Reactionary

Can anyone diagnose this? I'm still on the original tires for over 40,000 miles. Even for my first tire rotation at around 7500 miles, it was noticeable that the front right tire was wearing a little faster than the left, so I brought it up with the dealership service dep't. They said it was the tires, which doesn't make sense at all to me.

My hunch is it's the shocks or springs on the front of the car. The reason I'm thinking this is because there seems to be an imbalance or at least a difference in my car's ability to make left and right turns at speed. I'm no expert but previous cars I've owned felt pretty much the same whether I was cornering hard on a right turn or left turn. I felt equally comfortable and confident making left and right turns.

My RX8 seems to feel better making hard left turns. Feels like there's a confidence-inducing gradual "give" on the front right side while making hard lefts. In contrast, on hard rights, the left front doesn't seem to "give" much and actually feels more unpredictable, if you can believe that.

Earlier, I thought it might be that I was making more hard left turns. So in the last year, I've tried hard to even things out, making lots of hard rights and refraining from hard lefts, but both right-side tires remain slightly lower in tread.

What do you guys think the problem is and what do you think I should do? The dealership's suggestion that the problem is in the right-side tires (what are the chances of BOTH right side tires being defective?) is ridiculous. I'm approaching the end of the 50,000 mile warranty, so I'm getting apprehensive. Do I specifically ask them to check the front suspension/shocks/springs? Will they actually do it without a fuss? And what else could it be?

Psylence

I'd guess it's a suspension issue, unless you routinely haul around an extremely large passenger Keep taking it to different dealers until you find someone who will give you the time of day.

Frankly, I'm amazed you have gone that long on the OE tires.. mine made it 12k.

Tigster

I have 19,000 on my oem I have the dunlop's The front tires are roughly 1/2 way gone and the rears are fine. Maybe you just need to start turning left a few more times to keep the wear even.

willhave8

Wow!!! 40K on OEM tires?? Which OEM tires do you have -the Bridgestones or the Dunlaps?? You are also a very patient person waiting until now to really dig into this.

I don't see any reason why your dealer would not inspect your suspension for you. I have no clue if it would help but have them tighten bolts to torque spec and while they are doing that look for issues???

Also, why not send an email to some of the Vendors on this forum who sell suspension parts such as Racing Beat and ask them for their advice. I know you don't have their parts on but they are really good in answering questions.

Reactionary

That's a really good suggestion. I'll give some vendors a call.

I have the Bridgestone RE040's.

Reactionary

That's the thing, I rarely have a passenger and yet it's my right side that's wearing down faster.

DreRX8

OMG Your Bridgestones lasted 40,000miles--mine didn't even last 15,000miles I actually need to replace my right rear tire as its wearing down faster than the others--I'm on Nitto 555s

zoom44

do you do your regular maintenance at the dealership? as part of the full circle maintenance the are supposed to check each time for tire wear indications that an alignment might be needed. have they ever mentoned it to you?

Reactionary

Yes, I always go to the dealership. They check my tires and mark on a sheet of paper what the tread is but they never mention an alignment. Are you sure it could be an alignment thing? The right tires appear to be wearing evenly from the inside to the outside of the tires. It's just that they're wearing a LITTLE bit faster than the left tires.

Nubo

On the first rotation did you notice the wear only on the front, or was the rear also involved?

What is the difference in tread depth now, at 40,000 miles?

Go48

Definitely could be an alignment problem. If the toe is off, you could get the wheels on one side traveling straight and true while the wheels on the other side are being dragged along at a slight angle and thereby scuffing off additional rubber. Insist the dealer do a 4-wheel alignment, and if they won't, take it to a reputable alignment shop to have it done.

Reactionary

But what about the fact the left front suspension seems more taut or less giving than the right side?

Reactionary

The difference is only about 1/16 of an inch, but it is clearly noticeable by eye and touch.

I believe it was only on the front right.

Reactionary

Now I'm finally making the connection with the alignment. Let me give everyone the bigger picture. When I first bought my car, it was pulling and drifting to the right when I let go of the steering wheel. Also, when I centered the steering wheel and held on, the car would be veering to the right. So I had them do an alignment (under warranty) during my 2nd oil change at 7500 miles. It was better than before but still drifting a little to the right with the steering wheel centered.

So for my 3rd oil change, I brought up that the alignment wasn't done right but I didn't push it, so nothing was done. The 4th oil change at 19,000 miles, I demanded they redo the alignment, and they did. They gave me some crap about it being the tires because they switched the left and right side tires temporarily and the car drifted to the left (of course, I'm skeptical they actually did that test). So after they put the tires back on the original sides, they did a realignment. It seemed to have worked; everything was straight. When I asked, they explained in some detail that they angled the right side tires (I think they said they did it for both right front and back) to the left BUT that they were still "within spec," which I took with a grain of salt. I told them whatever they did, it seemed to have worked.

However, the car eventually went back to drifting to the right. During my 6th oil change at 29,400 miles, I brought it up again, but the same technician who did the 2nd alignment said it was the tires and there was nothing he could do about it. He said I would find out when I got a new set of tires. I told him it would be a while and my warranty could run out by then so I had them document it on the computer.

BTW, if it really was the tires, could they have given me new tires? So is it more likely the alignment, tires, shocks, or springs?

Nubo

A long-shot, but go carefully check the tires and make sure the ones on each side of the car are exactly the same model and size. A slightly larger or smaller tire can cause these kind of issues. It sounds crazy but it happened to me once, and there was also a member here who was having pulling problems. I suggested they check the tires, and one actually was different!

Go48

While you're at it, check the rotation arrows to make sure the tires are on the correct side of the car. These tires are directional, meaning they have a rotational direction bias requiring that they be installed on the car so that they rotate in the direction indicated on the tire when driven in the forward direction.

Reactionary

Different? What exactly do you mean? LOL.

Go48

Different brand, different model, different size like he said. Make sure that all 4 tires are EXACTLY the same brand, EXACTLY the same model, EXACTLY the same size. Comprende?

Nubo

Here, this thread should do a good job of explaining it. It may sound silly but it HAS happened..... Only takes a moment to check.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=tires

Reactionary

Ok, I checked. Everything is RE040 225/45/18.

Anthony r

Tires on the left hand side ware faster because we drive on the left hand side of the road. When you turn right your tires are under load for longer, when you turn left your tires are under the same amount of load but for a shorter amount of time because you are closer to the apex of the corner, plus whenever you do a U-turn you turn right. town driving would exacerbate this but its still true for highway driving.turning right takes longer.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

one day short of a 13 year bump. outstanding, if you were searching and found this thread you search skills are amazing.

btw, this must be a record.

beers

Loki

iTrader: (1)

I'm willing to overlook the necromancy for the comedic value of the post. Turning right takes longer? Genius.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Yeah, I have never heard of tires wearing faster on one side of the car being normal. There are alignment or tire inflation issues there.

UnknownJinX

Well if you live in Australia, the UK, Japan, India and any other country where people drive on the left side, then yes, right turns take longer.

Still though, that is not a valid explanation for uneven wear pattern on sides.