Tyre wear/tracking

[Baxlin]

My C70 is having some work done on it currently, and while up on the ramp, the fitter noticed both front tyres badly worn, the offside one literally through to the cords on the inside shoulder, the near side well on its way, again the inside shoulder.

Being rather wide tyres, I'd unfortunately not noticed....

I bought the car in December, with a new MoT, and I've done less than 4000 miles in it, so there must be something wrong with the tracking, methinks.

Obviously, this is being rectified, but it's made me think, being such a heavy car, and having a big diesel lump up front, are C70s known for their tyre wear?

[x DTR x]

Best bet is to get them aligned on a hunter system, costs about £60 but will save on cost of tyres in long run. I replaced both front lower arms and track rod ends so needed it done. Personally i would avoid Kwik fit, they forgot to tighten the locking nuts on the track rod ends when i took mine there, can't say all branches are bad admittedly but i have had problems with two of them!

[Proghound]

In a word, yes.

I only ever got 14-15k out of the front tyres on my old car, and that was by keeping an eye on the tyre pressures at least every other week, and keeping on top of the tracking with the full 4-wheel Hunter (or similar system) alignment every year. I can recommend Blackboots in Chesham and MK Tyres in Leighton Buzzard for that, their guys really know their stuff.

If you've ever come across Clan the Volvo tech on here, he'd also recommend keeping your tyres at 38PSI all round to avoid inner shoulder wear.

On my old car's 17" rims I felt that even the Eco pressure of 36PSI was causing wear to the tyre centres especially on the back, so I ran them at 33 front, 30 rear. I did get some wear on the very inside shoulder like that but otherwise they wore pretty evenly across. On the 18" rubber bands on the new car, having had two tyres and tracking as soon as I got it, and signs of inner shoulder wear on the other two, so far I've been staying with Clan's advice to see what happens. Now I'm also 4000 miles in, so it's probably worth taking a detailed look at how they're holding up. I should get a chance at the weekend and will post up shortly.

[Simmy]

Originally Posted by Baxlin

My C70 is having some work done on it currently, and while up on the ramp, the fitter noticed both front tyres badly worn, the offside one literally through to the cords on the inside shoulder, the near side well on its way, again the inside shoulder.

Being rather wide tyres, I'd unfortunately not noticed....

I bought the car in December, with a new MoT, and I've done less than 4000 miles in it, so there must be something wrong with the tracking, methinks.

Obviously, this is being rectified, but it's made me think, being such a heavy car, and having a big diesel lump up front, are C70s known for their tyre wear?

had the same problem with tire wear had 4 wheel alignment done all ok now c70 2.0d

[Tannaton]

I've tried higher tyre pressures in my V50 and it gives a very harsh ride, not very Volvo like. The Ford suspension on the front of these cars seems very susceptible to going out of alignment with even minor kerbing and pot holes. Worn wishbone bushes are a big factor also.

As said do the wishbones if the need it, get it properly set up and check your tyres regularly....

[Proghound]

Originally Posted by Proghound

On the 18" rubber bands on the new car, having had two tyres and tracking as soon as I got it, and signs of inner shoulder wear on the other two, so far I've been staying with Clan's advice to see what happens. Now I'm also 4000 miles in, so it's probably worth taking a detailed look at how they're holding up. I should get a chance at the weekend and will post up shortly.

So I checked the treads on the tyres this morning. Measuring the 4 bands from the outside to the inside, at the front both sides go 6mm, 5.5mm, 6mm, 5.5mm. Possibly a little closer to 5mm on the very inside than in the middle. That looks good enough to me so I think I'll stick with that regime.

The rears are a different story. Those tyres were both on the front when I got it, the offside being as far as I could tell, very nearly new. On the nearside it runs 4.5mm at the edges and 5mm in the middle, on the offside it runs 5.5mm outside to 6.5mm inside. This surprising with the large negative camber on the rear, especially on the offside which is actually too negative according to the alignment report. I wonder if that bush is on its way and is now toeing in or out?

[Baxlin]

Thanks for all the posts, I'll do a search for Clan, Ian. I think I'd be disappointed if it was component wear (as opposed to tracking) as it's only done 33000 miles, but obviously I don't know its previous owner history.

Just typing this, I'm wondering if that is the real mileage, as I've had to have two new, and three rebalanced injectors. (Ouch is the word you're looking for).

Hope it doesn't turn out to be a money pit!

[Petey80]

You could check the MOT history here to see if the mileage is correct - https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

I've come across a few posts with replies from Clan and he definitely knows his stuff.

I'd usually always start with tracking/wheel alignment when it comes to abnormal tyre wear. Then move onto bushings and track rod ends, ball joints etc.

Just make sure the guys know how to align a car properly and not just get all the sections to go green.

[Baxlin]

Originally Posted by Petey80

You could check the MOT history here to see if the mileage is correct - https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

.

Thanks, yep, the mileage all checks out.

It has had advisories on couple of the early MoTs, but not for the last two (it had a new ticket when I bought it) for front suspension, so I may well have that checked out before the warranty runs out!

I've had two new tyres put on, and 4 wheel alignment done, so hopefully these will last a bit longer.

[Petey80]

Do you feel any difference in the drive after the alignment or was it not that far out?