[schroedm]

Hi,

Had a quick maitenance service yesterday with a view to getting through an MOT and one unusual thing came out.

The rear tyres were worn from 6mm on the outside down to the cords (in one place) on the inside on BOTH rear tyres. The car has never been in an accident and never done anything more adventurous than drive to the station and back! It's 5 years old.

BMW wanted nearly £300 to KDS (laser alignment check) just to see what might be 'bent'. Open cheque book after that.

I don't believe anything is 'bent' as the car has had an easy life. They suggested pot hole damage but I argued that it was odd for BOTH sides to be 'damaged' exactly the same amount to give the same tyre wear both sides.

To my mind it could be some sort of suspension bushes that are worn causing the car to squat down slightly and thus put extra pressure on the insides of the rear tyres??!?!?

Has anyone had this or come across it?

Thanks,
Mark

[adam_Randell]

Check your tyre pressure isnt too high, if it is the extra pressure will create a camber on the top of the tyre causing it to wear unevenly.

[schroedm]

Am having new tyres fitted tomorrow and will monitor the wear and pressures.

I would have thought that too high pressure would cause the centre of the tire to wear first and too low would cause both sides of tire to wear???

Rgds,
Mark

[Vitesse]

Has it had the rear tyres replaced at all in 5 years?

[schroedm]

No. Only done 19000miles but odd thing is the tires have 5-6mm tread on outsides of them?

[jam4knr]

What make are they schroedm?

I had some a while ago and one went down to the cords also, if its the same make i can explain why.

[schroedm]

17" Dunlop Sport 9000 DSST Run Flats 84V (trips off the tongue eh? )

[billy.batson]

Quote: Originally Posted by schroedm (original)

Am having new tyres fitted tomorrow and will monitor the wear and pressures.

I would have thought that too high pressure would cause the centre of the tire to wear first and too low would cause both sides of tire to wear???

Rgds,
Mark

Yes, I would have thought that too, but yours is the opposite. They shouldn't have worn like that in 19000 miles if pressure was correct though.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by billy.batson (original)

Yes, I would have thought that too, but yours is the opposite. They shouldn't have worn like that in 19000 miles if pressure was correct though.

Take it to an independent garage and see what they think is wrong. The chances are it is the tracking or something to do with the suspension - if its been going round town, there is more wear - kerbs, speed bumps etc. However, the wear shouldn't be that extreme - 6mm on one side and down to the threads on the other is some margain.

You could always put new tyres on it and buy a new mini. I know yours hasn't done many miles, but you'll be coming to the end of the service pack anyway.

[David King]

Quote: Originally Posted by M.O.S (original)

You could always put new tyres on it and buy a new mini. I know yours hasn't done many miles, but you'll be coming to the end of the service pack anyway.

LOL! A service pack is just over £300, a new car is thousands.

Not exactly the best reason to change a car.

[James@fomsport]

The MINI dose need a KDS type alignment, but bmw over charge for this, and the system (hunter pro) is available elsewhere the company that sells it has a database of all places in the uk with the system www.AlignMyCar.co.uk

The KDS or Hunter system works buy weighting down certain parts of the minis chassis to achieve a factory preset ride height (by putting 67kg on both front seats, full tank of fuel or weight of, and 14kg in the boot) because the mini has independent rear suspension, all 4 wheels are adjustable, hence the need for the different system rather than a 2 wheel laser alignment.

bmw aren't the only company to use this as their method its also used buy Lotus, VW, Porsche, and Mercedes

its quite possible that your car wasn't set up right out the factory its been known to happen, or it had a 2 wheel laser done at some point ? and because of this they rear wasn't set or checked.

HTH

james

[russyellocoops]

Or a lot more simply Dunlop runflats wear a lot more on th shoulders!!!

[James@fomsport]

yes the old Dunlops were not the hardest wearing tyres and did like to wear on the shoulders.

But i was making a general point about making sure the minis suspension is kept well set up as it is thrown out quite easily, i should know ive had 3 KDS style alignments in the last year after a few pot holes up here bounced things out.

The main cause of the minis suspension getting bounced out is down to the heavy oem wheels and run flats.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by David King (original)

LOL! A service pack is just over £300, a new car is thousands.

Not exactly the best reason to change a car.

I know, but 1, if you buy a new car its £150 and two, how much is it going to cost to fix your current car? Minis don't depreciate too heavily, so the fear of depreciation is almost nil. Can you think of a better excuse to change your car!

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by James@fomsport (original)

yes the old Dunlops were not the hardest wearing tyres and did like to wear on the shoulders.

But i was making a general point about making sure the minis suspension is kept well set up as it is thrown out quite easily, i should know ive had 3 KDS style alignments in the last year after a few pot holes up here bounced things out.

The main cause of the minis suspension getting bounced out is down to the heavy oem wheels and run flats.

So is it less likely for us with 15" wheels? Sounds like another advantage of the 15s!

[Vitesse]

Quote: Originally Posted by James@fomsport (original)

yes the old Dunlops were not the hardest wearing tyres and did like to wear on the shoulders.

But i was making a general point about making sure the minis suspension is kept well set up as it is thrown out quite easily, i should know ive had 3 KDS style alignments in the last year after a few pot holes up here bounced things out.

The main cause of the minis suspension getting bounced out is down to the heavy oem wheels and run flats.

James I agree on them not coming out of the factory very well aligned or balanced. I had a KDS on mine, when it was not very old and is was out of spec for one reason or another on virtually every wheel. I can't imagine they do anything as in depth as a KDS before it leaves the factory?

How much would you expect to pay for an independent to do a KDS?

[Vitesse]

[quote=James@fomsport;3462936]The MINI dose need a KDS type alignment, but bmw over charge for this, and the system (hunter pro) is available elsewhere the company that sells it has a database of all places in the uk with the system www.AlignMyCar.co.uk

Whoops I searched for my local company who do KDS but it came up as a Bentley Dealership who would probably charge double what BMW do, but at least the accept the £5.00 off voucher

[James@fomsport]

lol most of them should be inide garages or tuners, which would charge between £60-£160 at the most, if you think paying bmw £300 is scary porsche have been know to charge over £500 for it

[David King]

Quote: Originally Posted by M.O.S (original)

I know, but 1, if you buy a new car its £150 and two, how much is it going to cost to fix your current car? Minis don't depreciate too heavily, so the fear of depreciation is almost nil. Can you think of a better excuse to change your car!

Im sorry to disapoint you, but no MINI has no depreciation!

Tyres will wear out on the new car aswell!

A good excuse for changing a car is wanting a new car, not just because the tyres wore out on the old car!

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by David King (original)

Im sorry to disapoint you, but no MINI has no depreciation!

Tyres will wear out on the new car aswell!

A good excuse for changing a car is wanting a new car, not just because the tyres wore out on the old car!

I know that Minis dont have £0 depreciation, but according to Parkers they are the slowest depreciating car you can buy.

I know that tyres will wear out on a new car aswell, however, I was saying get a new car because of the tracking/suspension fault, which by many accounts is going to be expensive to fix.