Tyre wear

[trevor k]

13k miles from new excessive shoulder wear N/S front outer edge and O/S front inner requiring 2 new tyres, is this anywhere near normal. Van is a T6 4motion 204 lowered 30mm by dealer. Now has new tyres and tracking set anybody had similar issues?

 

[sidepod]

When the new tyres were fitted , was the tracking far out? Sounds to me as if it wasn’t set correctly after lowering. Was it pulling to one side at all?

 

[trevor k]

Hi side pod, no it did not pull to either side and I would have thought VW dealer would know if the tracking needed to be checked or adjusted. Tyre centre didn’t say if it was far out but did say it was difficult to set.

 

[Skinnee D]

HI Trevor. Assuming it wasn't done when your lowering springs were fitted, you could look at getting 4-wheel laser alignment done as well as the tracking.

The dealers don't include for laser alignment in the price of lowering and all the ones I spoke to claimed it wasn't necessary. However having read some reports of very uneven tyre wear on lowered vans I insisted on it.

Mine was lowered from new and it still needed some adjustment front and rear to get everything within tolerence (I watched it being done). After 8k miles my tyres are all wearing evenly.

Worth thinking about, considering the cost of Cali tyres these days

 

[Custardtart]

I had my van lowered by dealer before delivery and specifically asked for tracking to be checked.
It ended up toeing out on front. I checked tread before a long trip and had 4.5mm left. After 2000 miles I got home and noticed both front insides were half way through the carcass. Total mileage 9000m!
I had full laser alignment and new tyres and now getting about 16-17,000miles with nice even wear.


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[Erbster]

HI Trevor. Assuming it wasn't done when your lowering springs were fitted, you could look at getting 4-wheel laser alignment done as well as the tracking.

The dealers don't include for laser alignment in the price of lowering and all the ones I spoke to claimed it wasn't necessary. However having read some reports of very uneven tyre wear on lowered vans I insisted on it.

Mine was lowered from new and it still needed some adjustment front and rear to get everything within tolerence (I watched it being done). After 8k miles my tyres are all wearing evenly.

Worth thinking about, considering the cost of Cali tyres these days

I had the vw lowering springs fitted by my dealer shortly after I bought my Cali too. I concur that the wheel alignment is an extra cost- the dealer said it would be cheaper without alignment but it was important to do.

 

[trevor k]

Thanks for all the advice, I’ll look in to the laser alignment.

 

[B J G]

Thanks for all the advice, I’ll look in to the laser alignment.

Make sure you get 4 wheel alignment done especially as your problem sounds like a 'crabbing' issue. (front and rear axles misaligned).

My trust in VW Dealer Service dropped when I asked for the front and rear tracking figures and got told "you can't adjust the rear as it has no adjustment facility".

 

[Custardtart]

Our local Kwik-Fit invested in a 4 wheel alignment station. I used it once for a car after I accidentally hit a hump back in a country road too fast. They gave all the data before/after and the tyres wore perfectly evenly for the following 70,000 miles until I sold it. It was a few years ago now so I can't remember the price.

 

[B J G]

Cost me £50 at tyre depot, £25 per axle last week.

 

[Dick]

I put new wheels and tyres on last week, my old fronts were shot
Any way if any body is in Southampton, this place is very good.
https://www.wheelalignmentcentresouthampton.co.uk/
Mutch nicer to drive now, all 4 corners adjusted, only took 10 -15 minutes and £45.

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[Sp0_0k]

A well-known issue with VW Ttransportes or even other VWs.
After destroying the tyres almost to cord on the sides and 4-5mm left in the middle I had to pay for an expensive laser geometry in Norway. Turned out to be fine.
Simple answer underinflation and German engineering. You simply have to inflate the tyres way more than recommended by VW.
Almost to the max of tyre's pressure. So I run summer ones at 3.2-3.5 bar, close to max 50psi.
And winter ones 3,8-4,0.
Notice the front ones eating the sides faster as well.

 

[WelshGas]

A well-known issue with VW Ttransportes or even other VWs.
After destroying the tyres almost to cord on the sides and 4-5mm left in the middle I had to pay for an expensive laser geometry in Norway. Turned out to be fine.
Simple answer underinflation and German engineering. You simply have to inflate the tyres way more than recommended by VW.
Almost to the max of tyre's pressure. So I run summer ones at 3.2-3.5 bar, close to max 50psi.
And winter ones 3,8-4,0.
Notice the front ones eating the sides faster as well.

