As an owner of a 2006 Mini I have had to replace my front tires three times now. My car is currently in the shop because this third pair became BALD within four months!!! I'm now being told that my wheel mounts need to be replaced and I don't know what these are. It's about 1000 bucks and I'm a little peeved. Has anyone else experienced this or is familiar with what this part is?

Thanks!

 

have you checked your alignment? The wrong toe setting is the #1 cause of tire wear.

 

well I'd keep asking questions until I understood what the doctor....mechanic was trying to tell me

I'm guessing the "wheel mount" is the hub and the hub is what's replaced when the wheel bearing goes bad (the hub and bearing is a sealed unit on a MINI). So he might be saying your front bearings are bad causing the tires to wear. You'd usually hear and feel symptoms of bad bearings in addition to tire wear...... If this IS what they mean we can offer more info, maybe.

btw - what wheels, and what tires, S or not? 3 sets of tires at what sort of miles?

 

I have about 56k miles total. These tires took about 1500 - 2000 miles before they were bald. I was told I'd likely hear something if there were bad bearings but I never did.

I believe I have 17" run flat tires. And if I'm understanding you, yes I do have a Cooper S. I will get more information, as in specifics of this "mount" problem and write again.

Thanks for your help!

 

Yeah -- the alignment was done when the tires were replaced. I didn't ask about toe mounts but I will tomorrow when I speak to him again.

 

What tire pressure are you running?

How many miles on your car?

Have you modified the suspension in any way?

Does the car drive straight down the freeway without steering input?

Ken

 

It would seem that a reputable alignment 'shop' would have picked-up on a bad suspension component, probably to the point of "We can't align it until you get _____ fixed."

Was that a mis-type, or did you go through a set of tire in 2,000 miles? (if it's 15,000 to 20,000, that's not completely out of line w/ some of today's stickier tires). If it's 1,500 to 2,000 miles, you would have some other symptom of suspension/steering/alignment problems...