Tyre Wear
#1
Posted 16 July 2016 - 04:38 PM
Had to have a new pair of front tyres on my Puma last October after track rod arms and front bushes had been replaced but unbeknown to me the tracking wasn't redone and 6-8 wks later the tyres had wire showing through both inner edges I had new Mitchelins put on, tracking was re-aligned and then checked again about 2 weeks later as advised and all was spot on.
Now I have been keeping an eye on tyre wear since but seeing across the whole tyre isn't easy unless the wheels are on full lock which is rare. This week I wasn't sure if the car sounded different and could feel vibration coming through the steering wheel at 80mph so thought I'd best get the balancing checked and anything else noticeable while the wheels were off......only to discover that the front tyres needing replacing again. They have in fairness travelled 15k miles and the majority of the tread was down to just over 2mm BUT the inner edge was once again showing wire and the tracking was out of alignment. I've not hit any kerbs but our road surfaces have more pot holes than tarmac which sometimes are unavoidable to drive over and ATS said could knock the tracking out of line and in turn cause the inner tyre wear.
The car passed it's MOT end of March with only 1 advisory of slight wear on NS strut mount which I was told not to worry about as it was so slight but the worse tyre wear was OS anyway. Other than that all appears to be fine, so I have a few questions if anyone could answer please......
1) Are Pumas quite heavy on front tyres and would 15k be acceptable use to need changing again considering the car does mostly high speed motorway miles?
2) Is there anything else I should get checked out which might be also causing the inner tyre wear?
I have put premium Dunlops on this time to see if these last any better, had the tracking redone and will keep it regularly checked now because this car gives no other indication when it has come out of alignment.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or reassurance
GF
#2
Posted 16 July 2016 - 07:08 PM
Now I don't know if it has been off but I am talking circa 1998 there was excessive inner tyre wear and the problem was because at Cologne the subframe was being mounted wrong.
Assuming your tracking is OK.
Assuming your bushes aren't shot.
Has your subframe been off your Puma, I assume you are talking about the green one.
There could be other reasons just I don't know what they might be.
#3
Posted 16 July 2016 - 08:05 PM
Yep it's the green which is a 2000 model, or registered then anyway. I don't know what you mean when you ask if sub frame has been off although I wouldn't know if it had before I bought the car. Unless it's gone through new bushes already they should be okay but I'll get them checked again. Tracking was out but don't know why. Brake pads and discs have only got a few thousand miles left in them so I'm going to get front and back all replaced along with the strut mount and ask for a thorough examination while all the wheels etc. are off but I'll mention what you said also so thanks for that :-)
#4
Posted 16 July 2016 - 08:27 PM
#5
Posted 17 July 2016 - 07:39 PM
If it's been checked on good equipment like the Hunter tracking system, because the equipment is soooo ridiculously sensitive it will usually give you different figures every time you put the car on it... bit it should be within the nearest +/- 2 minutes of a degree I would say, and if it's been done the previous time properly it should give them a 'Green light' on their screen...
If not, they either cocked it up the first time or maybe both!...
Tyre balancing is something that they often get wrong too as they are just too quick mounting and un-mounting the wheel and throwing some weight at it...usually too much ....
Iv'e balanced FRP wheels that had 100 grammes or more with around 20g at one point....
In my experience it's like banging your head against a brick wall trying to get consistency out of these places... Iv'e found a place now that a) has the Hunter equipment.. and B the operators have actually been on the Hunter course and the equipment is checked and serviced at the correct intervals... they get every FRP right I take there..
Regards
Chris
Denso Iridium Plugs
Helix Clutch
Mobil 1
#6
Posted 17 July 2016 - 11:00 PM
I get your drift but these guys deal with this day in day out so if you can't trust them who can you trust....and I only went in for check as there was vibration through steering at 80 and then needed quick remedial action.
Out of interest, what tyre pressure do you recommend because manual says 29F & 27R, previously ATS said this was too low and set all at 30 and this time they put 32F and 30R but I got them to drop front back down to 30.
I'm confused 😕 not that it takes much 😉
#7
Posted 18 July 2016 - 08:12 AM
#8
Posted 18 July 2016 - 05:26 PM
29 all round as per original setting is very soft at the front ...it worked reasonably well on the original P7000's but not on anything since IMO
Denso Iridium Plugs
Helix Clutch
Mobil 1
#9
Posted 18 July 2016 - 06:58 PM
I found I could run my original 1.7 Puma on standard tyre presures.
#10
Posted 18 July 2016 - 07:09 PM
Denso Iridium Plugs
Helix Clutch
Mobil 1
#11
Posted 18 July 2016 - 08:15 PM
#12
Posted 19 July 2016 - 10:17 AM
Currently running MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 3 (4 x Michelin Pilot Sport 3 - Fitted, Valves and Balanced, Nov. 2015, COSTCO £179.95). Latest COSTCO offer, just finished, was around £170!
Puma Owner's Guide:
Standard Puma (195/50 VR 15) - Psi (Bar):
Up to 100 mph and short time driving over 100 mph:
Normal load, up to 3 people: Front 29 (2.0), Rear 28 (1.9)
Full load, more than 3 persons: Front 37 (2.5), Rear 41 (2.8)
For continuous speed over 100 mph:
Normal load, up to 3 people: Front 32 (2.2), Rear 31 (2.1)
Full load, more than 3 persons: Front 40 (2.7), Rear 41 (2.8)
The Haynes Fiesta Manual (3397) can answer a lot of your questions.
#13
Posted 19 July 2016 - 08:37 PM
I guess the ATS boys think I drive constantly at 100mph+ 😜
#14
Posted 28 July 2016 - 04:29 PM
So they have been replaced (along with new brake discs and pads) and tracking all realigned, with a recheck in a few weeks. Hopefully the new tyres will wear evenly now and last longer
Thanks for the replies and help
This post has been edited by gimmickyflea: 28 July 2016 - 04:30 PM
#15
Posted 29 July 2016 - 08:43 AM