negative camber

[shaqkur]

"Unfortunately, Mazda 3 owners are condemned to a life of rapid tire wear, and there is not much that can be done to change this. The Mazda 3 is engineered with negative camber on the rear wheels. This is a permanent design feature and cannot be altered. Although the negative camber helps provide good handling, it also causes tires to wear rapidly on the inside edges. Owners most often notice this when they rotate their tires for the first time. When the tires that had been on the rear are rotated to the front, the excessive wear on the inside edges of the tires causes very loud road noise. If you have directional tires that can only be rotated between front and rear (as opposed to side-to-side), the problem is likely to be worse. The noise will be its worst at lower speeds.

The Mazda 3 is a great car in most ways, but the tire wear problem is a definite negative point... and there isn't a thing you can do to change it. You can (and should) make sure the car is aligned properly, and this may minimize the problem. But the problem will not go away. I like my 3, but if I had known this, I most definitely would not have bought the car."


This was a comment made by a user fr MazdaForum.com. Just wondering wht TM3 members experience or opinion about this. Right now I am dealing with the same uneven inner wear tire issues.
And most likely due for a new set of tires at 65000 km. 40000km on my all season and 25000 km on my winters.

[Donutz]

There are some true statements in that post, but it isn't entirely accurate. With the addition of an adjustable rear camber kit camber can be adjusted. Changing the camber settings will help alleviate some(or all) of the camber wear issues but also impacts hanlding; but that's another story.

[JayJay18]

My understanding is that the "toe" is the culpret for tire wear in the front the rears are always more adjustable due to the adjustable camber kit. All that needs to be done is the toe needs to be adjusted and the tire wear should be fine

[shaqkur]

There are some true statements in that post, but it isn't entirely accurate. With the addition of an adjustable rear camber kit camber can be adjusted. Changing the camber settings will help alleviate some(or all) of the camber wear issues but also impacts hanlding; but that's another story.

yeah, just came back fr the dealership and was told the same thing. so its handling vs rapid tire wear. it is wht it is I guess.

[bluemazda3]

i've ran my tires for 3 years... all even wear... no camber... I have the camber kit

[McGuyver_3]

My understanding is that the "toe" is the culpret for tire wear in the front the rears are always more adjustable due to the adjustable camber kit. All that needs to be done is the toe needs to be adjusted and the tire wear should be fine

correct camber adjustment does little, but can be rectified with the adjustable camber kit. To prevent your tires from wearing onthe inside however, make sure your toe adjustment is not off. the negative camber and the toe being off causes the tire to move forwards but be forced inwards causing the tire to wear a lot quicker then normal in that particular area

[sarujo]

I presume that this negative camber in the rear wheels is still present with the 2010's as well? Any 2010 owners here who can chime in a comment on their tire wear experiences? This thread makes the issue to be a major problem - ie, having to change rubber very frequently. But is this really the case?



"Unfortunately, Mazda 3 owners are condemned to a life of rapid tire wear, and there is not much that can be done to change this. The Mazda 3 is engineered with negative camber on the rear wheels. This is a permanent design feature and cannot be altered. Although the negative camber helps provide good handling, it also causes tires to wear rapidly on the inside edges. Owners most often notice this when they rotate their tires for the first time. When the tires that had been on the rear are rotated to the front, the excessive wear on the inside edges of the tires causes very loud road noise. If you have directional tires that can only be rotated between front and rear (as opposed to side-to-side), the problem is likely to be worse. The noise will be its worst at lower speeds.

[McGuyver_3]

I presume that this negative camber in the rear wheels is still present with the 2010's as well? Any 2010 owners here who can chime in a comment on their tire wear experiences? This thread makes the issue to be a major problem - ie, having to change rubber very frequently. But is this really the case?

my old 05 had so many issues with the alignment everything was in the red. The main adjustments I ever made was the toe and I never had any tire wear issues. My 10 had super severe camber issues due to being dropped 2 inches. With the toe being in the proper spec tire camber wear was not a severe issue but was there after 1 season. I put a camber kit in and have not had any issues since. Going with a subtle drop you wont run in to these problems

[Sly2010mz3]

"Unfortunately, Mazda 3 owners are condemned to a life of rapid tire wear, and there is not much that can be done to change this. The Mazda 3 is engineered with negative camber on the rear wheels. This is a permanent design feature and cannot be altered. Although the negative camber helps provide good handling, it also causes tires to wear rapidly on the inside edges. Owners most often notice this when they rotate their tires for the first time. When the tires that had been on the rear are rotated to the front, the excessive wear on the inside edges of the tires causes very loud road noise. If you have directional tires that can only be rotated between front and rear (as opposed to side-to-side), the problem is likely to be worse. The noise will be its worst at lower speeds.

The Mazda 3 is a great car in most ways, but the tire wear problem is a definite negative point... and there isn't a thing you can do to change it. You can (and should) make sure the car is aligned properly, and this may minimize the problem. But the problem will not go away. I like my 3, but if I had known this, I most definitely would not have bought the car."


This was a comment made by a user fr MazdaForum.com. Just wondering wht TM3 members experience or opinion about this. Right now I am dealing with the same uneven inner wear tire issues.
And most likely due for a new set of tires at 65000 km. 40000km on my all season and 25000 km on my winters.


I have a 2010 Mazda 3 sport GT. I am also having issues with all my tires showing inner wear issues... I have just had my 32000K service done
and placed my OEM yoko avid s34d back on... I was told that my Tires will not pass my MVI (NB) in July so a replacment of 4 tires will need to be done (850.00).
The yoko's have been rotated as required per warranty and I am now trying to get yoko to cough up some kind of % off the next set. I will keep you informed as to what the percentage is if any....The yoko's have only 17500K on them and are rated for 60000k

[slam525i]

I've had my 2010 for 3 years & 1.5 months. It's been aligned twice and both times almost everything was in the green (despite hitting potholes so big that it killed a pair of OEM tires, and had another pair crap out as the belts inside started moving outwards and cut their way out of the tires. The OEM Yokos suck. I have Pilot Sport A/S on them now.)

The only "tire wear issue" I have is that I noticed the contact patch in the rear is relatively narrow compared with the front. I just assume that's because I so seldom have people in the back (The tire pressures are fine.)

I'd be weary of reducing the rear camber; on a brake-induced over-steer, a lack of camber would mean your car is more willing to keep swinging (provided your stability is off).