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[Takumi587]

Does this look like a wheel alignment issue or is it just normal wear on the rear wheels? Or even just too much pressure( i put 36 all around)? I usually replace my wheels every year and only put on 5-6,000 miles annually. Car right now has 25,000 miles and wheels have been replaced 5-6 times and was bought in Dec. 2004 brand new. Is this normal. meaning does everyone else get the same wear and tear on their wheels like mine? Here are a few pics:



Right Rear Tire:



Left Rear Tire:

[E90330iS]

how about the fronts? if fronts are okay that means you have been taking off too hard..

[spacedogg]

Hmmm...you only get 5k to 6k per set of tires? That doesn't sound normal at all. You should have only replaced once...if even that...

Do you do a lot of burnouts/autocross/tracking per chance?

[KanosWRX]

Tire wear in the middle of the tread would come from over inflated tires. 36 psi doesn't sound that high though. Did you notice this with other tires you have had on? Either way those tires are done now

[BuLoOoSki]

5000-6000 miles is nothing, that kind of tire tear looks more like atleast 15000. I'm not sure but I would assume that something is wrong or your getting poor quality tires

[urbanite]

Your front tires can be seen in one of the shots, they look pretty good! From reading the half sidewall that I can see, these tires seem to be Michelin Pilot Sport? If you check at Tirerack, you'll see that these tires tend to have treadwear issues ... 6000 or 7000 miles is being regularly reported. And I don't think you have an alignment problem, but there may be a slight camber problem.

Rotate your tires around a bit more, research for better treadwear (Kumho's have been good for me), and quit doing the burnouts!

[Takumi587]

Originally Posted by spacedogg

Hmmm...you only get 5k to 6k per set of tires? That doesn't sound normal at all. You should have only replaced once...if even that...

Do you do a lot of burnouts/autocross/tracking per chance?

Yes, I only get 6k with these tires which does sound abnormal. And no i do not do burnouts, autocross or tracking. That is why i think it makes no sense.

Originally Posted by KanosWRX

Tire wear in the middle of the tread would come from over inflated tires. 36 psi doesn't sound that high though. Did you notice this with other tires you have had on? Either way those tires are done now

The wear and tear is the same each time, but people on forums tell me that they get way more mileage than I do. So I am worried.

Originally Posted by urbanite

Your front tires can be seen in one of the shots, they look pretty good! From reading the half sidewall that I can see, these tires seem to be Michelin Pilot Sport? If you check at Tirerack, you'll see that these tires tend to have treadwear issues ... 6000 or 7000 miles is being regularly reported. And I don't think you have an alignment problem, but there may be a slight camber problem.

Rotate your tires around a bit more, research for better treadwear (Kumho's have been good for me), and quit doing the burnouts!

Hmm yes the fronts are perfectly fine. Just the rears are bad. and when you say a slight camber problem does that mean get an alignment to get it fixed? Thx

[Malek@MRF]

your rear tires are over-inflated if the center of the tread is wearing faster than the shoulders.

[ubern00b]

i can't help but notice that the sidewall treadwear rating is 220. lol. that is a bit low.

[Takumi587]

Originally Posted by ubern00b

i can't help but notice that the sidewall treadwear rating is 220. lol. that is a bit low.

Really I do not know much about tires. What is a good treadwear rating?

[VMRWheels]

Tread wear rating is relative to each manufacturer, so it's somewhat pointless to compare tread wear rating from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, a number can at least give you a very very general ball park as to a tire's wear characteristics. 160-280 treadwear are generally found on summer tires and sticker compounds. 300-400+ are generally found on all season tires.

A tread wear rating of 220 is relatively low, but that kind of wear after only 6K miles sounds a bit excessive as far as how bad your tires look already. Also have your toe checked as well to make sure there isn't excessive toe in or out.

[Chowbow]

Alignment problem. Your driver's side looks "about right" meaning it has some negative camber wear which is often associated with BMWs. The passenger side has wear on the outside which is unusual. Either you actually have positive camber or a problem with the toe settings. Just get a full alignment done, it sounds like you can use one after so many miles on the car anyway.

