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Uneven Tire ware

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  #1  
Old 04-07-2008, 07:00 PM
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Angry Uneven Tire ware

Not sure if this is a suspension problem or not. I got my 04 GT about a year ago. The inside of the front tires started to wear out and have a wavy type of pattern to them. Had the car aligned , was told it was due to the 30lbs of pressure I was using. Put 45lbs in them and they seemed fine. Got new tires last weekend , and noticed that they might be wearing the same way My car isn't out of align! Can I have a suspension issue that I am unaware of? They told me at the tire shop that my strutt's were going out , and leaking small amounts of fluid. I looked -Very small amounts , hardly noticeable. Anyhow ,,, Tires aren't cheap,but advice is - So please help!
 
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Old 04-07-2008, 07:32 PM
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If your struts are leaking, replace them. However, your tires (if they are the stock Goodyear ZR45s) SHOULD NOT have more than 40 psi in them and according to your door/gas cap tag, should be filled w/ 30 psi. Sounds like you need another alignment shop. Also, front tires always wear unevenly (to an extent), hence why you have to rotate them.
 
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Old 04-08-2008, 09:22 AM
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tell me about the mods to the suspension. Is it bone stock? lowered? all the details and please post a pic if you can.
 
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Old 04-08-2008, 03:27 PM
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As for the tires , the old ones were cooper zeon w/ 50lb max pressure. The new ones are riken raptor w/ 51lb max. I have 44lbs in them now.I had it done twice by two different shops. I have the computer print-out of the align. I checked it against the FRPP alignment guidlines and they are within spec.But the car pulls to the right still! I plan on taking it back to be re-aligned , but if thats not the problem then I'm just wastin' money.The susspention has no mods to it at all. As far as I know it is bone stock. I asked them to see if there was any front end damage and was told no. If they were gonna rape me it would of been there. Can't post a pic - cammera not workin , sorry.
 
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Old 04-08-2008, 03:30 PM
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need a pic of the top of both strut towers and tires. I think your k-member is mis-aligned. The fix requires a suspension shop that knows how to align a k-member (about as hard as lining up anything but car needs to be on a lift to make it easy).

Also, plz post your alignment numbers or a scan of the page.
 
  #6  
Old 04-08-2008, 03:58 PM
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Here are the pics, If you need different ones let me know.
 
Attached Thumbnails Uneven Tire ware-1-008.jpg   Uneven Tire ware-1-009.jpg   Uneven Tire ware-1-010.jpg   Uneven Tire ware-1-011.jpg  
  #7  
Old 04-08-2008, 04:05 PM
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The align specs are---
 
Attached Thumbnails Uneven Tire ware-001.jpg  
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Old 04-09-2008, 08:21 AM
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I'm going to speculate based on those pics that I was right. It appears that your k-member has been pushed over to the driver side a bit, possibly from an impact with a curb or something. I've seen it on my car after a sideswipe accident and it caused all sorts of alignment issues.

Notice how all the adjustment on the passenger side plate is outboard of the plate and all the adjustment on the driver side plate is inboard of the plate... screams out that your k-member is out of whack. Also explains why an ok alignment (only ok) is causing nasty tire wear.

Once that's done you'll need to rotate the tires front to back and get another alignment. Then smoke the crap out of the rear tires to get rid of the wavy wear.

If you have any trouble finding a place that does mustang tuning and suspension around Tulsa see if you can find an F-body tuner shop. They use the same basic k-member technology so squaring them is similar. Otherwise, you can try searching the corral.net forums for a good shop around there.

BTW... tire pressure being too high normally wears the middle of the tire, too low wears both edges but not as much on the middle. Neither should normally cause any sort of wavy wear. Cornering too hard will but usually on the outside edge of the tire and it's a very distinctive scalloping pattern.
 
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Old 04-09-2008, 03:11 PM
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I did have a brush with a curb on the passenger side.Nothing big , but needed to get a new wheel because the outside edge was scratched up and slightly bent. Thanks soo much for the help. I like any fix that includes smoking the tires . I will call around to see what I can find. I was gonna go ahead and lower the car when I put new struts on it , since it would already be apart. Should I wait until then to have this issue addressed? I will have to have it re-aligned anyways. This will be in a month or so.
 
  #10  
Old 04-09-2008, 03:36 PM
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I'd go ahead and wait to fix the alignment till the car is lowered but I'd also caution you to make sure you get a set of Maximum Motorsports CC plates. They'll help you get a better alignment.

Once you get all the bits gimme a holler and I'll give you some street tire friendly alignment specs. You can request custom specs at most alignment shops. If they won't do that, go somewhere else.
 
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