DanielD

Ah, but look at the discussion that comment generated. I had the front end aligned with new tires in July of 2010 and have put right at 20K on the car since. I did the drive around routine for about 75 miles to let the car settle. Took the car back to the shop and had the front end aligned on a Hunter machine as all here adhere to.

At 20K the right front tire is showing a strip of cord near the inside edge. The right tire is showing a great amount of treadwear near the inside edge; not cord, but there is no tread left.

I am going to replace the front tires this week. In 50 miles or so I'll get the front end aligned then.

I drive the car as a daily driver, not hard at all.
It has 140K on the odometer.
Is 20K the max I can expect to get out of a set of front tires? The rears have good tread on them still.

Dan

AO

Depends on the tire and the way you drive. I seem to get about 10-15k out of a set of front tires and about half that from the rears.

But in your case, it sounds like your front-end alignment is off. Probably toed out. Have you checked for play in the wheel bearings or tie rods?

Mike LaBranche

I'd be happy getting 20k out of a set of tires. You want them to last longer than that on a heavy GT, that likes to be on the gas and turning, you're gonna need some tougher tires.

There's nothing magic to these alignments beyond the points already covered. I mean, it's simple, the alignment must be done at the ride height the car lives at. Bad wear with a proper alignment is tired parts.

DanielD

Andrew,
I checked to see that the front end is indeed tight when the car is parked.
The car seems to wander a bit when you are going down the road. I'll get with the alignment guy when he is doing the alignment to inspect the bushings and tie rod ends. I have written this behavior off as the tires being worn out. Maybe I'm wrong.
The right front does have a new tie rod end that was replaced by the PO.
D

Landseer

You might add checking the steering U-joint for play and shake the rack rods for fore / aft movement due to saddle wear identified as an issue by Earl Gilstrom.

dprantl

More wear on the inside of the front tires means too much toe out (or aggressive negative camber, but that's unlikely). That means most probably the car did not settle enough before it was aligned. The tendency for the car to wander on less than perfect roads reinforces the toe out. Oh, and if you have your tech inspect the bushings and tie rods, he will have to lift the car to do it, so that is not a good idea to do at the same time as an alignment.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

DanielD

What about aligning the front end prior to replacing the front tires? This would save on the 50 mile drive and ensure that the car is at ride height...