Tex735

I had my alignment done recently to correct the off-center steering wheel. I am kind of a stickler about tires so I periodically check to make sure they are wearing properly. Well, I noticed some heel - toe wear after about 3 weeks. I mentioned this to the SA and he told me that this is normal and I can expect to get about 20K out of a set of tires. That seems WAY low. I know that the caster angle is what needs to be adjusted when this is happening, but the SA refused to even attempt to correct the setting. Am I losing my mind here, or do all 2004 530i sport package cars have heel toe wear very quickly on the front axle? If the car just wears tires like that, then why did the SA try to tell me that my active steering was causing this by correcting itself while going down the highway? Wouldn't the driver make those corrections himself if the AFS wasn't doing it? The excuses seem very flimsy to me. I paid for the stupid alignment and I would like to have it done correctly, but I am told that BMW is the only place that can do this service due to the AFS. Anyone else had similar experiences?

Rossman_999

On my e61 the Fr wore uniform and lasted over 30K,

However the rear inside wear faster though and you proaly wont get much more than 25K

Rudy

I'm curious how "off center" your steering wheel was before your alignment. Why? Because with active steering cars, often times an off center steering wheel can be (and is supposed to be) fixed by a simple AS reset using the diagnostic computer system at the dealership. There are many dealers who are clueless about this and other AS related issues so I'm only wondering if you even needed an alignment in the first place.

As far as the irregular tire wear, are you familiar with the Dunlop runflat tire wear issue? Do you have Dunlop runflats on the car? Are you the original owner of the car?

Sorry to ask so many questions without giving you an answer but depending on some of your answers, there are many ways to go here...

faarcanal

I have not had any uneven wear. I do have Dunflops and they are worn out within 21,000 KM (13,000 miles!!!!). So you are getting better milage than me.

I don't do donuts and consider myself relatively gentle on tyres.

DrLev99

I've had plenty of alignments in the past 10 months on my ride, as many can attest to here (for those who are bored of hearing about it), however I am pretty certain that's there's not much that can be done to adjust the caster, which is a "set angle" on our cars. Toe alignment has the greatest impact on tire wear. Camber is the other...as you probably are aware.

Although caster doesn’t affect tire wear directly and actually has very little impact on tire wear, it does make the wheels lean or tilt when turning. This changes camber, and if it changes a lot, it can accelerate shoulder wear. This type of condition is common on vehicles like Mercedes-Benz and BMW's which have high caster settings. All of the techs that have aligned my car have told me the caster angle is preset and can't be adjusted (without caster plates), and that they only adjust the camber and toe during alignments. I have watched all of my alignments, and they've never tried to adjust caster (since I don't believe they can). It makes sense to me. My caster is way off-spec anyway due to my H&R springs.

Personally, I had toe-in related issues with my 19's, more of a saw-tooth pattern on the outer edge, which you'd expect...smooth one direction, jagged the other. Good luck figuring out your problem.

faarcanal

Does the remedy apply in Australia?

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry467226 <-- this refers to Dunlop in US honoring the warranty ie not a BMW issue. Have any Australian out there had experience with this claim?

Tex735

Well, I don't have the Dunlops. I have Bridgestone Potenza run-flats. If the caster angle is hard set from the factory, then it makes sense to me for the dealer to tell me that these cars wear tires fast. The thing that threw me for a loop was the mechanic telling me that the AFS was causing the wear due to the wheels turning faster during parking lot manuvers (umm... WHAT?!!!). I was, to say the least, a little abrasive to them when they told me that.

I am getting the "saw-tooth" wear that you are talking about. That is normally called heel-toe wear. I was not, however, aware that the toe setting could cause that. I wonder if they got the toe setting goofed up. I can tell you that when I first got the car back, at highway speed, just a little steering input sent the car off in a new direction very quickly and unpredictably. I told them about that and they corrected it. This wear could be left over from those two weeks. I didn't check the wear before I had them straighten the steering wheel for the third and final time.

So, the bottom line is that these cars wear tires fast. I guess I'll just have to live with it and get my tires rotated often. I am fortunate that I am able to do that by having the same size tires on both ends.

I am not the original owner. I bought the car about a month and a half ago and I don't know if the car has ever had an alignment. The previous owner let a LOT of things slide that could have (and are currently) been taken care of under warranty. He or she also had some stupid, cheap, over-size (too wide) tires on the back end that were shot from hitting potholes. I bought road hazard at the time of purchase, so I got the rears changed out through that. The dealer replaced the fronts due to wear, so I started with 4 brand new tires. I know the price of these little "gems" and I don't want to have to replace tires every other year.

So far, I absolutely love the car. I am just kind of a stickler for maintenance. I also expected BMW to have better service than Chevy. I have to admit that they treat me very well when I come in, but the quality of their mechanics (at least at my dealership) leave a lot to be desired.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I have some jack-stands in my future.

Tex735

Well, I have an update:

I have been driving for about 10 days since they re-did my alignment and straightened the steering wheel. I checked the front tires today for the tell-tale saw blade wear (heel-toe). It seems to be disapating!! This is a good thing!!! I guess the toe setting was off and they corrected that but didn't tell me.

Now, all is right with the world!! At least I'm happy.

DrLev99

Glad you got it squared away.

Camber misalignment usually won't wear a tire as much or as quickly as toe misalignment will. Toe misalignment scrubs the tires as they roll. Factoid I found online: "Only 1/8 inch of toe misalignment front or rear will scrub the tires sideways 28 feet for every mile traveled." That will certainly wear out a tire quickly.

Toe-in will wear the outer edge while toe-out will cause wear on the inner edge. In both instances, wear can be aggravated even more if the tires are under-inflated. So check those pressures often!

Low profile/performance tires tend to develop uneven wear patterns because of their belt and tread design. As the tire rolls along, the deflection and squirming of the tread produce harmonics that cause certain areas of the tread or ribs to wear more than others. After awhile, that heel and toe/washboard/saw-tooth wear pattern may develop which can also generate annoying noise and vibrations. I notice the noise on my 19's but only when turning at very low speed.

Unfortunately, rotating the tires usually won't help even out the tread, but I certainly plan on trying when I put my 19's back on soon, even though I can only rotate side-to-side with a staggered setup. I think my 17's are developing the opposite wear pattern compared to my 19's, since my last alignment. I guess I could go in for my 7th alignment in 10 months if I wanted to be sure.

Tex735

Thanks for the info. I used to drive a freakin' HUGE Chevy 4x4 with agressive mud grips. Talk about a PITA to keep the tires in good shape!!! I have lots of experience dealing with alignment issues. You have to chase it around for a while until you get it right for that particular vehicle (at least that has been my experience). Once you get it all set up right, try not to hit those curbs!!!