Tyre wear on towed car (1 Viewer)

williat1

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Jan 30, 2008
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Hi,

I tow a Fiat Panda on an A frame behind my motorhome. I have had the car since new and it has covered 8000 miles with about 600 miles on tow.

The car had it's first service today and I was advised that the inner surface of the front tyre tread on both wheels was down to 3mm whilst the rest of the tread was 5mm.

My question is .... could this inner wear be due to towing or is it most likely to be due to a tracking problem? I'll get it tracked next week....... but has anyone else experienced uneven tyre wear on towed vehicles.


Regards


Williat1
 

American Dream

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Aug 20, 2007
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As far as I am aware, vehicle tracking/toe out, is set to take into account that, in the case of a Front Wheel Drive Car, the wheels are being driven by the engine...

This is not so with a toad..

Excess wear on the inner surfaces suggests a tow-out maladjustment.

8000 miles is well under what is to be expected from a pair of front tyres.

I'd get the wheel alignment checked first and, if out, argue the case based on that.

Has anyone else had this problem?
 

bobandjanie

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Apr 28, 2008
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Hi, we never had a problem with ours, have you made sure the steering lock is off. :Smile: Bob.

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williat1

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Jan 30, 2008
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Hi Bob,

Yes steering lock always off. I was wondering if the absence of power steering on the toad would put extra scrubbing on the tyres?

Regards

williat1
 

Geo

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Jul 29, 2007
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I'm of the opinion that the wear has been caused by incorrect tracking
wear caused as you suspect would be more evident on the outside eges
Geo
 

Braunston

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May 21, 2008
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Hi,

I had the same problem on the first service (12000) on our Panda Multi jet, had the tracking checked and the first chap couldn't find any problems, the second place I took it to suggested it was only out by a degree and not really necessary told him I wanted it adjusted which he said he did, had some Budget tyres fitted and 47000 miles later just had them replaced again even though they still had some life in them.

I really think it was the energy tyres that were fitted that were not that good on mileage, no real reason just a gut feeling.


Hi,

I tow a Fiat Panda on an A frame behind my motorhome. I have had the car since new and it has covered 8000 miles with about 600 miles on tow.

The car had it's first service today and I was advised that the inner surface of the front tyre tread on both wheels was down to 3mm whilst the rest of the tread was 5mm.

My question is .... could this inner wear be due to towing or is it most likely to be due to a tracking problem? I'll get it tracked next week....... but has anyone else experienced uneven tyre wear on towed vehicles.


Regards


Williat1

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craiggs

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Feb 20, 2010
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i would say its the camber angle or the tacking they should check both and tell you i went to bush tyes it will need doing asp now you no
 

pappajohn

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As far as I am aware, vehicle tracking/toe out, is set to take into account that, in the case of a Front Wheel Drive Car, the wheels are being driven by the engine...

This is not so with a toad..

Excess wear on the inner surfaces suggests a tow-out maladjustment.

?

agreed steve "the wheels are being driven by the engine"... which will take up any play in joints/bushings etc when driving but the tracking would need to be more than a couple of mm 'negative track' to scrub the inside of the tyres in 600 miles.

with all certainty its the 'normal' tracking that out.

i would say, if anything, the frame would cause the outside tread to scuff due to sideways pulling forces when cornering.
 

IrasciBill

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Mar 6, 2010
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Tyre Wear

Whilst I agree with much that has been said above, I think the most likely reason is the energy tyres as a previous post said. SWMBO has a Fiat 500 which has done fewer miles than your Panda and the front tyres need to be replaced. The wear is not uniform either, although the car has never been towed. My local tyre guy says the energy tyres don't last as long as ordinary tyres! :cry:

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American Dream

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My local tyre guy says the energy tyres don't last as long as ordinary tyres! :cry:

Pardon me for suggesting this but, doesn't this rather defeat the object of a greener environment!


Correct Pressure and Tracking must be the most vital adjustments regarding regular tyre wear across the whole width of the tread.

I had to laugh at this ad for the tyres.

"With MICHELIN EnergyTM Saver, you can benefit from Michelin's recognised longevity. Longer-lasting tyres also result in fewer worn tyres to recycle."
 

IrasciBill

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Mar 6, 2010
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SW Scotland
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Auto-Roller 500
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Since 2009 (after many years camping)
Tyre Wear

Pardon me for suggesting this but, doesn't this rather defeat the object of a greener environment!


Correct Pressure and Tracking must be the most vital adjustments regarding regular tyre wear across the whole width of the tread.

I had to laugh at this ad for the tyres.

"With MICHELIN EnergyTM Saver, you can benefit from Michelin's recognised longevity. Longer-lasting tyres also result in fewer worn tyres to recycle."

Yes, totally agree with you! Tyre guy says that the rubber compound used to achieve lower rolling resistance is the reason for the rapid wear. As for the Michelin advert, our experience is that tyres needing to be replaced at just over 6500 miles is not exactly "longevity". I used to use cheap, East European tyres on my last car and could get about 36,000 miles out of them!
 

American Dream

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Cheers Bill,

So that makes the purchase of these premium price tyres a bit of a nonsense then.....allegedly...as what you save in fuel costs is paid for in tyre purchase and more...:Doh:

So that's a possible 5 or 6-1 tyre ratio based on the figures you mention...

Steve.

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IrasciBill

Free Member
Mar 6, 2010
194
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SW Scotland
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Auto-Roller 500
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Since 2009 (after many years camping)
Tyre Wear

Cheers Bill,

So that makes the purchase of these premium price tyres a bit of a nonsense then.....allegedly...as what you save in fuel costs is paid for in tyre purchase and more...:Doh:

So that's a possible 5 or 6-1 tyre ratio based on the figures you mention...

Steve.

Certainly seems that way to us Steve. SWMBO's Fiat 500 is fitted with Continental tyres and they are well in excess of £100 each. :cry: We'd need to save an awful lot of fuel with them to justify that cost - and the road noise from them is horrendeous anyway - so we're investigating the alternatives available. :Smile:
 

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