gatemaster

04-545, sports pkg
My orig dunlops got 19,000 miles before i noticed the EXtreme inside tire edge wear on all 4 tires. Rears worse than fronts... to the cords - embarassing to say. I should have noticed the bad wear sooner but only symptom was tramlining. Increased noise was not noticeable but maybe logic 7 drowned it out ? Mid section of tread probably had another 5,000 miles to go...
Replaced with bridgestone 040s (dunlops out-of-stock).
Custom alignment settings, from: to:
Front camber: -.5 deg (l) -.5 deg ? to: -.2 deg (l) -.2 deg ?
Front toe: +1/16 in (l) +5/32 in ? to: +1/16 in (l) +1/16 in ?
Rear camber: -1.7 deg (l) -1.9 deg? to: -1.2 deg (l) -1.2 deg ?
Rear toe: -1/32 in (l) +1/16 in ? to: +3/32 in (l) +3/32 in ?

As you can see, initial settings were different for each side left compared to right. I don't know if bumps were to blame or it was that way from factory. At $300/tire, i am now keeping a closer eye on wear and hope i have found an alignment shop that knows what it's doing. They are interested in tracking tire wear and want to do an quick inspection after driving 1,600 miles at these settings.

Oh, since the dunlops were "out-of-stock" i got the bridgestone 040s. So far the OE factory ride has returned.... no tramilining, smooth ride, noise no worse than dunlops which i did not object to.

BTW, dealer quoted me 2.5 hours at $110/hour (what a deal- ha ! !). Cost at alignment shop $200. And they even talk to you in terms you can understand, make recommendations based on driving style, etc, etc. No mention of caster/camber plates- above adjustments are made on factory setup.

Will let you know what it's like after 1600 miles.... mike

EBMCS03

Humm interesting... Thanks for the info. keep us updated.

Wonder why the alignments so different on the 4 wheels from factory...

JWO

I just got new tires (after 21K miles) and also had to get alignment. I had the exact same issue. The inside tire edge on all 4 tires were worn down to the cords. My mechanic was totally surprised at how much my alignment was off. I'm wondering if this is an issue with many owners of e60 w/sp pkg.

blackbird6SPD

Where ia the Alligment shop located? What alligment machine do they use? Please supply the phone number so that can talk to them.

bankerboyz

I also had the exact same problem a few months ago. I had taken the car in for an oil change and software update. I was getting to ready to leave when the service manager whom I was talking to glanced over and looked at my front wheels which were at an angle. Upon further inspection we realized that the inside of all four tyres had been worn down to the threads. He basically took my keys away from me and told me that he was not going to let me drive my car off the premises. Well, I eventually did get to drive my car away a few days later with four new tyres, an alignment and approximately $1700 less in my wallet.