I have a set of BFG G-Force Sport tires on my car. I think I have around 20,000 miles on them. I have a relativity new suspension setup on the car, had everything aligned when I had the tires installed, rotate them every 5000 miles, check the air pressure every month or so......and I noticed that the tires were getting really loud. I checked them out, and noticed a big flat spot on one of the front tires.

What would cause this?

 

Looks like a lot of miles on those tires, can't see the wear bars in your pic - have you gone over those yet? Other than that, it looks like maybe they were run with low pressure for a while and definitely show some wheelspin. Did the car track straight before this wear? Any shimmying?
Anyway, in my climate and with my driving, 20k on those tires is about what I expect even though they are rated for probably at least double that by BFG (Comp 2's).

 

20K or a little more is about all high performance tires can deliver. All season rubber will provide better mileage along with regular rotation. They should be rotated about every 5K. Directional tires same side, non-directional rear crossed to front and front tires straight back. You'll get better wear from them else the negative camber on the rear will wear the inside tread down before the rest.

 

Could have popped a cord causing a high spot in the tire that wore down. Sounds like you take pretty good care of your tires so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Does look like its time for new tires though.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using NAMotoring

 

Those tires are done...even if not perfectly worn....they are just worn out.
When you get down to last 1 or 2 thirty-seconds of rubber...I would not expect a tire to be worn perfect all the way around....very few tires wear PERFECTLY....especially when driven hard...

 

Thanks for the info guys. I think this time I'm going to try more of an all-season tire. The Ultra High Performance Summer tires are more than I need. For a car that seeing mostly highway miles....I think my current tires were overkill. I want something that will last a little longer.

 

I don't understand why people buy a performance car and then complain about the cost to keep the car on the road performing like it was intended.
You can put Michael Jordan in hiking boots and and he will play fine but why would you? To save a few dollars? Endanger you or a family members life?
Personally when you take a high performance car (We are talking JCW) and put tires on it designed for car with half the HP you are looking for trouble.
Plan stupid if you ask me. You have higher HP to weight ratio driving a JCW vs a Justa. The car is going to be faster, stop harder and corner harder putting much more stress on the 4 little contact points you have with the road. What does cheaper less sticky tires equal that will save you a a few hundred dollars tops? Less margin for error, less traction and the killer-"longer stopping distances"! Simply just not worth the risk for myself or my loved ones. The tires you are talking about possibly installing will have this feature I will assure you. Longer stopping distances! Look at some tests. How much distance are we talking about? 10 feet, 20 feet or 50 feet from 70MPH? When you need the distance 2 feet is too much! A mini hitting a solid object when it needed another 20 feet to stop is not going to be a good thing.

I hear guys say "It is my car and I know what it is capable of". Ya ok, does you wife or maybe your son or daughter?. Probably not. Maybe you could live with the possibilities of an accident that could have been prevented if not for saving a few dollars. I for one could not.

Why I have not done the sway bar on my MINI. I know to keep the hammer down when things get crazy instead of the instinct most people have to lift. My concern is the one time my wife or a family member goes for a quick spin. Not worth the risk to pick a few 10ths at the track. If it was my dedicated race car that would be a different story. Please just think a little bit about the what if's.

I had a MR2 Turbo that was pretty hot and sold to a friend for his wife. A year later we were talking and she was complaining about the handling on the car. I jumped in and took it for a spin. I am fairly experienced behind the wheel and the car was a death ride. Wouldn't turn, braking was horrible and the *** end was all over the road not running the tune! Buddy said he had just put new tires on the car. Cheap *** China made tire that I had never heard of. He sold them on Craigslist and put some real rubber under the car. Problem solved. You get what you pay for. If you need to run in the snow get a set of Blizzaks for winter and be safe.

 

Also the tires on the car now were done 5K ago. I sure would not want to get caught in a rain storm on those. Maybe ok if you are in AZ or S- Cal but not in the rain. Odd looking spot on that tire for sure. My guess would be someone locked up the front brakes and slid the car on dry pavement for a fair distance. Look to see if you have matching wear on the other front.

 

What the heck are you rambling on about all of that for? I was just asking about a weird spot in a tire. I'm going to replace them ASAP, and I will put a good quality tire. Please don't loose any sleep over my tire choice. Man....you need to relax

 

From: Car Repair: How to Tell Whether Your Tires Need to Be Balanced or Aligned
http://voices.yahoo.com/car-repair-t...-12057848.html

When tires are out of balance, they often wear in a distinctive way. If you look at the outer and inner inch or two of the tire, you will notice that flat spots about one to two inches long will develop all of the way around the tire. If these are bad enough, you may have to replace the tire to fix the problem. If these areas are here and there around the tire, you may be able to simple have the tire rebalanced. Within a few miles of driving these areas will smooth out again.

