Uneven tyre wear on the inside of the tyre

[Eblis]

I've just recently replaced my summer tyres with my winter ones and I had a look at the summer tyres, to make sure that everything was ok (because I discovered a nail through one of my winter tyres just before i was about to put them on the car) and I've noticed that the tyres had worn out unevenly, the inside of the tyres was more worn out than the outside, and from what I can tell this happened on all 4 tyres (so not just the front ones) although the back tyres are less worn out in general (i've done around 25000 kilometers)

I did a search on this forum and I found out you can get a 'tracking alignment' and you can also do a '4 wheel laser alignment', the latter is said to be better and more accurate.

One of my question is related to these alignments. I don't live in England and I'm not sure what the 'tracking alignment' refers to. I've asked my dealer about looking at the wheels and they said they were going to do a "steering adjustment" ("directional adjustment") (that's the best translation i can come up with) which has a look at all 4 wheels and adjusts some angles.

I got the report back from the dealer and it has something like this:
Front:

• Caster:
  • Left 7 37' (Final: 7 37')
  • Right 7 33' (Final: 7 34')
• Camber
  • Left -0 42' (Final: -0 41')
  • Right -0 38' (Final: -0 38')
• Toe:
  • Left -0 01' (Final: 0 05')
  • Right 0 04' (Final: 0 06')
  • Total 0 03' (Final: Total 0 11')

Rear:

• Camber:
  • Left -1 31' (Final: -1 32')
  • Right -1 24' (Final: -1 25')
• Toe:
  • Left -0 03' (Final: 0 06')
  • Right -0 01' (Final: 0 07')
  • Total -0 04' (Final: 0 13')

I'm sorry, i guess this list isn't that easy to follow, i'll try to post an image of the results later today.

Is this info part of the 'tracking alignment' stuff or part of the 'laser alignment' stuff, the dealer didn't say ?


I've done some reading on the internet and from what i read it seems that Toe is responsible for uneven tyre wear, toe-in is responsible for excessive tyre wear on the outside of the tyre and toe-out is responsible for excessive tyre wear on the inside of the tyre.

From the sheet i got i understand that i got toe-in on the front, left side and on both left and right side on the back which would cause extensive tyre wear on the outside, but i have extensive tyre wear on the inside.

What am i reading wrong ? I assume that toe-in is a negative angle, while toe-out is a positive angle.

Is there something else i could ask the dealer to do ? Or was this the problem and should it be solved now ?

Thanks.

Edit:
Added image:

 

[OLDOILER]

I've just recently replaced my summer tyres with my winter ones and I had a look at the summer tyres, to make sure that everything was ok (because I discovered a nail through one of my winter tyres just before i was about to put them on the car) and I've noticed that the tyres had worn out unevenly, the inside of the tyres was more worn out than the outside, and from what I can tell this happen

What am i reading wrong ? I assume that toe-in is a negative angle, while toe-out is a positive angle.

Is there something else i could ask the dealer to do ? Or was this the problem and should it be solved now ?

Thanks.

Edit:
Added image:

It ALL well documented and a set up fault at SEAT, had mine done under warranty - do a search on the threads. ................................. [ you may find I seem to remember a set of correct alignment values to be applied.

 

[MikeShaw100]

Well Documented? - Its news to me as I have had the same wear problems with my front wheels - off now to find the thread and 'present' this to my dealer.



Mike
FR170, Chrono, Cupra Front/Grill, BT, 18", Alu Pack, Arm, Mud n Mats

 

[nc30rider]

Well Documented? - Its news to me as I have had the same wear problems with my front wheels - off now to find the thread and 'present' this to my dealer.



Mike
FR170, Chrono, Cupra Front/Grill, BT, 18", Alu Pack, Arm, Mud n Mats

This may help http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=209628

Think when I fit new tyres I'm gonna make the rear camber -1.2° this time though

 

[Eblis]

I saw that thread and I had a look at the values in those images. If you look at my image the Final values are all in green and within the manufacturer's limits (somewhere close to the average of the min, max values).

NC30Rider, are the final values OK ? I see that your front Camber values are bigger than mine ?
Should i still be worried about uneven tyre wear even if the dealer did this alignment ? (do you know if the sheet i got is similar to '4 wheel laser alignment' or to 'tracking alignment' ?).

Did some more reading and it seems that camber can also affect tyre wear. Should i talk to the dealer again and ask them to change the values ? The reason I'm wondering is that the values they set up seem pretty close to the manufacturer's averages, which I'm guessing are the best values to have, or at least that's what they said .

The Min, Max values in my image are the factory settings; it looks like you have different factory values altogether for the back camber.

EDIT:
Oh, before i got the car checked the Thrust Angle was at 0 01' and after they had a look at it it was 0 00'.
What does that do exactly ?
Me <-- NOOB

 

[nc30rider]

I saw that thread and I had a look at the values in those images. If you look at my image the Final values are all in green and within the manufacturer's limits (somewhere close to the average of the min, max values).

NC30Rider, are the final values OK ? I see that your front Camber values are bigger than mine ?
Should i still be worried about uneven tyre wear even if the dealer did this alignment ? (do you know if the sheet i got is similar to '4 wheel laser alignment' or to 'tracking alignment' ?).

Did some more reading and it seems that camber can also affect tyre wear. Should i talk to the dealer again and ask them to change the values ? The reason I'm wondering is that the values they set up seem pretty close to the manufacturer's averages, which I'm guessing are the best values to have, or at least that's what they said .

The Min, Max values in my image are the factory settings; it looks like you have different factory values altogether for the back camber.

EDIT:
Oh, before i got the car checked the Thrust Angle was at 0 01' and after they had a look at it it was 0 00'.
What does that do exactly ?
Me <-- NOOB

It is difficult to compare the Toe IN/OUT values cos mine are in mm and yours are in Degreees and minutes. The factory settings are OK for everything apart from the rear camber. The factory setting is too -ve for good tyre wear.

It is possible to adjust the front track, rear track and rear camber. The front camber is not adjustable.

Thrust angle should always be 0. This means the wheels are aligned to the centre line of the car and it does not 'crab'. Hard to explain, this may help http://www.tomorrowstechnician.com/Article/4989/undercover_steering_comebacks_away_from_you.aspx

 

[Eblis]

The factory settings for the back camber are different in your image, they go from -2 40' to -1 40' but in my image they go from -1 50' to -0 50'. Are these ok or are they too -VE too ?
My back camber values are lower (in modulo) than yours, would that help with tyre wear ?

The problem is that i had uneven tyre wear on all 4 wheels, not just the back ones

 

[nc30rider]

If you look at my settings for rear camber they are -1.4° degrees this is not the same as -1°40'.
0.1° = 0°06' or 0.2° = 0°12' or 0.3° = 0°18' etc.

I know its complicated but our machine is made to make the settings more 'metric like'. If that sounds understandable? The toe is measure in mm. The values in your image are kind of the old-fashioned way of displaying the values.

Next time I fit tyres, I will be making the rear camber 1.2° or 1°12'. My tyres have worn evenly so far, but just gonna sit them up a bit more.

The machine we use is not a laser machine, but an infra-red wireless computer based piece of kit. It is accurate, but also simple to use for guys who find alignment a bit of a black art

 

[Bedlam]

May be just worth noting here that the factory settings are Leon model dependant as the OP has not revealed what vehicles he runs.
I know this from experience as an "expert" at a tyre place I used set mine up wrongly, until I went back and pointed this out

 

[Eblis]

Oh, sorry about that.
Leon MK2 1.4 TSI.