Just wanted to get peoples opinion on how badly my tyres have worn.

Is this a generic issue with AWD's as I've heard that they do 'tend' to wear unevenly.
As discussed in the tyres topic, I've gone through two new sets of tyres on the front in under 18 months, with them wearing almost soley the outside edges. I had a four wheel alignment done when the last set were put on. These photos demonstrate what I've had.

As you can see, the inside edge is almost new and still has the 'dimples' on it. The outside edge is trashed beyond recognition.

inside: http://img688.imageshack.us/i/insideb.jpg/
outside: http://img32.imageshack.us/i/outsideqi.jpg/
front-on: http://img169.imageshack.us/i/frontmt.jpg/

If you have an AWD and gett good tyre wear, what is your 'secret' method to ensuring it.

Correct tryre pressures are a must for a start!

You should get a wheel alignment regularly - not just when the tyres go on the car, as alignments move over time / speed bumps / pot holes / kerbs etc.

I get mine aligned every 10 / 15thousand KMs or so.

For a while - i let the pressures run down a little, and the outside edges on the front tyres have worn more than the rest - but its under control now.

I get mine aligned every 10 / 15thousand KMs or so.

I'm pretty sure that tyre pressures have been good, as the rears were wearing much more evenly.
If anything, the rears were overinflated as they wore more in the middle than the edges (go figure).
And whenever I checked I did all four at the same time and pressure.
From memory I don't 'think' I ever saw a pressure under 34psi (but I could be wrong).
What pressures do others run / recommend?

In regards to alignment, we're talking about two sets of front tyres that together barely lasted 30,000, so less than 15,000 each.
The originals were Maxxis UA-603s and the fronts were replaced in june last year with Bridgestone ER30s so not some super sticky low life tyres either
I'll be getting the alignment checked in a day or so with the new tyres on anyways (got give gift cards for a place so I'll be using them for the alignment instead of Bob-jane who I only used for tyres because a) cheap, and b) 12 months interest free) so I'll let you know how that pans out.

Just remembered that I have one of the rear UA-603s still that I kept as a spare so i'll grab a photo of that for comparison on it's wear.

edit:
Photo of rear tyre: http://yfrog.com/1srearsj

Hey mate.

Yeah your rears look like they were slightly over inflated.

I am running 225 55 16 instead of 215 60 16 and the wear was much much more even even with ER30's
I got over 60,000 out of my last set of ER300's.
My advice to you would be run the fronts at 40 psi. This has helped massively in the AWD as there is so much weight over the front and the car is also being pushed around corners from the back as well.
You do loose a little ride quality but worth the tyre savings and handeling.

Also rotate regularly as the rears will tend to wear the inside and the fronts the outside so it is a perfect swap.

Maybe also ask for a print out of your alignment specs before and after becasue this will show you if they are getting the toe right. It should also have the specs it should be within to compare with.

Here is a pic of the ER300 with over 60,000 that came off the front of my AWD. You can see slight wear on the outside shoulder(right side) but nothing like yours.

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz97/familywagon_photos/DSCF7550.jpg

Several Reasons :-
1) Tyre pressure too low at the front.
2) A little bit too much toe-in.
3) As you have a TJ there is a bit too much weight transfer to the outer edge of the outer tyre when cornering.
Later AWD's have a larger diameter rear sway bar to help this.
4) Maybe not enough negative camber as well.

Get everything adjusted a smidge and you handling and tyre life will improve dramatically.
Gerry

Several Reasons :-
Later AWD's have a larger diameter rear sway bar to help this.
4) Maybe not enough negative camber as well.
Gerry

Saying that, i do have an upgraded 18mm sway bar. Stock is 16mm. But i dont believe the thicker sway bar is going to save your tyres that much mate. I would be mainly looking at pressure to 40psi and making sure the alignment is right.

Also, camber is not adjustable unless you get a adjusting kit installed which you don't need. The only thing adjustable is the toe on 3rd gens.

I'm running 40psi front and 36psi rear in the Firestone Firehawks I currently have fitted. They now have 25000km on them and, with rotation/alignment at 10000km intervals, seem to be wearing reasonably evenly. The last alignment had a small amount of toe out (0.2mm each side), which I think was very similar to the previous alignment.

Driving style and the types of roads travelled (as in twisty vs straight) can significantly affect choice of alignment settings; you may find this post (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73277&p=1153036&viewfull=1#post1153036) by Alan J informative. The Whiteline camber bolt kit for the front (KCA412) should be obtainable for $75-$80 if you decide more negative camber might help.

Andy.

