Chewing up tire only on one side

[optronix]

What could be happening here? I understand my camber is borderline extreme for the street at -3.5 in the front, but why only one side, and why does it look like something is cutting into the tire?See pics for reference (photos may be out of order, uploaded from my phone); chewed up tires are from the passenger side front, other pics are from drivers side front. I’ve looked inside the fender well and can’t see any clear signs of rubbing.

A couple other notes:
- I cut through the OEM Michelins on the inner shoulder too, but I noticed a distinct noise when turning slowly in parking lots after the 275 Falkens were installed
- car is also lowered on Eibach prokit
- I’ve done a total of 4 autocross events on these tires, but they were rotated after the first (7 runs) front to rear. 3 autocross events after, about 22-25 runs led to what you see in these pics. The rear passenger sides (that used to be on the front) look even better than the “clean” ones in these pics, so scratching my head if there’s some sort of “interference” on the passenger side because those tires would be marked up too.

In any case I’ll be dialing back the camber to -2.5, but honestly probably not until spring. Could toe cause something like this???

And is this tire still good if I fix the root cause? There’s only like 2500 miles on it and a couple dozen runs ffs…

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[elh0102]

I think that both camber and toe settings, along with heat could cause this type damage, but I believe it would have to be more extreme that -3.5. I used to run that much on an M3 and had nothing more than some accelerated inside wear expected. Looks like some separation going on, and I would not use it on track.

 

[mopar_man]

That has to be a combo of toe and camber. We have a Durango RT with the tow and go and the factory tires were worn similarly because of the extremely aggressive alignment those things have from the factory.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Looks like some toe drag and also delamination. What's your toe at? Keep in mind autox or track use has a tendency to wiggle alignment loose if the lock nut wasn't cranked down pretty well or if they didn't roll the car a bit and recheck the alignment.

The previous gen of falken 200tw were known for some delamination. 3.5 is on the upper end of aggressive for a street tire, but I would suspect this is a combo of low tire pressure and some toe drag. If you start getting any chunks out, it's definitely delam and a bad tire. You could show it to whomever you bought the tires from and see if they can replace them under warranty. It's not "unsafe" until you see cords .

 

[optronix]

Looks like some toe drag and also delamination. What's your toe at? Keep in mind autox or track use has a tendency to wiggle alignment loose if the lock nut wasn't cranked down pretty well or if they didn't roll the car a bit and recheck the alignment.

The previous gen of falken 200tw were known for some delamination. 3.5 is on the upper end of aggressive for a street tire, but I would suspect this is a combo of low tire pressure and some toe drag. If you start getting any chunks out, it's definitely delam and a bad tire. You could show it to whomever you bought the tires from and see if they can replace them under warranty. It's not "unsafe" until you see cords .

I was thinking the same about the alignment being knocked out or a nut coming loose, but wasn't necessarily thinking about trying to ping Tire Rack to see if I could get the tire replaced due to delamination. They are the current generation (RT660+) but worth a shot because it is just the one tire.

I'm still curious about the noise while turning because I can still hear it but very much diminished with the OEM wheels and 265 all seasons on. But I have no clue what the hell could be causing the noise... there are no signs of any rubbing in the fender well and no idea where else the tire would come into contact with anything. Only reason I notice anything is because I'm listening hard for it- I honestly don't know if the noise was there before I got the tires installed or not, but it definitely got a lot more noticeable with the wider tires.

I'll start with the alignment, see where it goes. And try to see if Tire Rack will send me a new tire.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I was thinking the same about the alignment being knocked out or a nut coming loose, but wasn't necessarily thinking about trying to ping Tire Rack to see if I could get the tire replaced due to delamination. They are the current generation (RT660+) but worth a shot because it is just the one tire.

I'm still curious about the noise while turning because I can still hear it but very much diminished with the OEM wheels and 265 all seasons on. But I have no clue what the hell could be causing the noise... there are no signs of any rubbing in the fender well and no idea where else the tire would come into contact with anything. Only reason I notice anything is because I'm listening hard for it- I honestly don't know if the noise was there before I got the tires installed or not, but it definitely got a lot more noticeable with the wider tires.

