uneven rear tyre wear

NigeB

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Hi again Folks, when I took my old wheels off I noticed that one of the rear tyres was badly worn on the inside only. Any thoughts on which component of the rear suspension may need attention?
 

billz

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If it has been lowered then it does alter the camber i do believe this is normal unless like you think a component has failed
I have followed a few zeds that have been lowered and it is quite noticeable when you drive behind them some more than others
 

t-tony

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It's a must to turn Z3 rear tyres on the rim, especially if you have spacers fitted to get the best mileage out of them. The rear suspension has in built negative camber, but spacers exaggerate it.

Tony.
 

NigeB

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If it has been lowered then it does alter the camber i do believe this is normal unless like you think a component has failed
I have followed a few zeds that have been lowered and it is quite noticeable when you drive behind them some more than others
The car is running on standard suspension but with 15 mm spacers and only one side is showing uneven wear. That is whatmakes me think that something is worn.......:(
 

NigeB

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It's a must to turn Z3 rear tyres on the rim, especially if you have spacers fitted to get the best mileage out of them. The rear suspension has in built negative camber, but spacers exaggerate it.

Tony.
unfortunately the yokahamas I now have fitted can only run one way. :(
 

t-tony

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unfortunately the yokahamas I now have fitted can only run one way. :(
That's not a problem Nige, I had directional tyres on my Z3, you just remove the tyres from the rims and turn them to the opposite direction and fit the wheels to the other side of the car. If one tyre is wearing worse than the other you may have an arm bush or similar problem. How big a difference is there in tread depths?

Tony.
 

Stevo7682

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When I've had mine on the wheel alignment ramp both rear show negative camber but nearside is out of tolerance that's the one I have the most inner edge wear on 92k on mine original rear end plan a rebuild end this year see where I am after that .
 

NigeB

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That's not a problem Nige, I had directional tyres on my Z3, you just remove the tyres from the rims and turn them to the opposite direction and fit the wheels to the other side of the car. If one tyre is wearing worse than the other you may have an arm bush or similar problem. How big a difference is there in tread depths?

Tony.
Thanks Tony, one side is about 1.5 - 2 mm more worn than the other, may be worth getting the back end set up, not been done for a couple of years.
 

NigeB

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When I've had mine on the wheel alignment ramp both rear show negative camber but nearside is out of tolerance that's the one I have the most inner edge wear on 92k on mine original rear end plan a rebuild end this year see where I am after that .
Me too, I am at 99k and thinking about a full suspension rebuild.
 

t-tony

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There is nothing to adjust on the rear of a Z3 mate.:)
Thanks Tony, one side is about 1.5 - 2 mm more worn than the other, may be worth getting the back end set up, not been done for a couple of years.
To be honest I wouldn't be too concerned, have you owned and used these tyres for all their life?

Tony.
 

NigeB

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There is nothing to adjust on the rear of a Z3 mate.:)

To be honest I wouldn't be too concerned, have you owned and used these tyres for all their life?

Tony.
perhaps I will stop worrying about it!:thumbsup: Got the tyres with the car 3 years ago but they seemed ok at the last2 mot's. I think I will go under next weekend and have a wiggle at the back end just to satisfy myself. Thanks again Tony
 

t-tony

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perhaps I will stop worrying about it!:thumbsup: Got the tyres with the car 3 years ago but they seemed ok at the last2 mot's. I think I will go under next weekend and have a wiggle at the back end just to satisfy myself. Thanks again Tony
The point I was making mate was perhaps that particular tyre had some previous wear (maybe from being on the front?) and once a tyre starts to wear in a particular way it will continue whatever adjustments you may make. Keep a close eye on your new tyres and you may well be pleasantly surprised that you have little to worry about.:thumbsup:

Tony.
 

NigeB

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The point I was making mate was perhaps that particular tyre had some previous wear (maybe from being on the front?) and once a tyre starts to wear in a particular way it will continue whatever adjustments you may make. Keep a close eye on your new tyres and you may well be pleasantly surprised that you have little to worry about.:thumbsup:

Tony.
I see what you mean Tony, you could be right. I will keep an eye on the new ones as you suggest. Many thanks for the help!:)
 

DavidM

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perhaps I will stop worrying about it!:thumbsup: Got the tyres with the car 3 years ago but they seemed ok at the last2 mot's. I think I will go under next weekend and have a wiggle at the back end just to satisfy myself. Thanks again Tony
I had a similar experience - inner treads gave in vey quickly after being on the car 3 years - don't how long the tyres had been on before I bought it - I've 20 mm spacers on and the car is lowered.
 

NigeB

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I had a similar experience - inner treads gave in vey quickly after being on the car 3 years - don't how long the tyres had been on before I bought it - I've 20 mm spacers on and the car is lowered.
Hi David, what concerns me is that its only on one side of the car on mine so might be a component failure.:nurse: I can feel surgery coming on!
 

Antm72

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Does the car sit flat if you measure from arch to ground either side at the rear ?
 

Redline

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It's a must to turn Z3 rear tyres on the rim, especially if you have spacers fitted to get the best mileage out of them. The rear suspension has in built negative camber, but spacers exaggerate it.

Tony.
Was wondering @t-tony - did you adjust the camber with lowered suspension and/or spacers fitted? I presume you'd try and get closer to the BMW settings to reduce the impact of the geometry changes from spacers and lowered suspension.
 

Antm72

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I found my zed to sit lower drivers side than passenger it was only more noticable when i lowered it.
It may be subframe bush wear that causes it but when you read about it on line its quite a common thing for one side to sit differently.
I leveled it out with spring pads so its mm perfect it may be a lazy bush but a pad has sat it level and if its causing tyre wear is a way to fix until you get the beam looked at.
 

t-tony

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Was wondering @t-tony - did you adjust the camber with lowered suspension and/or spacers fitted? I presume you'd try and get closer to the BMW settings to reduce the impact of the geometry changes from spacers and lowered suspension.
No mate, the K&W suspension was already on the Z3 when I bought it, I added the spacers a couple of years later and just managed the tyre wear as I described. There is no adjustment on the rear of a Z3.

Tony.
 
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