One Nut

When I had the clutch T/O bearing and pressure plate replaced at 41K mi. ( due to broken Pressure plate spring ) my inde noted 3mm of thred depth remaining on the tires. Now at 46K mi.

Last week I noticed the tires on both sides L & R have worn to the cords at the very inside edge. I can't see how removing the trans can screw up the rear alignment or can it? OR have the tires finally given up... the wear has been uniform thats why I ask.

Ahsai

Normal and nothing to do with removing the trans.

Hurdigurdiman

When I changed mine a couple of thousand back, the only real wear was on the inside edges of rear ones. I presume that is the normal wear pattern for these cars owing to the allignment of the rear wheels. I was thinking of trying to get more wear from them this time by taking the rear from the rims and reversing them around on the same rims on the rear after about 10000 miles. I believe that the rear tires dont see more than 15000 miles under normal wear. I suppose thats one of the cons when driving these cars. I do not track my car. After saying that, I do not molicuddle it during street use. I drive it in and out of the corners and love it..

perryinva

You have to remember, that as the tires really do appear visually appear to wear evenly, unless you used a tread depth gauge across the full width of the tire, you really do not know, especially if the tire is unidirectional & asymmetrical, then it is even harder to judge correctly. It is very common for these cars to wear on the inside corners with their negative camber, and as they do, the negative camber increases, which causes the inside wear to accelerate, so the last few mm, especially if the middle was already only at 3mm on the 285 - 18s you have on the car (wider is harder to measure and see the inside corner) they were already border line 5k miles ago. If you have very expensive tires (Like N3 PS2s) on your car, it is likely worth the money to have the alignment readjusted for the rears after 10k miles from new to readjust the camber and extend tire life. Ahsai is 100% correct. Normal, and nothing to do at all with the service. Ou are just due.

2K7TTMIA

When my Evo's were near new, the rear alignment was done in Nov 2011 and the negative camber was set at the least allowable minimum for the Turbo. (pry could have gone 1/2 or 1 degree more conservative to help tire life, but car was at the dealer, so no go.) I got about 7-8K miles out of them. The tires wore well and are great for a DD. As the insides were thinning out, I had them switched. That was 3K miles ago. I can pry get another 3K miles out of em, but need to have a rear set ready to mount. Fronts still look like 75% tread.

That said, total miles pry about 12-15K miles on the rears. that's wearing them until they are quite low.

FWIW, kook evo's show tread wear 280, sumi's 300. that's better than others, but it's still a low number if you're looking for an high mileage tire. Kumho Ecsta SPT shows a 320 TW. (Michelin and Pirelli are 220 TW)

Macster

If the car was lowered to the ground with the transmission out this can upset the alignment. This is probably what happened.

My Boxster went in for an RMS and due to parts unavailability the tech (at a dealer) had to take the car off the lift. This upset the aligment and the tire wear previously even went then because quite uneven with the wear concentrated at the edges.

After new tires were fitted and a proper alignment done (in which the before numbers clearly showed rear toe to be out of spec) tire wear became even once more and has remained so over countless sets of rear tires over the last 265K miles though not without a few alignments.

My 03 Turbo had its transmission replaced under warranty and the techs left the car on the lift while the transmission was out and the new one (from the factory) was installed. All this time the engine was supported by an engine jack stand (a tall one).

Afterwards the alignment was unaffected.

After fitting new tires you need to get the car properly aligned.

Do not fear camber. Fear incorrect toe.

For a good alignment the fuel tank should be full, all dead weight (junk like the dead batteries you've been meaning to drop of at the recycling center) removed from the car, and the spare tire (if one fitted) and toolkit properly installed.

Some places like to use ballast to mimic the weight of the driver and some do not. I've had the Boxster aligned both ways and I can't notice any difference. The Turbo has only been aligned without any ballast.

Be sure to get a before and after printout of the alignment readings.

alpine003

1. When's the last time you got an alignment?

2. Do you have lowering springs or Coilovers on your car?

brad@tirerack.com

15 to 18k is normal, and the inside edges almost always go first due to the camber. It takes a bit of effort to get down there and see it, which is why it catches some off guard when it happens.

One Nut

not lowered its stock. driven like it should be, just caught me off guard i know they were way low i've been waiting for BFG's new rival to hit the market. and i took a closer look and saw it. thanks for the replies. It did not bother me It seems normal just wanted to get more opinions.. Thanks

alpine003

You never answered when the last time you got an alignment was. Reason being is if your toe is not in alignment, it can also accelerate your inner tire wear.

Some members actually set the toe a little bit out more from the factory specs to get better rear tire wear(inner portion) along with running lower rear tire pressure.

Surfer161

I have had similar problem in my 2002 c4s.

i installed adjustable lower control arms (RSS) and to correct toe in. tires seem to be wearing evenly over the last 10k mi

One Nut

O sorry May 15 2010 @ 1325 pm. By the dealer. The car had 23800 miles on it. I installed on all 4 corners Michelin PS2's N rubber, the date code of the tires is (3008) a bit old for being installed in 2010 whatever,.... the car now has 46325 miles.

One Nut

damon
I did order from tire rack do i win a prize ?

Mark I

Slightly OT: Are there different alignment specs for 18 vs. 17 in wheels? My 18s had the inside corners worn off very quickly. I changed to 17s for other reasons, never got around to having an alignment. Now approching 20K miles later, the 17s have worn perfectly uniformly accross. Of course they are narrower (255 vs. 285).

jml8785

I looked at 2002 alignment specs:

C2/4 with 17" and 18" wheels
Camber = -1.2*, toe = 0.15*

C2/4 with 17" and 18" wheels with low suspension
Camber = -1.7*, toe = 0.15*

C4S and turbo
Camber = -1.4*, toe = 0.15*

Summary is: 17" and 18" wheels have the same specs but are different based on standard suspension/ride height vs. low suspension/ride height

The only way lowering the vehicle to the ground would affect the alignment would be if the lower suspension tie bar was removed. (Probably was if the trans was being pulled). This could allow the lower suspension pickup points to move. Otherwise putting the car in the air and putting it back on the ground will not affect the alignment.