I know this is a common topic but when I did a search about this most of the responses were about lowered cars, wide rims, etc.

Anyway, I've got an 06 6MT. I bought it used with Kumho SPTs (high performance summer) on it. Decent tread left on them at the time. I really like these tires. They handle extremely well and so far wet traction has been good. They are a bit noisey up front. I've put 5k miles on them myself and just recently my commute has gone for 8 miles round trip to 80 miles round trip. The problem is that the fronts seem to be getting excessive wear on the inside edge. Outside edge and middle still look fine. Rears are wearing evenly.

The obvious answer is getting an alignment, right? But it seems like I've read here that this car has built in negative camber....is "negative" the right word? In other words, the wheel/tire tips in at the top and out at the bottom which would account for the inside edge wear. If so, it isn't an obvious thing....I don't notice it just looking at them. It also seems like I've read that there is little or no camber adjustment. Is that right?

If it is right, what do you do? Do camber kits really work even on a car you do not intend to lower?

I like these soft compound performance tires but do not want to wear them out too fast because even these Kumhos are not cheap, around $900 out the door. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

From what I've read, even at stock height coupes especially camber the insides of front tires. A camber kit might help, maybe some coupe owners with more direct experience can chime in. Some folks run a tire that can be swapped side-to-side, i.e. so the cambered inside can then be run on the outside. Any way you look at it, it's a hassle and an extra expense.

 

Mine wore the inside edges as well. I have a slight drop. Tein H-Techs. Even after an alignment it still wore the insides. Both my G Coupes did for that matter.

And for what ever reason the center or the rear alway wore faster that the edges. Every tire... Even with proper air pressure... my First one (03 5AT) was the worst. The 04 6MT was not quite as bad on the rear tire wear.

 

This is a common problem, but camber [when stock] has little to do with it. The only spec adjustable on the front is toe. Here is what the 350z TSB NTB04-043a recommends to solve this problem:
"Toe-in...* The preferred setting is 2 mm (0.08 in.) [ 0.2º ] with no "variation""

I also have SPTs. Since they are symmetrical, you can have the tires removed from the rim and swapped side-to-side to get more life out of them.

 

It may be too late to swap these, but I'll look into it. Having them remounted and re-balanced won't be cheap but would probably be better than buying new performance tires every year.

It seems to me that the camber is still part of the problem. I understand that it isn't adjustable but it sounds like it comes with too much negative camber. I guess this is something that is supposed to improve performance in which case a camber kit might help with tire wear but you's loose whatever performance advantage you got from the native camber.

If I do swap these it might be good to let them do an alignment and set the toe like you referenced above.

Question, does anyone make a good high performance summer tire that is _not_ directional?

 

I think camber has everything to do with it. If it was a toe problem, the tread pattern would be more "jagged". Since his just seem to be wearing evenly, just mostly on the inside, I'd bet my money it's because of the negative camber.

 

Yokohama Advan.... Thats one reason I kept using them... They are non-directional and either side can be mounted outward. They griped great, wore great and did great on wet roads as well...

 

Sounds like you're in the market for new tires up front. Since you have excessive tire wear you'll need an alignment, find an independent brake/alignment shop in your area that's reliable. They can check your front suspension, it's possible you have other issues causing the wear. Stay away from Goodyear/Firestone/PepBoys and Sears and dealerships, it's important to get the job done correctly!
Gary

 

Talked to a local tire place.....it is a "Goodyear" place but they are right next door to my office and have done decent work for me in the past. Anyway, about $35 to unmount, swap, remount and balance fronts. That's a no brainer so I'll do that.

However, their standard alignment is $70!!!! That sounds crazy for a car that apparently has only one adjustable parameter (toe). He also said that if the car has a "steering angle sensor" that he can't do the alignment at all. I have no idea if this car has a "steering angle sensor" or even what a "steering angle sensor" is. I suspect it is another gadget that does almost nothing useful except to chain you to a stealership for a basic service.

The tech also said that if the toe is out of alignment it can, in fact, produce uniform circumferential wear. It was always my impression that the toe being incorrect produced a scalloped wear pattern. Who knows. But I doubt I'll spend $70 for an alignment since these tires are on their way out anyway. I'll bite for the alignment when I get new tires.

(This tire stuff gets old. Just dropped $1100 for tires for my truck and another $700 for rather boring Yokohama YK520 tires on the G35X. Nothing worse than big bucks for boring tires!)

 

Those prices sound about right for the swap and for the alignment. Some shops will charge less if you tell them you only want the front aligned. $70 might seem like a lot just to adjust the toe, but the place has to pay for the machine somehow.

There is a steering angle sensor, it works with the VDC, but I've never heard of an alignment shop having trouble with our cars. Scalloped (or feathered) inside wear seems to be the standard G35/350Z curse, so it is interesting that yours are worn on the inside, but not scalloped.

 

I had this exact thing happen to me when I first bought my car, the insides on the front tires wore really quick. I paid a local tire shop to align the car and they did a crap job waste of money. Destroyed another set of front. So... I took it to the dealer they said my upper and lower control arms need to be replace which they covered under warranty and I just had to pay for the alignment at $250! But now I have no issues at all and my fronts are wearing great now my rears get burned off way quicker than the fronts..... I would hit up the dealer and bit the bullet.

 

Well my car has 80,000 miles on it, I'm the thrid owner and I don't even know how many miles these tires have on them. So, the dealer won't be able to do any warranty work. I'm getting the fronts swapped later today.

Wonder if its going to handle a little squirelly with the tires swapped over?

 

^ I doubt it'll be noticeable.

 

Just wondering.. how does a tireshop do a bad alignment when they give you the spec sheets afterward so you can look at it yourself. If they didnt put it in a spec for some reason, then tell them and they'll re-do it right? Unless you just simply cant because you dont have camber kits

 

If toe is the only adjustment it seems like an alignment would be hard to scew up.