I'll start with the alignment, see where it goes. And try to see if Tire Rack will send me a new tire.

What does the noise sound like? Can you consistently reproduce it?

 

[optronix]

What does the noise sound like? Can you consistently reproduce it?

On the wider tires with +45 offset wheels yes, pretty easily... going parking lot speeds around a 90 degree turn in either direction. If I turn hard I don't notice/hear anything. It's also notably much harder to hear with the OEM wheels and tires back on but I'm pretty sure it's still there.

As with most noises they're pretty hard to describe, but it's a sort of resonation/vibration. Not loud at all but I can feel it. I honestly think most people wouldn't notice it.

My brain wants to tell me something is rubbing but it could also be something in the steering I suppose. And if you look closely in the tire images, it looks like something is physically cutting into the tire on the inner edge-

 

[elh0102]

My brain wants to tell me something is rubbing but it could also be something in the steering I suppose. And if you look closely in the tire images, it looks like something is physically cutting into the tire on the inner edge-

Yes, it does look that way, but some separations can give that appearance as well. If it were contacting something I believe you would have found it. Regardless of any alignment issue, I think it's possible that you have a bad tire.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Yes, it does look that way, but some separations can give that appearance as well. If it were contacting something I believe you would have found it. Regardless of any alignment issue, I think it's possible that you have a bad tire.

I agree. It does look like some tire delam.

The single line I'm not too worried about since that can happen with stickier rubber and hard driving (usually follows the belt line). The camo looking scrub is more toe drag-like.

My other thought was maybe if it's a groan/creak sound when turning from that side that it could be a bad ball joint that could be causing some tire drag from toe play, but that would likely come with some popping noises and rattling on rough roads or at higher speeds. Could also cause shaky steering and some pulling which hasn't been described here.

You can jack up just that side, grab the whole wheel by hand, and shake it hard. If it wiggles or plays at all, it's definitely a bad joint in that area. Grab at 12 and 6 then 9 and 3 when shaking and take note if either feels off.

 

[s219]

Everything about that one tire suggests it has a defect and/or wasn't fully cooked. The lines and the feathering seem to be exposing layers and delamination, which I wouldn't expect to see on a properly made tire.

 

[ABPDE5]

@optronix
Hey, completely unrelated, but I stumbled on these last night and thought of you (re: your consistently provided, constructive feedback on camber issues w. lowering springs):

https://whitelineperformance.com/pr...046&gbraid=0AAAAAq1zIsjbsuHhpBi-L2f9c8SaCvJ_P

 

[optronix]

@optronix
Hey, completely unrelated, but I stumbled on these last night and thought of you (re: your consistently provided, constructive feedback on camber issues w. lowering springs):

https://whitelineperformance.com/products/kca570-civic-offset-front-strut-mount?currency=USD&variant=44907281547462&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&stkn=c4572ef04fe9&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22077766046&gbraid=0AAAAAq1zIsjbsuHhpBi-L2f9c8SaCvJ_P

I like seeing the options, but... $500 for .5 degrees seems kind of crazy. The caster is interesting though, maybe it's worth it for that alone...

But regardless, I think I'm plunging towards a set of coilovers in the spring.

 

[ABPDE5]

I like seeing the options, but... $500 for .5 degrees seems kind of crazy. The caster is interesting though, maybe it's worth it for that alone...

But regardless, I think I'm plunging towards a set of coilovers in the spring.

The caster is what got my attention. On the Touring section of Dreamshop, Honda has camber plates, caster bearings, etc. I was (naively) hopeful that when they brought these HRC parts to market, we'd get something similar. After the reveal last night, I went looking elsewhere, haha.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

The castor change is HUGE. Thats a lot to add in this geo.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

If you go to coils, just make sure to get support and time to tune them in properly. I've seen a lot of people just crank it up to stiff thinking they'll go faster, only to find out they're going slower. The ideal coil will use a lot of shock travel and avoid being stiff just to be stiff.

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