 

See the op's other thread...just remembered he had one...
Why are mini's so bad in ice and snow....nuff said. Slipping..skidding on ice and bare spots. Wrong tire for how, where and when you drive.
Not sure if flats spots were the cause or effect....but you are lucky to have not wrecked your car in bad weather on those tires...even if they were evenly worn...
You could step down to a HP or even a touring tire....
Just be aware, your driving style MUST change.... And the feel of the car will change...ride will be better...
I run 3 sets of rims tire...
A UHP tire on oem 16's...
A snowtire for the dead of winter...but they wear fast on bare roads in spring and fall....on aftermarket 15's
So spring/fall I run a "touring" tire...with a 50,000 treadwear...on 15's..used gen2 oem rims..
Funny....it is like having 3 different cars....
A summer high performance car that handles...
A car that grips like a snowmobile and climbs icy hills like a 4x4...
And an comfy economy commuter car....yes, the 50,000 mike treadwear tires are inexpensive...last ...do ok in rain and fine in dry...but car feels very different...like wearing thick gloves.
Works for me( the second set of oem rims were almost free after selling the tpms)...and 15 tires are cheap....changing tires suck...but do it with an oil change..takes a bit longer...but saves some $$.

 

3 sets is overkill

 

Lol...yup...but cost me basily nothing for the 3rd set...
Plan on retiring the snows when they wear out...the rims on them are corroded (cheap rims and years of salt)...as for overkill....so is 200+ hp on a mini...but still fun...
Gen2 rims with the All seasons... Those will get new snows...and go back to 2 sets...
But in the south....
One summer set or uhp...
And maybe one touring/hp with a bit more tread depth should work great for the op imo.

 

Mother Earth, Frankie Valli and Howdy Doody gave us four seasons so why not four sets? Zippy just likes to be prepared. Besides, NH has a fifth season - MUD.

 

After my first outing in the snow and ice with those tires, I have never had the car back out on the snow and ice...I drive my truck.

And no, I'm not going to go out and buy three sets of wheels and tires for my car...that's ridiculous.

As far as that flat spot goes, I've never slid the car around on dry pavement, and even when I had it out on the ice and snow, I might have spun the tires...but I would that wouldn't leave a flat spot in one area.

All arguing aside though....YES, the tires are shot...and YES....I let them go to long. I should have replaced them a few months ago. Live and learn I guess...I've never had a FWD car that went through tires that fast. It's not like a race the thing, I just get it out on the highway and go to and from work. My JCW has a pretty easy life

 

not suggesting you go fro 3 sets...lol...but suggesting if you drive hard enough to NEED a SUMMER tire..
it might be time for a second set of rims...
But if you drive easy...a set of UHP tires will be fine...good in the dry...passable in the snow....
one sleeper of a tire...the predecessor was well loved...I run it as does MANY BMW folks...there are many options...Good Luck!
We all live a learn!

 

I suppose once the tread gets down to the bitter end it might be a little softer from age and heat, a quick spin or two could wear it out unevenly. Just takes a second, as they say, and it hits one weak spot harder?

 

same thing happened to my summers, except i have it all the way along the wheel, i notcied they were loud in the summer, they were all right, but once the cold snap came here in n'ampshire before i had my snows, the summers got even more like that, prolyl from being warm from driving, then getting cold over night and hardenening up

 

BJ is on track. I have also seen shocks in serious need of replacement resulting in the same sort of tire wear.

 

thanks Alex

this is called 'cupping' and can come from out of balance wheel (first thing to check) or a way out of whack suspension part .....

If you catch it early enuf ... balance the wheel and it MAY right itself {b4 the tire is trashed}.

*******

wheels can throw a balance weight & is just one reason why they go out of balance.

If in doubt ,,,, balance your wheels

 

This is simple.

You need an alignment. I can tell just by the one crappy tire pic. Your tire isn't even wearing evenly. Look at that outside tread depth vs inner!

Get some new tires, then drive down to mini and get an alignment, or it'll just happen again.

 

^^^ I think the inside wear is due to the negative camber the OP is running, so an alignment might not help. Still, he needed new tyres some time ago.

Picking up another point, I don't think three sets of wheels is overkill. I have winters and summers for normal driving, as well as a set for the track. You can have all the power and BBKs you want, but without the right tyres, you may as well leave the car in the garage and stay at the bar.