Several Reasons :-
1) Tyre pressure too low at the front.
2) A little bit too much toe-in.
3) As you have a TJ there is a bit too much weight transfer to the outer edge of the outer tyre when cornering.
Later AWD's have a larger diameter rear sway bar to help this.
4) Maybe not enough negative camber as well.
5) Tyre that is too wide for the wheel causing too much sag + 4 above.
6) High speed cornering.

Get everything adjusted a smidge and you handling and tyre life will improve dramatically.
Gerry

See my addition in red

I disagree Vlad.
I have much better/even tyre wear with my 225 55 16's than i ever had with stock 215 60 16's
Also, tyre life is greatly improved as well along with grip levels.

I disagree Vlad.
I have much better/even tyre wear with my 225 55 16's than i ever had with stock 215 60 16's
Also, tyre life is greatly improved as well along with grip levels.

That is also due to shorter (129mm vs 123.75mm) and possibly stiffer sidewall having less flex. I no longer had uneven wear once I moved to 225/50R17 and later 225/55R17 on 17x7 wheels and now, 225/45R18 on 18x8 wheels. Wear was even across the tread.

Also, as mentioned in other threads, both holden and ford fit their 215/60R16 on 16x6.5 or wider wheels.

So, are we saying that moving to the 225/55 r16 tyres on the standard 6" wheels will help with improving the eveness of tyre wear (despite being wider than the factory 215's which 'almost' contradicts your added point 5).

I'll be interested to see if there is any improvement in wear 'position' with the movement to the more sporting RE001's over the ordinary spec factory ER30s (figure the re001s might have a stiffer sidewall, but I am probably wrong on that too).

The RE001 (ultra high performance) definitely has a stiffer sidewall compared to the ER300 (standard passenger tyre). Its all to do with how much buldging there is. With my OEM, even at 45psi there was considerable amount of sidewall buldging.

The RE001 (ultra high performance) definitely has a stiffer sidewall compared to the ER300 (standard passenger tyre).

ER30's... Even worse than ER300's... :P

Going back to the OP and getting the thread back on track.

Looking at the whole tyre picture.

1) "Rounded" look, where there is still tread left in the centre - this is caused by low tyre pressure.
2) More wear comparing the outside edge with the inside edge. - This can have several causes.

First is most likely to be a little too much Toe-in.

Second is a choice between the effect of rear to front weight transfer when cornering or camber. Hence my original comment about the effect that a rear sway bar has on front tyre wear.
Although a thicker, therefore stronger, rear sway bar is more expensive then camber bolts it has a dramatic effect on improving handling.

I also found that changing the castor bushes to increase castor is also beneficial.

Gerry

Wouldn't the rear swaybar only affect the left-right weight transfer at the rear, not rear to front weight transfer?

Also, talking about tyres, as I'm wondering if the replacements being sporting tyres and having a harder shoulder will help avoid the tyre 'folding' over which would explain why I was seeing some wear on the shoulder of the pedestrian tyres (the ER30's) fitted before.
This may also help to avoid only wearing the outside edge only of the tyre.

Only problem with the RE001's are they are a high performance tyre that have a softer compound. If the speed rating is V or W then yes, it will have a much stiffer sidewall and this will also help stop shoulder wear.

Only problem with the RE001's are they are a high performance tyre that have a softer compound. If the speed rating is V or W then yes, it will have a much stiffer sidewall and this will also help stop shoulder wear.

100% agree.. Thus I will be interested to see it a) it improves how it wears, and b) how long they last.

But, a) is what I'm interested in as b) was drastically reduced as a result of a) on my previous two sets. So, the RE001's only have to last me more than 15,000 in order to beat the previous two sets that I've had on.

Would be worried if you dont get 15 out of them. As i said before, i got 60,000 out of my ER300's driving a mix of every day and very hard.

There are a series of articles on the Whiteline site that describe how a rear sway bar helps to reduce the weight transfer from the rear to the front of a car when cornering.

I have fitted a bar to the rear of a KS wagon - this was the single, biggest, handling change on the car. This was even better than wider wheels and better tyres.

Have done the same with an AWD. Again this was the biggest change.
In fact I did wider wheels and much better tyres first. Just wore the shoulders out quicker.
Then did the rear bar. as much improvement as the bigger wheels and tyres for about 15% of the cost.
Then did the front bar and camber pins, small difference.
Then did Kings Lows, better.
then did Koni's - much better.
Then finally did the increased castor bushes - another big bang for the buck change.

Gerry

Whats the specs and price and where did you get the castor bushes?

Although I bought the Whiteline kit, it was in fact made by RedRanger / Nolathane.
Look at their website.
Gerry