10 replies to this topic

[Qube]

I just a new set of rear tyres fitted to my 'Z' earlier today.

When the rear wheels were removed from the car I noticed that the tyres were feathered from about 4mm from the outside to 1mm on the inside.

Has anyone else experienced this, or is it common characteristic ?.

Looks like I'll have to book it in to the dealer under warranty.

[Baldieman]

Is this with the original bridgestones ??

The OEM tyre did have some issues and a 4 wheel alignment can solve the issue

[Paul_S]

I've not heard much about rear tyres feathering. I could be wrong but I didn't think there was a great deal of adjustment at the back.

It sounds like maybe the pressures were too low and the outside edge of the tyres took all the wear?

[BulletMagnet]

Just make sure all the tyres are inflated to the correct pressures and see how you get on.
Should be at 35psi on all corners

[dj350z]

What you are describing is not tyre feathering it is just uneven tyre wear probably due to incorrect tyre pressure as has been mentioned. The early 350 models did experience feathering on the front tyres with the original Bridgestone tyres and the factory set tow-in. Tyre feathering is where the tyre wears in a saw-tooth pattern and is evident by tyre roar coming from the front tyres.

[Paul_S]

...
Should be at 35psi on all corners

Yep, it's much easier to remember when you have 50/50 weight distribution

I put a sticker on Sarah's car just like ours has because I was fed up of looking it up in the book when I had dirty hands.

[Qube]

I never noticed the wear on the original bridgestones RE50A's.

The car is only 2 years old.

I changed to Falkens 452's after the Bridgestones only lasted 6 - 7K.

The 452's had done 10K and were on the limit.

The pressures were checked regularly and were 35psi.

Maybe as the Falkens are slightly softer than the Bridgstones I should increase the PSI by 1 or 2. Waht do you think ?

The car has gone in to the dealer today to have the catches on the roof renewed. I have asked the dealer to check the alignment while it is in.

Car should be ready at 4:00 today, so I should have a verdict.

Edited by Qube, 28 October 2010 - 12:15 PM.

[Qube]

Car returned from dealer, wheel alignment ok, within specs...

Must be a characteristic..

[Kano]

Doesnt sound usual. I have toyo proxes on the back which are a similar softness to the falkens and I'm currently on 10k on the rear with about 4mm left. Should get 12-13k out of them. Was getting over 15k on bridgestones 040s.

Driving style maybe? Do you drive quickly? Windy road on the commute?

[Stuart_J]

Never had a problem with feathering & I tend to "use" the car

I find dealer & tyre depot alignments a little random & always use Powerstation to set the car up, its a bit of a drive for me but they have done my last 3 cars with great results http://www.powerstat...k/alignment.asp I know they are percieved by many as Subaru specialists but they work on a lot of other cars & tend to set the cars up from first principles & only use the manufacturers figures as a guide. Most manufacturers dial in an amount of understeer in an atempt to make the car safer to drive for mr average (it gets scary at slower speeds) so a specialist alignment should always give you a better handling car

[Qube]

Doesnt sound usual. I have toyo proxes on the back which are a similar softness to the falkens and I'm currently on 10k on the rear with about 4mm left. Should get 12-13k out of them. Was getting over 15k on bridgestones 040s.

Driving style maybe? Do you drive quickly? Windy road on the commute?

The original RE50A's lasted about 6 -7 k on the rear. After 7k I had to change them as the rear was bouncing around, the Bridgestones felt really hard and become noisy.

Could be my driving style, I do tend to get up to speed quickly and drive mostly with the esp off (throttle response feels better). 90% of the 10k were travelled on A and B roads.

The first 8 miles of the commute is quite windy.

To be honest I'm quite pleased with 10k per tyre at £100.