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Tyre Wear

#1 User is offline   gimmickyflea 

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Posted 16 July 2016 - 04:38 PM

Hi all,

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 Posted Image 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 Posted Image
GF

#2 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 16 July 2016 - 07:08 PM

Very soft tyres might wear.
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.
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#3 User is offline   gimmickyflea 

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Posted 16 July 2016 - 08:05 PM

Hi HK,
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 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 16 July 2016 - 08:27 PM

The subframe is the equivalent to the rear beam if you like but under the belly of the front of the chassis right before the engine. If you have gone through two sets of tyres with same wear might suggest something is out or perished.
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

#5 User is offline   eldoodarino 

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Posted 17 July 2016 - 07:39 PM

That advice sounds like typical bollocks that you'd get from ATS or any other place that sell and fit tyres... it's unfortunate that most of these tyre places that fit tyres offer services they know very little about..lol :head:/>

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
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#6 User is offline   gimmickyflea 

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Posted 17 July 2016 - 11:00 PM

Hi Chris,

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 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 18 July 2016 - 08:12 AM

Unless you are carrying a heavy load standard Puma pressures are fine, I ran my Puma ok on them. Cheap tyres are another matter where tyre pressure may compensate for weak tyre integrity.
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#8 User is offline   eldoodarino 

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Posted 18 July 2016 - 05:26 PM

I generally use 30-32 front....29 rear...

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

:cool:
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#9 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 18 July 2016 - 06:58 PM

This is not the FRP with inner tyre wear issues Chris but a 1.7 Puma.
I found I could run my original 1.7 Puma on standard tyre presures.
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

#10 User is offline   eldoodarino 

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Posted 18 July 2016 - 07:09 PM

oh yeah... it's too hot.. :phew::
Wizards Of Nos 60hp progressive delivery.... yeah baby yeah :-o
Denso Iridium Plugs
Helix Clutch
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#11 User is offline   gimmickyflea 

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Posted 18 July 2016 - 08:15 PM

The FRP won't get tyre wear issues because it only sits on the drive giving the house kerb appeal 😉

#12 User is offline   YOG 

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Posted 19 July 2016 - 10:17 AM

My Puma ran MICHELIN PILOT EXALTO PE2 at 29 psi Front/28 psi Rear for 30,000+ miles. These were switched front/rear to even out tread depth wear. When they were changed at 7 years old, they had more than the minimum legal tread remaining. Wear was even across the tyre pattern.
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)
Rick

The Haynes Fiesta Manual (3397) can answer a lot of your questions.
Posted Image

#13 User is offline   gimmickyflea 

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Posted 19 July 2016 - 08:37 PM

Thanks Yog 👍

I guess the ATS boys think I drive constantly at 100mph+ 😜

#14 User is offline   gimmickyflea 

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Posted 28 July 2016 - 04:29 PM

To conclude the tyre wear issue, the front strut mounts were shot and the car was driving on a negative camber.

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 Posted Image

Thanks for the replies and help Posted Image

This post has been edited by gimmickyflea: 28 July 2016 - 04:30 PM


#15 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 29 July 2016 - 08:43 AM

That's great news your Puma is sorted.
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

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