wheel alignment and tire wear

Recently I found that the tread on my car's(camry 1995, v6le) tires wears unevenly. When I just stand beside the car and look at the tire, the wear of the tread on the outward edge is not that much. The tires are wth 45k mile warranty. I had 43k miles with them. When I sit in front of the 4 tires and put my hand inside to check the tread on the inward edge, its almost bald. Costco said,I have to replace the tires.

I got new tires and went to get the wheel alignment. Sears did the wheel alignment for $60. They gave me a print out with the values. The problem appears to be with the following two wheels.

front-right (actual:0.01 and before alignment -0.30) rear-left (actual:0.21 and before alignment 0.04)

These readings are for the TOE. The camber/caster/SAI etc are all fine according to the readings.

Does the above mentioned misalignment cause so much difference in the wear of the tread? or is it something else thats wrong with the struts or something? I really appreciate your help in this regard. Thank you very much.

Reply to
nisha
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Small changes in toe/camber/caster can affect tire wear. I had issues with my '98; the tires, with 20k mi on them, wasn't balding but the tread pattern had a "weaving" effect to it. The car was also pulling to the right.

In my case it was a combination of tires AND alignment and balancing. With new tires(properly balanced) and an alignment done *properly* (with print out) the car tracked straight as an arrow. I've put 1k miles on it and I see nothing unusual now. Car still moves VERY smoothly.

I also had a '89 Nissan Sentra with a NEW set of front tires and I took it in for alignment right after I got them. They did they alignment but forgot to tighten it up after it was done. I had driven no more than 4k miles when I noticed the inner parts of the front tires were

*completely* bald.

I was lucky I caught it in time, otherwise I might have been involved in a pretty serious accident.

So the answer to your question is that yes, small changes in alignment can affect tire wear.

The other thing to keep in mind, is if your car has frame damage or if wheel or the tie rods (parts of the suspension/steering linkage) are bent, they can also cause strange tire wear or uneven pulling.

I make it a point to talk with the people who do work on my car and make sure everything else is in good shape. The people who put your tires on can usually let you know if you have a bent wheel.

And maybe you can ask the people who did the alignment on your car if they see anything else out of the ordinary (and get a second or third opinion if you suspect they're lying).

Good luck and let us know if you see any things else!

John.

Reply to
John

Thanx John for your detailed reply. The mechanic who worked on the wheel alignment told me that my suspension/steering linkage is fine. He said he did not see any problem there. So I am assuming, right now, that its the wheel alignment that caused the uneven wear. I plan to look at my tires closely more often to notice any uneven wear from now on.

regards

Reply to
Nisha_tm

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