Has anyone seen anything like this before? My front driver side tire has significant wear on the outer edge. It almost appears to be a groove. The tire is original (195/55R16 87H). The car is a MC 2007 with 16K miles. I hadn't been checking tire pressure or rotated before. The passenger side is also wearing a little on the edge, but not as bad. I assume this was caused by low tire pressure? (I'll check in the morning) The tire pressure sensor has never activated. I guess it is not as likely to be an alignment issue?

The rear tires appear to be fine. Should the tires have an even wear? Is there anything wrong with replacing just one tire? Or should I replace both front tires or all four?

 

you need to check the camber on your front tires and add some negative camber to them. it should solve your problem. An alignment couldn't hurt either.

 

Holy crap, there's something seriously wrong with that tire! You're hitting the threads in there--I would highly suggest getting a new tire installed ASAP. That isn't safe.

There are two things that come to mind. First, the tire was jacked from the beginning. Two, you've got some incredible alignment issues. You say the other side looks like that, too?? Low tire pressure should cause wear on both the inside and the outside, not just one side, since the sidewalls would hold the majority of weight instead of the center of the tire.

 

Wow...that tire is toast!

I think you should have your alignment corrected a.s.a.p. Something is out of whack. It appears that the camber may be very positive (so that the tire rides on the outside edge all the time). Go hit a good alignment shop....and then you're going to need a couple of new tires, probably. You've worn the one in the picture down to the bands on the outer edge and I'd say it is not safe to drive on anymore.

Good luck.

 

Do NOT drive on that tire. Blowout is imminent.

Either an alignment or an inflation issue or both. If an inflation issue, inner edge should be worn also. Are they runflats? Runflats driven at low pressure will wear on the outside edges like that. If it's only the outer edge, odds are it's an alignment problem.

 

They are runflats. I was assuming it was most likely due to low tire pressure. But the inside edge does not appear to be worn. So that makes it puzzling. The wear is almost on the edge so I don't see how alignment can affect it that much. But I'll take it in the morning for an alignment and replace both front tires.

 

either youre turning right a lot at a high rate of speed or youre alignment is off. definitely not because the tire is faulty.

 

Either camber or toe, then. Small changes in toe can make a HUGE difference in tire wear over time. That's my bet. It's unlikely that you have sufficiently positive camber on one side to cause that wear, unless the suspension is heavily damaged due to impact.

 

Oh... my... gosh.... that tire is about to fail... you need a new tire, like, tomorrow... seriously!

 

You might have bent or broke something in the suspension, I would have that looked at asap. when you address the issue be sure to get a full four wheel alignment.

 

Ouch. Don't take this the wrong way but did you ever check your air pressure? I don't know where you're located but in NY winters you need to add more air to your tires to keep them full (I choose 36 psi cold) and now that spring is almost here make sure you are not too overinflated.

And don't forget to rotate every 600-7500 or so. I know its a pain in the a$$ b/c they are lug bolts and not lug nuts but if you sit Indian style (yes not pc anymore but hey...) you can use your knees to help hold the tire in place while you insert the lug bolts.

That makes me wonder....anyone got a better method than sitting Indian style?

 

That's an unusual place for tires to wear on a MINI with stock suspension since there's really not any significant camber adjustment with the front struts.Take a look under the bonnet at the tops of your strut towers and look to be sure all three nuts are attached on each side. Even with your toe angle off that is unusual outer edge wear.As others have mentioned ditch that tire quick or it blow.

 

You can use wheel hangers similar to this.



Problem is finding one in the proper size for the r56, 14mmx1.25. Most times you always see 12mmx1.5 or 14mmx1.5. Occasionally some pop up on ebay but havent found a site that sells them yet.

 

At 16 K miles, you should probably replace the tires in pairs with the new ones in the back as per tire manufacturer's recommendations.

Also as many people have already suggested, it certainly looks like a camber problem from this distance.

 

Wow that is fantastic. You just screw it in to the top lug and the wheel will sit on it. Now I'm going on a hunt to find it. Thanks darmog.

 

My old BMWs e43, e39 etc had a plastic/metal stick in the trunk tool kit that did this. Funny that Mini did not include one in their kit as well. Really helps position the tire w/o having to balance it on the hub.

 

Drop on one knee. Balance the tire with both hands on top of your forward foot. (Describing this is harder than doing it!) Once the tire is on the hub, you can align the holes with a little lift of your foot.

Or have the wife rotate the tires.

 

I didn't realize you can hang the tire on the hub. I try to be very careful when I do it. Usually I hold it against the rotor with my knees. I will try your method next time. Thanks.

 

You need to set the toe on ZERO!!!! The spec's in the books allow for a certain amount of error in the toe, but if you don't want tire edge wear, set the toe on ZERO and don't let the alignment shop show you the specs and tell you that it's okay UNLESS IT IS ZERO!

Camber, unless WAAAAyyy off, will not cause such wear. It is caused by incorrect toe setting. If the wear is on the outer edges of the tires, it is toed in. If the wear is on the inner edges of the tires it is toed out.

I went round and round with the alignment shop after my daughter almost totaled my wifes Cooper. It wear the front tires like are shown in the picture within just a very few thousand miles. Since it had experience SERIOUS alignment changing damage, I believed them when they said they needed to use camber/caster plates and then the new tires went away just as fast.

When I went back to the alignment shop they set it up and took me to look. They insisted that it was "in spec" and it WAS according to their specs, but it was SERIOUSLY toed in. I took it home and set the toe in the driveway using a tape measure and tumbtacks. What was left of that set of tires finished up and it seemed that it was still SLIGHTLY toed in. I then put a set of 700 treadwear Pirellis on it and gave it one final little guess of an adjustment and slapped on the new tires. That was about 25,000 miles ago and that set of tires still look like new.

BELIEVE ME!!!!! Set the toe on ZERO!!!!!

 

My front drivers tire has wear in the same spot. Though mine didn't show up until after a track weekend. It hasn't really gotten worse but the shoulder is completely worn off, not as bad as yours though. Since day one I've kept the pressures at 40psi and rotated a few times. I'm sitting at about 18k right now and I'll probably have to replace them before long.