. Broken spring could be a factor as well but i've had one and didn't experience extremely uneven tire wear.

edit: I know the diagram only shows the front wheels but toe is adjusted for the rear as well. Rear wheel drive cars generally have some toe-in in the rear for stability during acceleration.

g-about-wheel-alignment-post-your-queries-here-toe.gif
 
service, inspection and mot all in the same month by the same Franchised dealer I bought the car from, PLEASE tell me they would have found a tracking/ suspension/ broken spring issue!!!!!
:headbang:
 
When I looked at mine there was an advisory about a cracked spring on the previous MOT and the dealer confirmed that it hadn't shown on the latest MOT just before I bought it because it had been fixed. Checked the springs when I changed to winter wheels and they are all fine (touch wood they still are...). So springs would show on an MOT, not sure about alignment or suspension. That said, the spring could go any time I guess... :?
 
Alignment as said needs checking. Do it after any issues of worn bushes, worn track rod ends, broken springs, etc. have been fixed.

Alignment MUST be done at the dealer or on a specilist 'Hunter' type machine with weights in boot, seats and full of fuel, not at any local tyre depot or garage. Needs to be full 4 wheel alignment.
 
sp3ctre said:
I think you need an alignment done after springs are replaced
Click to expand...

Not strictly true. If the car was correctly aligned before the spring broke, then replacing it with a new one won't require the car the be re-aligned. Of course if the car has been aligned with a broken spring then it will need doing again, but any decent alignment centre won't carry out an alignment on a car with broken suspension components, although I am sure it has happened.

Replacing OEM with lowering springs will of course require a full alignment, as all geometry positions relative to the road have now changed.

Personally I'd avoid getting it done at BMW since they charge far more than a genuine alignment centre and fool people into thinking that a KDS is something special. On a 760iL with hydraulic dampers and active cruise that's probably true but for a Z4 it's not. Agree though that correctly weighting the vehicle is essential. Use http://www.alignmycar.co.uk to find somewhere local. I get mine done at Wheels in Motion.
 
The above sound logical so ignore this dull thought if you have a staggered set-up, any chance tyres have been swapped around?

.....or too many beans on the roundabouts :P
 
Repeating others, here, however I would start with an alignment check.

Alignment at BMW dealers is around the £260 mark :o A proper tyre & suspension supplier will have 4-wheel alignment system (I have used plenty with great success, and have no idea if a Hunter system was ever used :wink: ). Also, car bodyshops do 4-wheel alignment following accident repairs. I paid around £60 for a full 4WA inc all the weights etc at my local trusted bodyshop, reviewing the results as we went along so I was satisfied with what they did.
 
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