my wifes 2006 MCSC has 17k on the clock and i noticed this morning that the rear has uneven tire wear - possible a camber problem also!

the stock tires are worn all the way down to the wear bar's already!


the front doesnt appear to have the same problem at all

 

Oh yes, the rear wears the inside edge significantly. Frequent rotations can help, but won't completely stop this, it's the price you pay for great handling!

 

I noticed a slight pulling to the left getting worse over the last couple of days. I had some real fear of mushroomed struts and the car has only 1000 miles on it . First thing was to check the air pressure which was around 25 to 30 PSI in each tire. Filling back up to around 50 PSI, the ride was back to awesome . The moral is check the tire pressue often. Between this, alignment and balance your tires can literally eat away. This may have contributed to your condition.

 

50psi in the tires? Wow, that's a lot higher than I've eve run...

 

50 psi?!

How much should they be? Note: I'm running 17's on 205/45's.

 

thanks guys -

i check the air levels every 1-2 months and keep them around 50psi


i suppose i will have to get new tires (at least 2) and have them put it on the rack to check the camber

once new tires are on - will have costco/sam's rotate and balance every 6 months

 

Try more like middle to high 30's for pressure. I think you've caused a unique shape, a balooning that causes wearing the edge of your tread blocks. Its accentualed by lack of weight in the rear of the vehicle.

Your Ideas on alignment and rotation are also extremely vaild.

Alex

 

thanks - will see how that works


in the mean time - you wouldnt happen to know what is the "lightest" run flat on the market?

(i know light and runflat shouldnt appear in the same sentence)

i tried to convince the wife to go with non-run flats, but its a no go.

 

what size?

 

what you cant just guess?

205/45R17

 

My tires are Goodyear Eagle RSA, 205/45R17's. Max 51 PSI.

When ever I check my tires I have always put in max or near max pressure in so that they wear evenly. I usually check pressure every few months or more and never find more pressure than when I filled them. Usually, it's down to the point that I am noticing something, IE, they look low or pulling, etc. Filling them to the max psi has never been a problem and in my way of thinking maximises the time I have between maintenance periods.

That being said, I have never owned low profile tires before, and never been close to 50 PSI either. So if I am doing something wrong, please let me know.

 

Tire inflation is dictated by the car, not the tire. Always go by what the manufacturer dictates by the plaque on the driver's door jam.

 

 

^

The specs are on the TireRack website. It appears that the two lightest run-flat tires in that size are the Continental ContiProContact SSR, and the Dunlop SP Sport 9000 DSST. Both are listed at 21 pounds. Most of the tires in this category and size are between 21 and 23 pounds.

 

^^

thanks!

 

There seem to be a lot of people complaining about uneven rear tire wear which seems really odd to me. I know its common to run rear stock camber of -1 or more especially in front wheel drive which I though was primarily to keep the car safer by keeping the back from rotating. Does anyone know what the factory spec range of alignment is for the MINI (im probably more interested in R56 just because thats what I have). Just curious because when Ive auto crossed I thought it was pretty well balanced and easy to rotate which would be pretty amazing with large negative camber that people are suggesting. Looking at my tires I doubt ill ever have any problems with those inside edges after auto crossing so this is good for me. Be interested in the toe spec of the rear too if anyone knows, would seem rather odd if the spec was off zero but I was interested because its rare for camber to impact tire wear that adversely.

 

Agreed!

Alex

 

I am having this problem on my wife's MCSc. The inside edge of the rear tires wear fast and Cup... it is very frustrating as it happens quickly with new tires. I just had the tires replaced and the wheels aligned (the rear were within spec prior to alignment). I run 35 PSI.. should I go to 39/40? Anything out there to change the rear camber?

BTW, I am running 215/45 17... same as on my MCS but I do not have the wear problems on my car.

 

Hi CARdiac - please provide details on what tires she's running - runflats? Not? Brand and model. And your car also.

On my cabrio, I had severe inner shoulder wear on the rear on my original runflats:





This was much more apparent on the original Dunlop runflats than it has been on three other sets of non-runflat tires I've run (Kumho SPT, Nitto NeoGen, Goodyear F1 AS). In my case, I attribute it to the combination of sidewall stiffness of the original runflats and me not being as diligent on tire pressures as I am now - now I'm checking and adding air every couple of weeks, inflating to 36psi F, 35psi R... within a couple of weeks this will bleed down to the low 30's... on the original runflats, I think I was routinely driving around on underinflated tires and didn't know it (sometimes as low as 15psi, more commonly in the 20's before I'd catch it and add air).

But staying at 35psi on the rear, and never letting it get below maybe 32, and NOT using runflats, I've had no more problems... It's possible you'd have this issue at just about any pressure on runflats, given the stiffness of the sidewall and high negative camber... the inner sidewall is effectively pushing that shoulder into the pavement constantly...

 

She has had the problems with the stock run flats, Goodyear F1s and Yokohama S Drive

 

Odd... maybe you corner harder than she does...

I *think* that you can add adjustable lower control arms and reduce the camber. I know that's how folks manage camber on lowered cars...

I was expecting to flip my F1's after the wear on the runflats... but it hasn't been an issue for me so far... but that's something you could do to increase life...

You say you had it aligned, and rear was within spec... I'm suspicious of the alignment, still... good alignment shop? The shop I use does performance/race alignments, and *really* knows their stuff, and knows MINIs.... I hear small differences in toe can make big differences in wear on these cars... possibly something there...