kt

Did a search on "rotating" but didn't see many matches...

Did my first DE last weekend - had a blast.
'02 996 cab, Michelin Pilot Sport on 18"'s (225/40ZR18 and 285/30ZR18)

Seeing a lot of wear on outer edges of rears and and moderate wear on outer edges of fronts (no feathering).

Question 1 - since these are unidirectional (I think?) tires, is it advisable to swap the left and right's (keeping the correct direction by unmounting and remounting then balancing) on both fronts and rears? These are my daily driving tires and I would like to get as much life as I can out of them.

Question 2 - Is the alignment adjustable to tune this wear pattern to something a bit more balanced in terms of wear? What is the impact of doing this for street driving and track driving?

Thanks!

anto1150

It all depends on your driving-style and what you do with your car.

You can swap inside-outside, but I suggest working on the alignment to solve the problem and make your tires wear evenly.

Camber angle is your mission:
When it's less negative (wheels close to vertical) you will have heavy outside wear on spirited/track driving, but even wear on "normal" driving;
When more negative (vertical angle open at the bottom) you'll get close-to-even wear on spirited/track driving, but you'll wear the inside-edge on "normal" street driving.
Toe also effect (less than camber) inside-outside wear.

What's your actual alignment?

kt

PO had alignment done 10k miles ago. I don't have the results from that so have no idea what it is set at now. I was hoping to get some advice before I go get another alignment.

I don't believe the car has ever been tracked (or pushed hard) before my DE last week (I've only had it for 4 months). So with that assumption, I'd say 95% of the uneven wear pattern was on normal driving. I would expect that would change to maybe 85-90% normal driving in the next year.

What's a "good" 4 wheel alignment typically run for these 996's anyway?

anto1150

I'm not a 996 expert, but all 911s are much the same... had some experience on a 997 a few years ago: +/- the same as my 964...

I'd go -1,2° camber all 4 wheels and +0,5 mm toe each wheel. I'm very happy with this alignment and my tire wear (and heat) evenly.
You could strart with that, and then adjust to your tastes...

hope it helps
Anto

dan212

Previous owner aligned it 10K miles ago?? You need to align the car now. Thats a lot of miles or time between alignment. Easy to knock it off on rough roads (from your location, I'd say not rare).

Also keep in mind that "certified Pre-Owned" does NOT mean it was aligned. The pilot sports can be swapped left to right, but with 10K (and unknown time) since the last alignment (and to what you don't know). Save yourself a bunch by having the car aligned and set up by a good shop.

Nothing wrong with your car.. Its just time..

Tires:
You don't mention how old the tires are. I replace street rubber every 2-3 years (3 is MAX) regardless of wear. The tires get hard as they age. How old are these tires?

rideau

Pilot Sports are asymmetrical, not directional. That means you can swap wheels and tires side to side but can't take tires off and remount so that inside edge will be outside edge.