Uneven tyrewear - Laguna or Firestone ?

Top posting is IRRITATING and is down to YOU doing IT.

-- Malc

The message from "Malc" contains these words:

And Do stop getTING louDEr and sOFTer.

My 99 Laguna 1.9dti has done 12k since I got it last December. Although the tyres weren't new , they seem to have worn excessively on both the outside & inside edges. This wear pattern is normally associated with low tyre pressure.

I know there's many reasons for uneven tyrewear ranging from tracking,camber,cast,incorrect inflation etc etc,. but the following are on my shortlist and I welcome your dismissals/counter comments so I can conclude accordingly :-

- The tyres are Firestones and I'm sure I've had probs with this brand on other cars. ( I recall hearing someone calling Firestones "ditchfinders" once ). Do Firestones have a reputation for wearing unevenly?

- The wheels are aftermarket 15" "Fox" alloys that I've seen on sale in Halfords ( I bought the car with them already fitted ). The wheel track looks slightly wider than a stock Laguna due to these alloys. Could a wider track affect tyre wear?

- The car is as straight as a die so I don't think its a twisted chasis.The MOT was done in April so I doubt that balljoints & bushes are to blame But are Laguna's known for being hard on tyres in such a way they wear outsides & insides together ?

Thx

Hello,

Either you have or you haven't had problems with firestones before. i think you have been watching too much news or listening to idiots in the pub. No doubt you will want to make a no win no fee finance agreement claim next! Uneven tyre wear is caused by YOU abusing the car, not keeping correct tyre pressures or a fault and I think due to the gae of the car it is down to you - and YOU know it is. READ the manual that come with the car and stop being so stupid.

I'd go for incorrect tyre pressure, due to the aftermarket alloys/tyres.

moray

Boy this NG is going down hill.

- My recollection about some bad Firestones was on a 3 series beemer in the early eighies. Was you f*ckin born then ?

- "no win no fee" what???? You're just typing in crap to wind me up and make me respond right?....it worked.

- "uneven tyrewear is caused by abusing the car"......its not a f*ckin Vauxhall Nova JCBgt. It goes in near straight lines every day on the motorway and its pressures are ~30psi

- "due to the age of the car" ! So all cars older than 99 suffer from uneven tyre wear... did one of your pub mates tell you that ?

Nope. not on the one know. Are the wheels the same width as the originals though? wider alloys wear the shoulders more.

Oh dear! - Ebodsky's not having much luck with his automobiles, is he? - not to mention starting to piss people off and make them shout.

Personally, I think that it's all down to his habit of hammering his vehicles on those long unbroken runs.........next thing, he'll be asking why his Laguna is as shagged as his Citroen!....

(memo to self.....Do not purchase second-hand car from Ebodsky....)

I don't think it's Ebodsky it's that burke klf.

The tyres are 195/65/15 which I think are the stock size. Although I've never needed to even take a wheel off since I got it in December, I'm certain the track is a bit wider than a std car with steel rims. I'll take a look this weekend to see if its got spacers fitted.

Despite claims that the wear is down to me 'abusing' the car, I'll elaborate and state the driving route I do has been the same (average 20K miles) for the last 12 years and at least half a dozen different cars with no tyre probs. Whilst I've had cars which needed their tracking doing due to towing in/out, I've never had a car which seems to scrub front inner&outer shoulders like this.

Having the same vehicle I can relate to what is happening.

I had a set of tyres, cannot remember what the brand was - not Firestone possibly Hankook, that had a similar wear pattern.

I know I changed the nearside control arm as the bushes were a little soft and the bottom ball joint was knackered (replaced by incompetants) I also changed the trackrod ends as they were so cheap and had it electronicly tracked. Fitted new tyres (Toyo)and every thing has been fine since. HTH Pete

Cheers for the advice Pete. Since the car passed its MOT first time in April and I can't detect any suspension clucks, I didn't think it was related. But I suppose a combination of slight wear in a few areas not individually worthy of MOT failure, could contribute to the problem.

For now, I'll probably buy a pair of new tyres ( maybe Toyo ) and get it fully tracked on its new boots.

After some of the tosspot posts I've seen since this weekend my faith in this NG has been restored a little.