Why did my tires wear prematurely on the outside edge?

Question

I bought brand new tires for my Scion tC in 2014. Since then I have only driven my car 17,000 miles, and both front tires are bald on the outside edge now, while the rear tires and the inside of the front tires still look brand new. They are supposed to be a 40,000 mile tire, and were relatively cheap.

What would cause this?

I got my car aligned when I bought the tires at Big O Tires, the measurements are as follows:

Left Front                 Right Front
-0.8* Camber           -0.6* Camber
3.4* Caster               3.4* Caster
0.02* Toe                  0.01* Toe

Left Rear                  Right Rear
-0.8* Camber            -0.9* Camber
0.17* Toe                  0.18* Toe

Could my alignment have gone bad that fast?

Alexander · Accepted Answer

You are supposed to rotate the tires on a car with a square setup (the front and rear wheels are the same size). This promotes even wear across all four and prolongs the life of the tires as a matched set.

Wear on the outside edges also indicates that you like to hit corners a bit quicker than you should be.

Could the alignment be the problem? Maybe, but I would guess it's a combination of not rotating your tires coupled with driving style.

LP700 · Answer

Alignment can get knocked off every couple of months especially from hitting curbs or bumps.

But generally, your alignment shouldn't go bad so quickly. I'm still on the original alignment specs(lol, they're nowhere near OE by now) on my 6 year old Toyota. Tires still wear fine.

What could cause outside wear on the front tire could be taking turns too quick. Rear tires have slight camber so during turns the tread evens out, where as the front tires will tilt. That's probably why your front tires are wearing on the outside edge.

Mileage warranties on tires don't mean anything. I've seen 60k mile tires wear out at 20k. Best bet is to buy a safe, quality cheap tire. Better off replacing cheap tires over expensive ones.

? · Answer

This is quite common on FWD cars, as the weight of the drivetrain causes the tires to "fold under" when cornering. Also, most people go around corners a little too fast, which only adds to the problem.

It's very important to make sure the front and rear tires are kept at the proper pressure and rotated often. This will help.

Also have your alignment checked (by someone else) to be sure it's correct.

thebax2006 · Answer

Either you hit a pot hole and knocked the toe adjustment off or the guy doing the alignment was a high school dropout.Outer tire wear on both front tires means too much toe in. It takes a good 6,000 miles to wear tires due to the toe adjustment being off.

Jennifer · Answer

Normal your front tires bald before your rear tires because when you turn, you are only eating your front wheels unless you have rest wheel drive..

dieselpuller · Answer

YOU NEED WHEEL ALIGNMENT ,ITS A SALVAGE CAR

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Why did my tires wear prematurely on the outside edge?

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