Well not noticed that on my 4Motion. Equal tyre wear all four wheels with equal tread depth across the tread on all 4 wheels, over 20,000 miles/set. Am now on my 3rd set of tyres with no change, just equal wear.
Tyre pressures as for Fully Loaded vehicle as per the B pillar Sticker.

 

[pjm-84]

Just swapped my tyres around and I have exactly the same wear issue. N/S front outer edge / O/S front inner edge. No longer happy with the Bridgestone A005 as they appear to be made of cheese. 11,000 miles and they are toast

 

[TripleBee]

165000 km. Standard suspension. 45000 km per set of front tyres. A little more wear on the outside of the front, and a little more on the inside of the rear tyres.
Nothing to worry about.

Oh, I use van tyres on the smallest possible rims (16").

 

[pjm-84]

But I'm on all season tyres not van tyres, and I have the 340mm front brakes. The issues seems to be the weight and soft tyre shoulders. Tyres are worn but the shoulder wear issue on the O/S front is aggressive . If I was abroad I suspect this would be a right / right shoulder wear configuration.

11000miles on 18in "appears" to be mid range (and probably good for all seasons).

No treadwear rating on the tyres.

Cali now everyday use (whilst waiting for new cars to arrive) so more short hops around town / extra urban, rather than long runs which would be kinder on the tyres. Its an heavy vehicle

I went with the A005 because I wanted an all season and slightly agressive tread block for grassy campsites.

I might drop back down to 235/50 or 55 for more tyre choice on the 18. Or go Summer and buy a more agressive wheelset for Winter

 

[pjm-84]

Interesting....

Longevity - Longevity test conducted by DEKRA TEST CENTER, on Michelin's request, December 2020, on dimension 205/55 R16 94V XL on VW Golf 7 comparing

MICHELIN CrossClimate² (100%) ;
CONTINENTAL AllSeasonContact (100,8%)
GOODYEAR Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 (108,4%) ;
BRIDGESTONE Weather Control A005 EVO (69,7%) ;
PIRELLI Cinturato All Season Plus (96,9%).

Longevity test run in average real usage (D50) with 14.460 km run and extrapolated longevity at 1.6mm.

 

[B J G]

Interesting....

Longevity - Longevity test conducted by DEKRA TEST CENTER, on Michelin's request, December 2020, on dimension 205/55 R16 94V XL on VW Golf 7 comparing

MICHELIN CrossClimate² (100%) ;
CONTINENTAL AllSeasonContact (100,8%)
GOODYEAR Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 (108,4%) ;
BRIDGESTONE Weather Control A005 EVO (69,7%) ;
PIRELLI Cinturato All Season Plus (96,9%).

Longevity test run in average real usage (D50) with 14.460 km run and extrapolated longevity at 1.6mm.

In reality you can't use car tyre data on vans as the tyres are to a different spec. loading etc.

On van tyres it's safe to assume that the lower the profile of the sidewall the lower will be the life span.
Usual to read of 16" tyres with 60 or 65 profile lasting for 40K miles or more but at the other end of the scale 20" tyres not lasting 10K miles.

 

[pjm-84]

Agree but it does show wear rate is poor for cars so with an increase in the physics that causes wear....it will therefore be poorer for heavier vehicles.

Not much test data for VW Californias. Similarly van tyres limited in sizes. The 255/45 18 is a size option for the California. But the suitability of tyres for this weight vehicle questions its choice.

 

[pjm-84]

Well I'm through another set of front..... about 9000miles / 10months

 

[Velma's Dad]

Well I'm through another set of front..... about 9000miles / 10months

Been doing some badass driving?

 

[pjm-84]

Nope. Those days are long gone! I'm going to swap the lot out for summer tyres and see if the tyre life improves.

Always my side that wears first....hmmmm

 

[B J G]

Well I'm through another set of front..... about 9000miles / 10months

Which tyre size, Brand & Season?

 

[Sp0_0k]

Well I'm through another set of front..... about 9000miles / 10months

Michelin Lattitude Cross are the only reliable pick for me, holding 30-40k km
And I run over 3 tons loaded all the time.

 

[sidepod]

Nope. Those days are long gone! I'm going to swap the lot out for summer tyres and see if the tyre life improves.

Always my side that wears first....hmmmm

Clearly not set up correctly then!