Tyre problems

[brilie]

As some of you will have already noticed earlier this month I had a puncture
( photo of the month winner )
Ive since had my mechanic to have a look because of the excessive wear
on the inside 40mm on the rear tyres ,both tyres are wearing on the inner edge
but he he’s checked bushes which are fine and no other means of adjustment.
Just wondering if anybody has any answers please other than springs or shockers
which was the only possible solution we could come up with?..
Answers on a postcard please

 

[mrscalex]

You may or may not have a problem specific to your car. BMWs in general are well known for having the rear geometry set up in a way that's detrimental to rear inner edge tyre wear. My brother's 1 Series does it. And try googling for the uproar on 5 Gran Turismos.

That said unless the rear beam bushes have been done in recent years I doubt very much all your bushes are fine. The beam bushes are knackered on most Z3s. Whether this would be enough to wear your tyres in this way I don't know.

Personally I don't do 1000s of miles in my Z3s and I've only ever worn out one pair of rear tyres. And I can't remember if they tracked out or not. So can't speak with much direct experience.

 

[brilie]

You may or may not have a problem specific to your car. BMWs in general are well known for having the rear geometry set up in a way that's detrimental to rear inner edge tyre wear. My brother's 1 Series does it. And try googling for the uproar on 5 Gran Turismos.

That said unless the rear beam bushes have been done in recent years I doubt very much all your bushes are fine. The beam bushes are knackered on most Z3s. Whether this would be enough to wear your tyres in this way I don't know.

Personally I don't do 1000s of miles in my Z3s and I've only ever worn out one pair of rear tyres. And I can't remember if they tracked out or not. So can't speak with much direct experience.

Thank you, this gives me something to think about .

 

[t-tony]

There are at least 2 members on here who have owned their Z3 from new, so perhaps they could throw some light on if their cars have worn the insides of the rear tyres from being new or if it is something which has only affected the cars as the suspension bushes have aged and deteriorated.

Tony.

 

[brilie]

Thanks Tony , I’ll wait and see if anybody can cast any light
on this problem .

 

[Z Victor 1]

It will be those awful wheels. You should just get shut of them, but I may know a buyer if they are very cheap.

 

[brilie]

It will be those awful wheels. You should just get shut of them, but I may know a buyer if they are very cheap.

Thanks for those words of wisdom Ken, didn’t think of that for some reason,
Bye the way those wheels are very expensive

 

[gookah]

is the car lowered?, that will eat the inside edge of rear tyres the camber increases the more it is lowered, there is no ideal way to adjust it other than re-welding new brackets onto the trailing arms

 

[brilie]

No it’s not been lowered all standard as far as I’m aware.

 

[Eddie Zedder]

If I remember correctly @Antm72 fitted these subframe bushes that straightens up the geometry. They work by lifting the subframe by 12mm to correct the camber and then spacers are used on the diff bolts to drop it by the same amount so the drive shaft stays at the same level. Clever stuff.

Rear Subframe Bushings - BMW E36 318ti / Z3

These polyurethane bushings will stiffen the rear subframe. They are available in "stock height" to retain the stock suspension geometry or "12mm" to raise the subframe to correct severe negative camber by roughly 4 degrees. Fits BMW E36 318ti and Z3 Revshift bushing lube included. Sold as a...

revshift.com

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Or something like these

Rear Camber and Toe Adjustment Kit Serrated E30 E21 E34 Z3 E36 COMPACT 0072 | eBay

BMW E30 Z3 Z4 E36 Compact. -Used for fast changing camber and toe angle of the. -This kit has been specifically designed to easily. rear wheels. set the wheels in the vertical position. We are specialize in DRIFT HIGH PERFORMANCE custom parts and accessories.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[t-tony]

I'd be interested to see those fitted on a Z4.

Tony.

 

[Mint]

Brian, I've recently replaced both my rears due to the same problem. I was changing the parking brake shoes and had a look at the tyres while the wheels were off. They were both worn down to the cords on the inside edge , I put it down to the camber on the rear of Z3s. But like most Z3s that haven't had any work done the beam bushes are shot But as both were worn pretty much the same I'm not too worried

So a £25 parking brake job turned into £220

 

[brilie]

Hi Dave,your tyres are nearly as bad as mine! Lucky you had the brakes
to do or who knows when they would have blown! Maybe new bushes will be the first step to take for me and then keep an eye on things!
Hard to believe so much tread on 90% of tyre then down to the wire.

 

[t-tony]

When buying rear tyres for a Z3 it’s well worth buying a tyre which can be turned on the rim, or moved to the other side of the car. That way you can get more out of the tyre. Also regularly check your pressures too.

Tony.

 

[Bozzy]

I remember the embarrsment of @t-tony finding my rear tyres in that state whilst my zed was on his mot ramp .
I'd driven there from Nottingham in the wet, in the middle of winter and wasn't exactly pootling cus I was running late for said appointment .

 

[mwpe]

I agree with @t-tony, I always had this problem on my E30, I had it for 20 years and almost 200,000 miles. The rear tyres always wore down on the inner edge in spite changing beam bushes and everything else which may have affected it. As we know the Z has basically E30 rear suspension.
The strange thing is my Z doesn't wear unevenly at all.

 

[t-tony]

I remember the embarrsment of @t-tony finding my rear tyres in that state whilst my zed was on his mot ramp .
I'd driven there from Nottingham in the wet, in the middle of winter and wasn't exactly pootling cus I was running late for said appointment .

Seems like yesterday Steve.

Tony.

 

[Bozzy]

Seems like yesterday Steve.

Tony.

It sure does Tony but it must have been about 3 years ago ?.

 

[t-tony]

At least that mate, it's 2 and a half years since I waved bye to Tanvics.

Tony.