Uneven tyre wear

[anonymous-user]

My offside rear tyre is wearing pretty quickly on the inside of the tyre. The driver's side is fine. This has only been happening since I've put Chimaera wheels on the car. Any ideas what could be causing this?

Cheers

[Le TVR]

Are the wheels true? Spin them round while holding something right next to the edge of the rim. Any deformation will be clearly visible.

After that check the camber and toe-in.

[ketvrin]

Just a horrible thought, but your chassis and trailing arm are ok arent they ? you haven't lost any shims on the trailing arm mount or had a partial collapse - sorry if this appears to insult the general condition of your car - it isnt intended to

it does sound like toe-in or camber to cause the wear you describe, but I cant see a change of wheels alone causing it unless the wheel is significantly bigger than the old ones - changing your geometry significantly... but again - why only in one corner ?

K

[Sweet Thunder]

Have you checked the wheel bearing for wear? The bigger Chimaera wheel will accelerate bearing wear (longer lever). To do this you'll have to jack up the wheel. Spin the wheel and listen for rough noises (you might hear the brake shoes dragging very slightly in the drum, this is allright). Then grab the wheel with both hands ad try to rock it. There should be no visible play.
Also check the suspension arm and its mounting points for rust, as Ketvrin said. These rust from the inside, so even perfectly shiny examples will eventually collapse.
If this doesn't solve it, have your suspension geometry checked.

[anonymous-user]

Cheers for the replies, I'm thinking it's the bearing too. There is a slight vibration from the rear when travelling over 80. Doesn't stop when I push the clutch in either.

I imagine a bearing is a pretty big job to do, anyone here done it?

[Sweet Thunder]

I've done one or two Sierra wheel bearings, and that's where the S suspension comes from. It's not too difficult, Haynes rates it a three spanner job. You'll need a big socket and a long lever to undo the hub nut though, and some tools to drive out the bearing. You can also ask your garage to do it: any garage with some experience on 15 year old run-of-the-mill cars should be able to do it in one- three hours.

[clarenceboddiger]

Could it be a Tyre fault?, may be worth swapping the back tyres over and see if the wear continues with the tyre or the location.

Edited by clarenceboddiger on Thursday 21st June 23:20