Z4MC - frustrating Cup tyre wear
Discussion
Just back from a tour around Europe. Did around 3000 miles, and had a trackday at Imola and a few laps of the Ring whilst out there. By and large, it was mostly road miles.
I put a fresh set of Cups on the car a couple months before I left. Probably did about 750 miles on them before we left.
So this is the state of the tyres now having returned to the UK.
Main Body of Tyre
Inner wear
As you can see, the bulk of the tread is in a good state, but there is a band around the inside that has worn excessively. This is the same on both sides. This happened with the last set too, and I had the alignment checked and reset when they were put on, and nothing was wildly out. Setup on the front is currently -2deg of camber, and 0.2mm toe in. Previously it was set to -2.5deg camber, and 0.5mm toe in - but I backed the settings off a little thinking they may have caused the issues last time. But I'm not convinced these are particularly aggressive, and don't think they are the cause?
Any ideas?? To me it looks like toe, but 0.2mm shouldn't cause this level of wear, should it? I'm wondering if there are some faulty/worn bushes, although I'd expect to have noticed this when driving the car (there was some tramlining on motorways, but I've put this down to ruts on the road and the stiff sidewalls). At a bit of a loss with it really, and can't justify burning through Cups at this rate so any advice welcomed!
I put a fresh set of Cups on the car a couple months before I left. Probably did about 750 miles on them before we left.
So this is the state of the tyres now having returned to the UK.
Main Body of Tyre
Inner wear
As you can see, the bulk of the tread is in a good state, but there is a band around the inside that has worn excessively. This is the same on both sides. This happened with the last set too, and I had the alignment checked and reset when they were put on, and nothing was wildly out. Setup on the front is currently -2deg of camber, and 0.2mm toe in. Previously it was set to -2.5deg camber, and 0.5mm toe in - but I backed the settings off a little thinking they may have caused the issues last time. But I'm not convinced these are particularly aggressive, and don't think they are the cause?
Any ideas?? To me it looks like toe, but 0.2mm shouldn't cause this level of wear, should it? I'm wondering if there are some faulty/worn bushes, although I'd expect to have noticed this when driving the car (there was some tramlining on motorways, but I've put this down to ruts on the road and the stiff sidewalls). At a bit of a loss with it really, and can't justify burning through Cups at this rate so any advice welcomed!
Edited by sixspeed on Monday 22 June 20:48
The car is mostly used as a track toy, but does some occasional weekend drives, and of course the drives to/from the track (wherever that may be - in this case, Italy!)
I ran road (PS2/PSS) tyres for quite some time but as my mileage has fallen and the ratio of track driving has increased, I decided to run Cups. Obviously it looks like these are no good, at least with this geo setup, for the amount of road use the car still gets.
I'll get the car checked over anyway, but looks like I might have to consider going back to a road tyre. Having a separate set of wheels/tyres isn't really an option as transporting them would be nigh on impossible.
I ran road (PS2/PSS) tyres for quite some time but as my mileage has fallen and the ratio of track driving has increased, I decided to run Cups. Obviously it looks like these are no good, at least with this geo setup, for the amount of road use the car still gets.
I'll get the car checked over anyway, but looks like I might have to consider going back to a road tyre. Having a separate set of wheels/tyres isn't really an option as transporting them would be nigh on impossible.
Edited by sixspeed on Tuesday 23 June 13:10
Is 2 degrees (over a factory setting of 1 degree) really that much extra to cause that kind of wear? Bearing in mind that the M3 CSL runs 1 degree 45 mins (so 1 3/4 degrees) also and afaik doesn't suffer this issue running Cups on the road in standard trim?
I'm not convinced tbh.
The more reading I do, the type of wear seems more attributable to toe. However, that was set nigh-on neutral (0.2mm or 0 deg 1' toe-in). Which leaves me with one of three outcomes in my mind:
- it was set incorrectly
- it was knocked out at some point (kerbs on track?)
- there are worn bushes/suspension components causing play
Car goes in on Monday, so will report back with any findings then...
.
I'm not convinced tbh.
The more reading I do, the type of wear seems more attributable to toe. However, that was set nigh-on neutral (0.2mm or 0 deg 1' toe-in). Which leaves me with one of three outcomes in my mind:
- it was set incorrectly
- it was knocked out at some point (kerbs on track?)
- there are worn bushes/suspension components causing play
Car goes in on Monday, so will report back with any findings then...
.
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