Flat Tire/Tire Wear/Tire Replacement Questions - MS3

[dexter]

So I woke up this morning and came out to a flat driver side rear tire. I pumped it up and left to for a few hours and again it went flat. Knowing that my summer tires are near done and that I'd be buying a brand new set in the spring I took the wheel to crappy tire to see if they could just fix that flat to get me through until I put my snow tires on.

The tire was unrepairable as there was no puncture but the inside of the tire had just worn through. So I came home and took the tire off and just put my snow tires on both sides of the rear for now (probably safer than the spare). I noticed that the rear driver (that got the flat) was way more worn than the passenger rear. So for the guys who know about this kind of stuff, does it look like the difference in wear on left side vs the right look like a mechanical issue (suspension, etc) or did the left tire simply wear out faster than the right?

Left - Passenger Rear
Right - Driver Rear


Top - Driver Rear Bottom - Passenger Rear


Next, anyone have recommendations for new summer tires for my MS3? My local wheel shop is big into Nitto (I bought and really like my Nitto SN2 snow tires I got there) and while they seemingly get good reviews if anyone has some other thoughts I'd appreciate it. Should I order something online and just leave the snows on the rear until they get here or should I get something locally ASAP?

Thanks!

[McGuyver_3]

you have alignment issues.
as for tires all depends on the kind of driver you are. Personally I am a big fan of michelins and I am running pilot/super sports
The rear left tire is unsafe to drive on. If you feel like buying new summers now then do so. Personally I would say stick it out with the winters on the rear put the winters on the front and get an alignment done. then put your summers back on in the front s that is where the most wear happens.

[thegoodstink]

+1 with alignment issues. Your tires should generally wear at the same pace. That is, of course, if you pay attention to inflation pressure. If one tire was at low pressure all the time, it would wear faster.

As for tires, Goodyear has always been a favourite. The General UHP's are awesome in the rain. There are lots of good tires out there.

[Mr Wilson]

What the himself said above me.



Although he could fix that tire with a paper clip.

edit: someone got inbetween.

[dexter]

Alignment issues on the rear? (forgive the noobness) How is that fixed?

As for the type of driver I am, I drive a bit spiritedly on a regular basis, but haven't tracked the car and probably won't track it a ton next year either. Basically, spirited daily driving.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out!

[McGuyver_3]

+1 with alignment issues. Your tires should generally wear at the same pace. That is, of course, if you pay attention to inflation pressure. If one tire was at low pressure all the time, it would wear faster.

As for tires, Goodyear has always been a favourite. The General UHP's are awesome in the rain. There are lots of good tires out there.

wouldn't waste my time with generals. Driven on them before and really did not grow to like them

[Mr Wilson]

Get an alignment done. When your in hp on the weekends, give Altech a call. Just off kipling south of Bloor.

[McGuyver_3]

Alignment issues on the rear? (forgive the noobness) How is that fixed?

As for the type of driver I am, I drive a bit spiritedly on a regular basis, but haven't tracked the car and probably won't track it a ton next year either. Basically, spirited daily driving.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out!

there is a camber arm in the rear which controls camber and toe. You should be more concerned about the toe then the camber though.

[thegoodstink]

wouldn't waste my time with generals. Driven on them before and really did not grow to like them

I found they wore a little faster, but had superb grip. I'd usually get 2 summers outta them. I'm a very spirited driver though, to say the least!

To each his own. So many different tires, so little time...

[McGuyver_3]

I found they wore a little faster, but had superb grip. I'd usually get 2 summers outta them. I'm a very spirited driver though, to say the least!

To each his own. So many different tires, so little time...

Just out of curiosity what are you comparing the generals to?

[dexter]

Get an alignment done. When your in hp on the weekends, give Altech a call. Just off kipling south of Bloor.

Awesome, thanks to the recommendation. I'll check them out!

there is a camber arm in the rear which controls camber and toe. You should be more concerned about the toe then the camber though.

Ah, gotcha. That's what I wondered. Thanks for the reply!

[thegoodstink]

Just out of curiosity what are you comparing the generals to?

Not really comparing, just off the top of my head was saying they were decent. They have exceptional wet traction in my opinion. As for tires I've used for a good length of time to compare? Goodyear eagles, Bridgestone potenzas, BF Goodrich gforce (one of my favourites), Michelin pilots...etc.... I've tried a few. LOL. Currently trying my first set of yokahama's. They're not bad so far. Not really a performance tire though. They were stockers on my Lancer.

[zzz3]

you have an issue with toe likely. the outside of my tires wore out faster as well until toe was corrected (by altech).

wouldn't waste my time with generals. Driven on them before and really did not grow to like them

+1 they were mediocre at best.

