Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyclops
So before I go out and get another set of tires I would like to know; - is 10,000 KM normal life for a summer tire?
- is there something wrong with my setup that would be an obvious indication of this wear?
- is the Falken and Ohtsu just a crappy tire?
- if I bought better tires would I have the same result?
- is it possible that the rim is too wide and I should go narrower?
- is it possible that the spacer is causing the excessive camber wear
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1: No
2: Yes. Wear is common for more than 2º of negative camber on super soft supper tires in the rear
3: Falken (and the Ohtsu which is the same company) are tier 3 tire companies. Meaning they're below the top tier brands like Yokohama, Michelin, BF Goodrich, and Bridgestone, and is a tier below some of the bigger Korean players (Kumho, Hankook, etc) and competes with the likes of smaller manufacturers like Toyo and Nitto. They're not crappy tires. But they're not top tier stuff either. In the tire industry pecking order, they're like the slightly overweight girl with braces that you take to the prom because you got rejected by the prom queen and the cheer leaders, and the hot librarian girl is going with her nerdy gay friend. Who knows, in the right conditions you may get lucky...And if the lights off who cares?
4: Yes
5: No. Wheel width has little to no effect here.
6: Yes, although to what extent I can't say. Imaging a swinging arm, which your rear suspension is. The more it compresses, the more "camber" angle it gains. And the further out you move that arm, the BIGGER the difference that angle makes against the plane of the ground. In theory. But if you're on a 10-15mm spacer? That's like extending that arm out 1-2% more. Shouldn't make a HUGE difference.
Judging by your alignment numbers, I assume you're lowered. A lot. A 2º negative camber will result in moderate inside tire wear. What you have there would suggest to me that you had more than 2º of negative camber. Don't forget, rear camber is dynamic, when you put weight in the rear or accelerate briskly, a lot, you also shift weight to the back which increases rear camber angle. If you don't track the car, I would suggest bringing it to an alignment shop and see if they can bring it closer to 1-1.5º negative camber to ease and alleviate the wear, or flip the tires on the wheels if they're symmetrical without inside/outside marker and directionality.
But that is pretty extreme wear for what amounts to only about 5,000miles of driving. I had the same FK452 tires on my Subaru and those lasted well over 30,000 miles before the NOISE forced me to change them, not the wear.