Have a 2011 R55 w/ 70k miles. Michelin Pilot Sport AS3 all around. Fronts wearing evenly (have 4/32"). Rears have 6/32" but are cupping in middle of tread only. Rear tire has huge nail in it and being replaced. So... ended up buying 4 new tires at Costco because $70 off/set and I'm in Boston so winter snow.

Mostly concerned about cupping and new tires. Truth is I didn't rotate my tires (but I will going forward).

So, my questions are ...

Is it likely cupping was due to not rotating? I figured that would cause cupping on edge, not middle, but I don't know.

Or, is it possibly the suspension/shocks?

Finally, car was rear-ended a couple of weeks ago. I was stopped and car hit me at 5-10 MPH. My inclination is to get an alignment as part of the repair. Make sense?

Thanks

 

Cupping or any odd wear is due to bad alignment.

 

Tire wear can be caused by a bad alignment, worn or failed shocks, or due to lack of rotation.

On these cars you are running -1.75* camber in the rear (factory), not rotating every 5k or oil change can lead to cupping on the inner edges of the rear tires.

Highly recommend you rotate your tires every oil change, both due to camber wear in the back and drivetrain wear in the front.

 

what he said, rotate more it's the rear camber & toe on my car that does it

frequent rotations prevents it, once it starts it really progresses fast

 

Thanks. Yeah, will definitely rotate. But will add this. I was running Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. I already had almost 40k miles on them. The fronts were down to 4/32" and the rears more like 5/32"-6/32". Plenty of tread (except snow is coming soon out here so I wanted new rubber). I didn't drive them really hard, but probably could have gone 50k if I rotated them.

Meanwhile, replaced with same Michelins. The old tires rumbled so loud I could barely hear anything. That stopped. Car is quiet as the dead. Shocks and struts seem ok. Plan to check alignment as I was rear-ended.

 

what rims and pressure, I run those and Ive found I need to run a bit less pressure, the wear happens in the middle???? I also rotate front to back on the same side, they actually handle camber well and can take a bit more psi as camber increases. These are not snow tires they are great until it gets well below 32 then snows are way better. I rotate often and adjust pressures and my wear comes out even passed the indicators. Rear toe number are important for wear.

 

I have one of the custom wheel options. Not sure what it's called. Looks like 4 horseshoes. Tires are 195/55R16. My tires did cup more in the middle. I always kept them at 32PSI. I'll keep an eye on them going forward. It's funny, the run flats that came with the car lasted 30k with even wear and no rotating. That's why I didn't rotate the Michelins (and somewhere I heard or read that Mini did not recommend rotating). But from now on, rotate when I change oil. Camber wear was not a real issue on any tire.

 

on the rear I have gone down to 28 but dont have that size these have relatively strong sidewalls and are a grippy compound so need rotating. If you run with a loaded back for a long trip its common to adjust pressure up

 

I had identical cupping issues on Pilot Sport A/Ss too, but 1st gen, not 3rd. DIdn't even get 30k out of them. I rotated every 5k twice, then sort of just missed doing it, and when I rotated at about 25k, they were already worn poorly and very noisy. The cupping got much worse and noisier on the rears, so I swapped to Michelin Premier w/new alignment and also found them an order of magnitude quieter, even compared to the old A/Ss when new, and a far better ride, on the stock 205/45-17s, and increased mileage as well. Far better tire in all aspects, especially bad weather. I will rotate religiously every 5k min now.

 

If you have the same tire size front and back then not rotating is a bad idea, always.

 

I have a 2016 with 6000 miles and the dealer told me the tires were cupping. It has been making the road noise since about 3500 but waited till i could bring it back for service. Is this normal? I am thinking not.

 

With the car still being under warranty I'd be in the dealer getting it taken care of, because no, it's not supposed to have noticeable amounts of cupping after 3k miles.

These cars do run more negative camber in the rear so you'll notice more cupping on the rears vs the front, and that is why we recommend rotations every 5k mile oil change or as needed.