[McGuyver_3]

Not really comparing, just off the top of my head was saying they were decent. They have exceptional wet traction in my opinion. As for tires I've used for a good length of time to compare? Goodyear eagles, Bridgestone potenzas, BF Goodrich gforce (one of my favourites), Michelin pilots...etc.... I've tried a few. LOL. Currently trying my first set of yokahama's. They're not bad so far. Not really a performance tire though. They were stockers on my Lancer.

Never was a fan of goodyears either. My mom had them on the murano and I could balance those every week if i wanted and they would be off. Although I really do like their winter ultragrip tire. Had them on my 05 and they were just amazing. Potenzas depends on which ones you are referring to. 760's meh they were ok but really not my cup of tea, the re 050's are like hockey pucks and wear super fast lol. Now the re 11's :O now theres a nice bridgestone . Never had a set of Goodrich's but my friend did and he was not to impressed with them. S-drives from yoko I have heard mixed reviews

[thegoodstink]

Always liked goodyear. Then this spring I had a balancing issue when I purchased new wrangler mud tires for my xterra. Had to go back twice, and finally had one tire replaced under warranty. Could have been dumb luck, or a sign that goodyear quality is coming down. Tires are great now though. 15000 kms, and zero issues. Exceptional traction too!

Sorry, getting off topic...

[dexter]

The rear left tire is unsafe to drive on. If you feel like buying new summers now then do so. Personally I would say stick it out with the winters on the rear put the winters on the front and get an alignment done. then put your summers back on in the front s that is where the most wear happens.

I just went back and reread this. The left rear won't hold air so it won't be going on again thats for sure. I'll be getting a 72k service within the next month can I get my alignment done then or should I go before? Should I try to get summers now or am I fine running the winters on the rear from now until April? (apart from the bit of extra wear)

[McGuyver_3]

the alignment all depends on a number of different things. If you put the winters on it could take months prior to wearing them out to the extent that your summers came off or it could take a week. Whenever you decide to go get your alignment make sure to have all the winters on as you do not want to align it with different size tires in the front and the rear and also have a full tank. If you decide to wait just keep an eye on the tires

[S.F.W.]

I just went back and reread this. The left rear won't hold air so it won't be going on again thats for sure. I'll be getting a 72k service within the next month can I get my alignment done then or should I go before? Should I try to get summers now or am I fine running the winters on the rear from now until April? (apart from the bit of extra wear)

I would suggest getting your alignment done before your 72K service. If you come down to the GTA at all you can get an alignment for $50-$70, and a specialty alignment shop. The dealer will likely charge you $100-$120, and will not do as good of a job.
Another option to consider is picking up some used tires to last you until you put your winters on. If they were tires with enough tread to last until you put your winters on, then be thrown away, you could also wait for the alignment until your 72k service, as you would not care about excessive tire wear.

[McGuyver_3]

I would suggest getting your alignment done before your 72K service. If you come down to the GTA at all you can get an alignment for $50-$70, and a specialty alignment shop. The dealer will likely charge you $100-$120, and will not do as good of a job.
Another option to consider is picking up some used tires to last you until you put your winters on. If they were tires with enough tread to last until you put your winters on, then be thrown away, you could also wait for the alignment until your 72k service, as you would not care about excessive tire wear.

A dealer does not just "NOT DO AS GOOD A JOB" A dealer has the same equipment an alignment shop has and can put out the same quality a specialized shop can. If you put it on paper all it is is setup the machine and adjust the adjustments accordingly. A specialized shop may have a quicker turn around as they do it more often but at the end of the day the car still has to drive straight

[dexter]

Awesome, thanks for the input guys. Spoke with Northwood Mazda today and an alignment is about 80 bucks. They also recommended coming in for an alignment ASAP so I may just bump the service to 71k and get it all over with. Still considering a few PMa regarding the whole situation. Thanks again all!

[zzz3]

Awesome, thanks for the input guys. Spoke with Northwood Mazda today and an alignment is about 80 bucks. They also recommended coming in for an alignment ASAP so I may just bump the service to 71k and get it all over with. Still considering a few PMa regarding the whole situation. Thanks again all!

2 wheel or 4 wheel alignment? That is very cheap for a dealer if it's 4 wheel...

[McGuyver_3]

2 wheel or 4 wheel alignment? That is very cheap for a dealer if it's 4 wheel...

I doubt it would be a 2 wheel alignment. If you think about it the 3 only has 1 real setting and that's the toe. Unless you have the aftermarket arms in which case they would charge more

[dexter]

The impression I got was that it was for a 4 wheel because I had just explained to him that both the front and rear tires were wearing faster on the left side than the right.