[nicknaz]

Hi Guys,

I could use some help diagnosing a minor tire wear issue I've been having. My front tires (stock RE050A II tires in 225/45/17 size) are starting to show some 'feathering' on the outer portion of the tread block.

You can see what I mean below in the pics, where the leading edge of the outer block is starting to be a bit more raised.
EDIT: the front of the car is towards the left of the pic, and these two pics are different angles of the driver side front tire

I've been told this is due a lack of camber in the front suspension and there really isn't anything I can do about it other than corner slower or get camber plates

Do you guys agree with that assessment?

Thanks,
Nick

[Ramos]

I think it's normal for aggressive driving.. The outer edge is worn out due to cornering while the raising tread block inner edges are caused by very hard braking..

Not sure if camber would help... But how hard do you drive this thing? Is that from street driving or track?

[blipblip]

We call that cupping. It is most likely due to scrubbing in corners (I guess in your case, understeering). What is the wear pattern on the inside edge? Is the wear about the same on the other tire (passenger side)?

We had the same issue on our race car. Surprisingly, with a stiffer front anti roll bar, it makes it a little better. I think that's due to the car rolling too much, and the limited front camber.

Corner with your rear wheels!

[nicknaz]

I don't really feel any understeer at corner entry, so I'm not sure that's it?

Yea the pattern is the same on the passenger front tire. I'll double check the inside edges.

Actually I noticed this morning outside edge of my rear tires are starting to have a similar pattern too, but not yet quite as pronounced as the fronts.

I wonder if my alignment is off ?

I'm not really complaining, with 13k miles i still have like 5/32" tread! i haven't had tires last this long in a couple of years, so this is great

[mike-y]

that means you are driving like a real man haha.. I think almost all my car's tires exhibit similar wear at one point or another. I didn't think it was cupping, because I thought that was a much more severe case of wear (but I could be wrong). But in your case (and mine) it's only the very edge of the tread block, which gets distorted and stretched out during hard cornering loads, and then the edge pops up like in your pic. They are soft to the touch, and you can easily bend them over, right?

more negative camber will help lessen the wear on the outside of the tire, which can decrease that a bit, but it's normal to show up after some hard cornering. as long as all 4 are wearing similarly, I don't think you have a problem.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Nick Nazareno

I've been told this is due a lack of camber in the front suspension and there really isn't anything I can do about it other than corner slower or get camber plates

Do you guys agree with that assessment?

Thanks,
Nick

Do you know what your front camber settings are right now? If it's anything less than -2 degrees then I would agree with that assessment whole-heartedly (about the lack of camber).

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by mike-y

that means you are driving like a real man haha.. I think almost all my car's tires exhibit similar wear at one point or another. I didn't think it was cupping, because I thought that was a much more severe case of wear (but I could be wrong). But in your case (and mine) it's only the very edge of the tread block, which gets distorted and stretched out during hard cornering loads, and then the edge pops up like in your pic. They are soft to the touch, and you can easily bend them over, right?

more negative camber will help lessen the wear on the outside of the tire, which can decrease that a bit, but it's normal to show up after some hard cornering. as long as all 4 are wearing similarly, I don't think you have a problem.

Mike, yea that is exactly what they feel like (soft piece of rubber I can bend over).

hack, my car is completely stock, so it is using the factory alignment settings and suspension components. i'm guessing that means there is a lot less than -2deg camber. haha

Thanks for weighing in guys

[satakal]

did someone say tire wear?

[Richwm]

M3 front wishbones will give you some Neg camber.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184925

[mike-y]

I believe the factory setting up front is less than 1 degree of camber, so you can definitely use more if you are stock. There is more in the rear, the range is like -1.5 to -2.0 I think, so you should be good there, though if you are wearing the outside edges more than the insides, then you can add some more negative camber there too.

if your tires looked like Satakal's pic, THEN I'd say you have a problem, lol.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by satakal

did someone say tire wear?

Dang. Is that from going into corners too hot and trying to drive the car harder to 'overcome' the understeer

[satakal]

Originally Posted by Nick Nazareno

Dang. Is that from going into corners too hot and trying to drive the car harder to 'overcome' the understeer

If that's techno-speak for: "I autocrossed my truck", then yes.

The culprit was a big, fast, wot, countersteer-ie, ass end stepped out, off camber, transition to downhill, abrasive asphault turn. Think turn 6 at infineon but more off camber, dirty, and instead of leading onto a straight, leading into a tight, off camber, swedish flick right hander.

But, mainly the near perfect 70/30 weight distribution of a pickup.

[S4to335]

I gotta post pics of my stock tires..you will think yours are just fine.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by S4to335

I gotta post pics of my stock tires..you will think yours are just fine.

awesome please post

satakal was it a syclone (those are awesome)

[satakal]

that would be awesome, but no. It's an xtreme.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248722

[nicknaz]

Nice. kind of sucks you corded a set of tires in that one event though. that's a pretty expensive 6 minutes of seat time

[satakal]

just one tire got corded. over the course of about 20 autox laps. I learned sooooo much in those laps. Worth the cost of admission plus 1 tire for sure.

[HP Autosport]

Looks like you can use some negative camber!

[E30M3Driver]

Yes the tire wear you are experiencing is a symptom of not enough negative camber. It is typical with stock BMWs.

[Bubbles]

Nick, you're not running r-comps yet? What are you waiting for?

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by Bubbles

Nick, you're not running r-comps yet? What are you waiting for?

i'm not done learning with the stock setup.

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by Nick Nazareno

i'm not done learning with the stock setup.

We never stop learning, but haven't you done +15 events by now? I expect you are going through street tires every other event. If I am incorrect on that assumption please ignore me.