Very bad tire wear...

[MR 325]

I am posting this question for a friend, who drives a 87 325is.

He is getting very uneven tire wear on his driver side front wheel. The car is dropped so there's obviously the usual off camber wear but this particular one is wearing VERY bad, worse than the camber could do to it.

Any idea the problem here? Could something be bent?

[Charlie]

What does the wear look like?

Toe will kill the tires faster than camber.

-Charlie

[MR 325]

Outer half of the tire has a shitload of tread left. Inner half of the tire is steel belts.

[Charlie]

Outer half of the tire has a shitload of tread left. Inner half of the tire is steel belts.

Homeboy's got bent components.

-Charlie

[MR 325]

Like? (Sorry, don't know much about suspension shit)

[Charlie]

Like? (Sorry, don't know much about suspension shit)

Well, the 3 main (and only) parts are the strut, the control arm, and the tie rod. I'd suggest starting there.

-Charlie

[sovann]

Tell him to get a front wheel alignment. Check for camber, castor, steering axis inclination, and get the toe adjusted.

If camber is way out but castor and SAI are the same both sides, then a strut tube is likely to be bent. If castor differs side to side, maybe it's a bent control arm. If SAI is out, chassis or crossmember is twisted. Simplistic way of looking at things I guess, but the wheel alignment results will definately help sort things out.

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

I found out the camber on my driver's side was waaay more negative than the camber on my passenger side.

The culprit? Bent strut housing. I took it to a frame shop and got it fixed right away. Problems went away, straight steering, tire wear, and I was finally able to install my strut bar :o

[KenC]

I found out the camber on my driver's side was waaay more negative than the camber on my passenger side.

The culprit? Bent strut housing. I took it to a frame shop and got it fixed right away. Problems went away, straight steering, tire wear, and I was finally able to install my strut bar :o

Where does the struthousing bend? Can the strut insert even fit in if the tube is bent?

[sovann]

The cartridges aren't normally a tight fit in the strut housing so there will always be a little bit of room around it, which allows the strut housing to bend. I thin k they generally bend towards the bottom, near where the strut knuckle is.

[Avus_325is]

I'd say deffinately check on the front alignment. I put new tie rods on and thought I had eyeballed it enough to get the toe right until I could get an alignment. I ended up eating a 3 month old avs 100 in less than a month(my fault). Got an alignment and new front tires, mo more problem.