Butcher Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Put my winter tyres on today and the inside edge of my tyres were worn a little more than expected. See exhibit a. The actual wear rate of the tyres I've been pretty happy with. And if you have a look at exhibit b. (below), you can see that apart from the extreme inside edge, they're worn fairly evenly with maybe 1mm difference from one side of the tyre to the other. Driver side is worn worse, but they're both the same. Like I say, the tyres have lasted well. What I'm really concerned with is grip, particularly in the upcoming icy, snowy winter. The car suffers badly from understeer, and loses traction very easily on the front. Would having wheel alignment done make a big, or even noticeable difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I wouldn't bother with tracking. I guess you got some camber since your insides are more worn? If there's no noticeable pull to either side while cruising and having your steering wheel straight, or any other strange steering issues you can't otherwise explain while driving in good weather, there shouldn't be a need for an alignment. If you changed some suspension components then it's recommended. The magic word you've mentioned here is grip. Grip doesn't have much to do with alignment, well a bit when cornering really hard, but mostly grip is all about tyres. And looking at your tyres they don't even look like winter tyres to me. But then again i live in Finland, and our winters are a bit different than over there i guess . But nevertheless if your problem is understeer and loss of grip in winter conditions, the solution is very simple: invest in some proper winter tyres. I've used Continentals for the past five years and they're just great. Never i've had serious problems in the winter, i can pretty much drive like in the summer no matter if it's ice or snow or dry. No bulls**t. ABS and LSD help a lot but it's mostly about the tyres... take a look at these for example: http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=48510672.110.22533&sowigan=Wi&Breite=195&Quer=55&Felge=15&Speed=&Load=&kategorie=6&Marke=Continental&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&Herst=Continental&m_s=3&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&filter_preis_bis=&filter_preis_von=&homologation=&search_tool=standard&Label=E-C-72-2&details=Ordern&typ=D-119180 and compare the tread pattern to your current tyres. I'm using Continental Conti Viking Contacts which are so-called "nordic" winter tyres, and are a step more hardcore than "central europe" winter tyres. If you really want to play on the safe side, invest in some nordic winters. But i'm not sure where you can get them, the site i linked you shows different tyre options when using the english webshop compared to when i browse it in finnish. Maybe you can send an e-mail and ask for nordics? Anyway this is just my experience and opinion... but hope it helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butcher Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 Thanks for the info. Dexter. The tyres in the pic are my 'summer' tyres which have just came off (looking back I can see the wording is confusing!) The're actually all-season Falkens, and I think they'll be going to visit the little tyre angels in the sky now. The ones I just put on are M&S Uniroyals, which were cheap, but turned out very good in cold temps last year. Not sure about the snow though because last year we had the mildest winter I can remember, but reviews are not especially favourable for snow performance from what I've read. I did look into heavier duty winter tyres, and almost bought myself a pair of Nokians to go on the front, but it was working out expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noodels Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Quote:The car suffers badly from understeer, and loses traction very easily on the front. maybe to do with no tread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krzys Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Yeah the lack of tread probably was your biggest culprit there, alignment would help the inside wearing but it doesn't look too bad to be honest, I've seen much worse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippyross Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 First off camber doesnt kill tires its toe does so id say you should get an alignment done, but tbh it doesnt look all that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simpo Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Worth checking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3gdean Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 that tracking is minutely out, going off of those pics. like said toe kills the tyres, camber only does when its extreme camber like stance camber then you'll have issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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