[Mr. 5]

Yep. Allignment.
Did you get your car lowered with an allignment?
Or, maybe you just hit a pot hole.

[evoi19]

shouldn't the wear be on the inside of the tire and not the outside? Looks like an alignment issue to me.

[E90330iS]

220 rating is quite normal, I remember my Michelin PS2 was a 220, 15k was no problem.

[karliejai]

how do you even drive around with those tires!!!

[anerbe]

your rear alignment looks to be the problem.

overinflation would be a big problem if the middle is wearing a lot faster than the outside. although there's more wear, your whole tire is worn down.

35/36 cold psi should be fine.

with such fast wear, your toe settings are probably really off. I've had good luck with the following alignment specs, and my tires lasted 15-20K with 6 road course events per year. actually, i'll provide you with less aggressive settings, as you don't do events, but you should see a good improvement in handling

Fronts:
-1.25 to -1.5 deg camber
0" toe

Rears
-1 deg camber
1/8" toe in

you lose a bit high high speed stability with the neutral toe in, but you really save on wear, and you'll have better turn in characteristics.

also note that with more neutral toe in the rear, you may get a bit more squirming on hard acceleration, as the rear goes towards more toe out.

what will really get you on premature wear is the toe. having high amounts will greatly reduce wear.

having high camber will accelerate wear on the side that's angled down more, but once the side wears enough for the tire to have a full contact patch, the wear should be close to normal.

[Chowbow]

Originally Posted by anerbe

your rear alignment looks to be the problem.

overinflation would be a big problem if the middle is wearing a lot faster than the outside. although there's more wear, your whole tire is worn down.

35/36 cold psi should be fine.

with such fast wear, your toe settings are probably really off. I've had good luck with the following alignment specs, and my tires lasted 15-20K with 6 road course events per year. actually, i'll provide you with less aggressive settings, as you don't do events, but you should see a good improvement in handling

Fronts:
-1.25 to -1.5 deg camber
0" toe

Rears
-1 deg camber
1/8" toe in

you lose a bit high high speed stability with the neutral toe in, but you really save on wear, and you'll have better turn in characteristics.

also note that with more neutral toe in the rear, you may get a bit more squirming on hard acceleration, as the rear goes towards more toe out.

what will really get you on premature wear is the toe. having high amounts will greatly reduce wear.

having high camber will accelerate wear on the side that's angled down more, but once the side wears enough for the tire to have a full contact patch, the wear should be close to normal.

Only thing I might recommend for a pure street car is to have a tiny bit of toe-in up front just for stability, maybe 1/16". Under freeway speeds, the car will hunker down a bit due to aerodynamics anyway and will toe in just a tad so 0 toe would be fine. If you want more low speed straight line stability though then a tiny bit of toe in up front won't be bad.

[Takumi587]

Just got the car back from the dealership and it was apparently the Alignment. The car no longer pulls to the right at all which is what i was hoping for. They also changed the front brakes under warranty while i was there. HOWEVER, my car got 14 miles added onto it while it was at the dealership(i left it for the weekend with them)... But I guess it is my fault for going to the dealership for an alignment anyways... I am just glad the car is back to normal. Thx for everyone's help here too!

[Beer Goggles]

They do drive it to check things.

Those tires are over inflated. There really is no "magic" tire pressure. You have to look at how the tire is wearing (you can see the contact patch on tires being worn) and adjust the pressure to make sure it's wearing correctly.

[BMW MotorSport]

i would never drive on tires that have worn out that much.

[Tallest]

that's really messed up to drive so long on a set. Throw them away, and get alignment in the rear as well. That's just really poor wear after the miles you did, considering fronts look practically brand new. Don't mean to soun harsh but how the hell do you get your car to this point in the first place is mind boggling - hose are slicks pretty much. I check my tyres every month or so just to see if wear is ok and check tyre pressures too. If you would've done smth similar you could have fixed this before you ruined them.