Problems with Cupra Pirelli 97 tyres

[2010cupra]

I have a 2010 Cupra which has just reached 14,000 miles running on Pirelli P7 tyres and it has develpoed a rumble come drone which can be heard at speeds upto 40 miles per hour. Sounds like a wheel bearing.

Had it checked at my very helpful Seat dealer, who found that the tyres had 'stepped'. In other words the tread pattern had become uneven and the tyres are not running true.

Seat say it not an issue they can resolve. That is what tyres do. Thank you Pirelli for supplying duff tyres...

Have you had the same problem.

[Matt-V5-Duffy]

Yes, I had P7's on my Toledo... never again is all I'll say [:@]

[Graemeb_dj]

Goodyear F1s all day long! same price double the quality and wear.

My wishbone/ arm has bent twice now which has created this rumble you talk of. It would appear that Seat install a weak said part to take the impact of pot holes etc.

Is your alignment out aswell?

Cheers

Graeme
www.glasgowdjhire.co.uk

[Moost]

I have a 2010 Cupra which has just reached 14,000 miles running on Pirelli P7 tyres and it has develpoed a rumble come drone which can be heard at speeds upto 40 miles per hour. Sounds like a wheel bearing.

Had it checked at my very helpful Seat dealer, who found that the tyres had 'stepped'. In other words the tread pattern had become uneven and the tyres are not running true.

Seat say it not an issue they can resolve. That is what tyres do. Thank you Pirelli for supplying duff tyres...

Have you had the same problem.

Did they show you what they meant about uneven tyre wear? Were they your fronts or rears?

The rears on mine have worn uneven do to Seats lack ok of quality checking procedures + 1mm extra toe on one side and almost 2mm on the other.

[andycupra]

shock ok?

[G.P]

I have a 2010 Cupra which has just reached 14,000 miles running on Pirelli P7 tyres and it has develpoed a rumble come drone which can be heard at speeds upto 40 miles per hour. Sounds like a wheel bearing.

Had it checked at my very helpful Seat dealer, who found that the tyres had 'stepped'. In other words the tread pattern had become uneven and the tyres are not running true.

Wonder how they tested that:shrug:

Seat say it not an issue they can resolve. That is what tyres do. Thank you Pirelli for supplying duff tyres...

Have you had the same problem.

For the tread block's to become uneven and not run true means to me the blocks have come adrift from the inner moulding, if this is the case you will notice one of the tyres will no longer be in balance, doubtful it would happen to more than one at the same time.

Some tyres just make more/different noise's when they wear as different amounts of rubber come in contact with the road, Pirelli & Bridgestone been the worst for this. . .

[jefalad]

Don't blame the tyres. Don't blame the car. This stepped wear pattern , called "heel and toe" wear by the tyre industry, is common on tyres with individual tread blocks or transverse tread grooves. It can happen to any make of tyre and any make of car, but to some more so than others, and is also affected by the type of use of the vehicle. Most modern car tyres have these tread features because higher engine power outputs and more efficient brakes have rendered the old style rib tread patterns obsolete (they have less grip in the longitudinal direction to cope with driving and braking forces).

The wear is caused when a longitudinal force causes the tread blocks to flex, forcing one edge of each block to bite into the road surface. Driving and braking forces are in opposite directions and hence act on opposite block edges and can even out the wear but, if there is a predominance of longitudinal force in one direction, one edge of each tread blocks will wear more than the other causing this "heel and toe" effect. It is therefore more commonly found on tyres fitted to wheels that are not driven, ie. the front tyres of rear wheel drive cars and the rear tyres of front wheel drive cars. However, front engine rear-drive cars are less affected because their front tyres have plenty more to do (weight carrying and steering), but they are not necessarily totally immune. The main problems occur with the rear tyres on front wheel drive cars.

This wear usually affects the tread shoulder blocks, often on one shoulder more than the other due to suspension design and set-up (even when all settings are "correct"), and will be worse the longer the tyre lasts overall. Some tyre designs resist it better than others, and some types of car are less affected but there is no magic wand solution. It can be reduced to a minimum by regular tyre rotation at intervals of ideally 5,000 miles and certainly no longer than 10,000 miles. Side to side swaps are OK if the tyres do not have a directional pattern, but front to rear can also help. It is more important to do this early in the tyre's life as the deeper the tread, the more the tread blocks flex.

Also bear this in mind. There is no reason why tyres on any car should wear perfectly evenly. The design of independant suspension systems, the suspension and steering geometry settings, and the tyre pressures are all selected to make a car perform the way the vehicle manufacturer wants it to, not to get even tyre wear. Beware of those tyre wear pictograms - they are more relevant to obsolete cross ply tyres fitted to old fashioned cars with beam axles than the type of cars we drive today. Finally, take "best tyre" advice with a large pinch of salt. Best for what? Not many people are able to test all types of tyre on all types of car on all types of roads in all types of weather etc etc etc. Tyre design is a compromise of many conflicting factors as is vehicle design, nothing is perfect for every circumstance.


Jeff.

[aaron-gardner]

As a tyre choice I would not re fit any pirelli p7 as I'n the dry they are ok but I'n the wet I'n a performance car they become very twitchy. Just my own experience. Michelins on now and so far so good.

[G.P]

Don't blame the tyres. Don't blame the car. This stepped wear pattern , called "heel and toe" wear by the tyre industry, is common on tyres with individual tread blocks or transverse tread grooves. It can happen to any make of tyre and any make of car, but to some more so than others, and is also affected by the type of use of the vehicle. Most modern car tyres have these tread features because higher engine power outputs and more efficient brakes have rendered the old style rib tread patterns obsolete (they have less grip in the longitudinal direction to cope with driving and braking forces).

The wear is caused when a longitudinal force causes the tread blocks to flex, forcing one edge of each block to bite into the road surface. Driving and braking forces are in opposite directions and hence act on opposite block edges and can even out the wear but, if there is a predominance of longitudinal force in one direction, one edge of each tread blocks will wear more than the other causing this "heel and toe" effect. It is therefore more commonly found on tyres fitted to wheels that are not driven, ie. the front tyres of rear wheel drive cars and the rear tyres of front wheel drive cars. However, front engine rear-drive cars are less affected because their front tyres have plenty more to do (weight carrying and steering), but they are not necessarily totally immune. The main problems occur with the rear tyres on front wheel drive cars.

This wear usually affects the tread shoulder blocks, often on one shoulder more than the other due to suspension design and set-up (even when all settings are "correct"), and will be worse the longer the tyre lasts overall. Some tyre designs resist it better than others, and some types of car are less affected but there is no magic wand solution. It can be reduced to a minimum by regular tyre rotation at intervals of ideally 5,000 miles and certainly no longer than 10,000 miles. Side to side swaps are OK if the tyres do not have a directional pattern, but front to rear can also help. It is more important to do this early in the tyre's life as the deeper the tread, the more the tread blocks flex.

Also bear this in mind. There is no reason why tyres on any car should wear perfectly evenly. The design of independant suspension systems, the suspension and steering geometry settings, and the tyre pressures are all selected to make a car perform the way the vehicle manufacturer wants it to, not to get even tyre wear. Beware of those tyre wear pictograms - they are more relevant to obsolete cross ply tyres fitted to old fashioned cars with beam axles than the type of cars we drive today. Finally, take "best tyre" advice with a large pinch of salt. Best for what? Not many people are able to test all types of tyre on all types of car on all types of roads in all types of weather etc etc etc. Tyre design is a compromise of many conflicting factors as is vehicle design, nothing is perfect for every circumstance.


Jeff.

A rear wheel drive car will wear the rear tyre's out first meaning the rears have more work to do, but heel and toe generally effects tyre's running large block tyres ie. mud and snow and is nothing to do with braking/accelerating of the vehicle, its the block that slows/speeds, when a block comes into contact with the tarmac the front of the block compresses and slows down to that of the speed of the back of the block, and mainly effects 4x4's, the P7 is more like a continuous block, I bet been a Pirelli it's more likely that as its worn there is more rubber now in contact with the tarmacadam. . .